Art Purposes: Object Lessons for the Liberal Arts

By Joachim Homann

Explore art history through the lens of the liberal arts with this stunning look at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art’s acclaimed collection.

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art features nearly 24,000 works spanning antiquity to today. Since it began collecting in 1811, the museum has served as a unique resource for students, scholars, and visitors from around the world. This splendid book takes readers on a trip through art history—and through the liberal arts, which serve as the college’s grounding philosophy—using key objects from Bowdoin’s diverse collection. With insightful essays that illuminate art in the context of current, interdisciplinary liberal arts questions, this volume is an art lover’s treasure that will spark readers’ curiosity and help nurture their intellectual lives.

The book accompanies an exhibition of the same name on view from June 29 through November 10, 2019 at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.

Hardcover: 224 pages; 200 color illustrations.

Copublished by the Bowdoin College Museum of Art and DelMonico Books