Author Description

This interdisciplinary collection of case studies rethinks corporate patronage in the United States and reveals the central role corporations have played in shaping American culture. The case studies in this volume offers new methodologies and models for the subject of corporate patronage, going beyond the usual focus on corporate sponsorship and collecting to explore the complex organizational networks and motivations behind corporate commissions. Featuring chapters on Margaret Bourke-White, Julie Mehretu, Maxfield Parrish, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Eugene Savage, Millard Sheets, and Kehinde Wiley, as well as studies on Andrew Carnegie, Andrew Mellon, John D. Rockefeller Sr. and Jr., and Dorothy Shaver, and companies such as Herman Miller and Lord and Taylor, this book looks at a wide array of works, ranging from sculpture, photography, mosaics, and murals to advertisements, department store displays, sportswear, medical schools, and public libraries. It also contains an extensive bibliography on corporate patronage, art collections and exhibitions, sponsorship, and philanthropy in the United States.