When Princeton University--then the College of New Jersey--was growing and reinventing itself in the late nineteenth century, it chose the visual language of the past, of the historic universities of Oxford and Cambridge, to modernize itself. Princeton and the Gothic Revival: 1870-1930 explores this rich legacy, while the Museum's first mobile web app makes the Gothic Revival campus part of the exhibition, with expert commentary to guide your journey.

Cram and Ferguson, architects, Boston, fl. 1915-1941: proposed exterior of Princeton University Chapel, undated. Watercolor. University Archives, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Princeton and the Gothic Revival: 1870-1930 has been made possible by the generous support of Christy Eitner Neidig and William Neidig, Class of 1970, in memory of Lorenz E. A. Eitner, Graduate School Class of 1952; and by Christopher E. Olofson, Class of 1992; the Kathleen C. Sherrerd Program Fund for American Art; the Allen R. Adler, Class of 1967, Exhibitions Fund; the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; and the Barr Ferree Foundation Fund for Publications, Princeton University. Additional funding has been provided by Herbert L. Lucas Jr., Class of 1950; Exxon-Mobil Corporation; and the Partners and Friends of the Princeton University Art Museum.

John Constable: Oil Sketches from the Victoria and Albert Museum presents a thoughtful look at one of the greatest landscape artists of all time. Organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to investigate the significance of John Constable's contributions to British art and ultimately to the rise of Romanticism across Europe and North America. The Princeton University Art Museum is one of only two North American venues for this insightful exploration of Constable's working process. Taking his easel into nature, Constable (1776-1837) was one of the first artists to work en plein air, "so as to note ‘the day, the hour, the sunshine and the shade.'" The openness of his brushwork and his concern for passing light effects were enormously influential for subsequent generations of artists, including the Impressionists of late- nineteenth-century France.

John Constable, Full-scale study for The Hay Wain, 1821. Oil on canvas. 137 x 188 cm. Victoria and Albert Museum (987-1900) © Victoria and Albert Museum / V&A images.

John Constable: Oil Sketches from the Victoria and Albert Museum has been organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The exhibition at Princeton has been made possible by an anonymous benefactor, and by Christopher E. Olofson, Class of 1992, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Support was also provided by Duane E. Wilder, Class of 1951, John H. Rassweiler, the Allen R. Adler, Class of 1967, Exhibitions Fund, and the Partners and Friends of the Princeton University Art Museum. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.