One of my father’s favorite sayings is “you can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’re from,” a loose adaptation of Maya Angelou’s words about the necessity of honoring—and learning from—the past in order to carve out a meaningful future.
I’ve heard this adage throughout my life but as we near the celebratory climax of our nation’s 250th anniversary, it resonates on a deeper, broader level. Because the country’s founding lends itself to looking backward, and American Art Collector is all about the here and now, our exploration of America’s trajectory through the lens of art has largely taken place within our historic title, American Fine Art Magazine. Since 2025 we have covered countless exhibitions curated around this national milestone and will continue to do so long after the fireworks have faded. Many of the most powerful exhibitions revolved around sculpture. The Shape of Power and Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone come to mind, as do smaller exhibits like Monuments: Commemoration and Controversy. These exhibitions and so many others make a convincing argument that sculpture is the most significant and revelatory genre of art in our collective history.
As you might have guessed by now, July is our annual issue dedicated to sculpture, an edition I look forward to all year long because it is a chance to put this important genre and the endless forms it can take front and center. Peppered throughout the magazine, you will find 25 pages of content focused on contemporary sculpture, including two features about prominent sculptors who could not be more different, and coverage of Sculpture in the Park in Loveland, Colorado, which is the largest outdoor, juried sculpture show in the United States. We also have our special Collector’s Focus, a six-page showcase of sculptural works being created by today’s top artists and the galleries that carry their work. Take time to appreciate these pieces—they are a continuation of a creative legacy that we will one day look back upon to better understand our past, and how it led us to where we are today.
If you don’t already subscribe to American Fine Art Magazine I highly recommend doing so. From personal experience I can attest that immersing myself in American art history, has deepened my appreciation of contemporary realism in the most satisfying of ways.
One last side note: Next month American Art Collector celebrates its own 250th anniversary—the 250th issue of the magazine! More about that milestone to come.
Enjoy the July issue!
Sarah Gianelli
Managing Editor
sgianelli@americanartcollector.com
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