American Louvre

Designed by James Renwick Jr. in 1858, the building that houses the Renwick Gallery was the first in the United States conceived expressly as a public art museum. Renwick’s elegant design, modeled on the Louvre in Paris, prompted critics to call the new gallery the “American Louvre.” Written by architectural historian Charles J. Robertson, American Louvre recounts the colorful story of this National Historic Landmark and the influential men who shaped its history.

Lavishly illustrated, American Louvre is published on the occasion of the gallery’s reopening after an extensive two-year renovation that has thoroughly updated the Renwick for 21st-century visitors. It celebrates the rich history and future of this storied building, which remains “Dedicated to Art.”