During my first year as director of the Wilson Galleries (1989-90), I was astonished by the number of requests from individuals and groups, sometimes prepared to travel great distances, who wished to see the collection or a single painting that might be on display. These requests were often phrased in the language of a pilgrimage. Many viewers of the works shared emotional narratives with me about the importance of the images at critical moments in their lives. As an artist trained under the influence of modernism and its intellectual moorings, I was unprepared for the responses and stunned by the nature and quality of their personal reports. With these personal interactions and subsequent scholarly collaboration as evidence, it is clear that the images of Warner Sallman have been woven into the American fabric and serve as an important resource in the study of American religious culture.
Jason Knapp, MFA
director, Wilson Galleries
