Marble palaces, temples of art
Subtitle: art museums, architecture, and American culture, 1890-1930
By: Ingrid A. Steffensen-Bruce.
Publisher: Bucknell University Press; Associated University Presses
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Lewisburg; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 265
Subjects: Art museum architecture -- United States -- History -- 19th century.; Art museum architecture -- United States -- History -- 20th century; Art museums -- United States -- History -- 19th century.; Art museums -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Description: The era from 1890 to 1930 constituted a building boom for American art museums designed in a monumental, classical style; both the proliferation of the buildings and the ubiquity of the style seem to indicate an architectural as well as a sociocultural phenomenon.

The present work is an attempt to place the American art museum building of this period into its historical milieu, and employs over one hundred illustrations and sociocultural analysis to explain the significance of both the institutions and the structures housing them to those who came into regular contact with them, including architects, patrons, journalists, and museum personnel.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 246-260) and index.