During American Art Week 2026!
IAC’s 30th Annual American Art Conference
May 14 – 16, 2026
Heritage Auctions
445 Park Ave.
New York, NY
Thirty years ago, IAC launched its series of annual American Art conferences with Expanding Horizons. This conference, like those that have followed, was informed by the profound conviction that American Art is ever evolving, that it is characterized by dynamism and variety, and that it is undefined (or at best very incompletely defined) by the bold-faced artists’ names that might populate an introductory textbook of art history.
More particularly, we’ve sought to explore how we define great American art—and who has, and who has not, been part of that conversation—who has created it, and how, and in what circumstances, they practiced.
In this journey, we have come far. We have broadened our conception of whom we should rightly conceive of as artists to include those previously marginalized or excluded, whether because of ethnicity (such as Native American artists) or lack of formal training (such as folk or outsider artists). We have come to see under-recognized African American artists as central to the canon (and, not incidentally, we have continually questioned what that canon is or should be). We have carefully examined the impact on our thinking of a maker’s gender.
We have questioned conventional wisdom regarding various movements or currents in American art. We’ve examined synchronous expressions of the Modern. Regarding regionalism, we’ve discovered how region-specific approaches to larger movements impact our understanding of those movements.
We have looked broadly at media, expanding our understanding of what, in the hands of the artist, can be used to create great art. We have transcended the canvas to consider the frame and how it can both express an artist’s intentions and affect our experience of the work.
In 2026, America will celebrate its semiquincentennial. America, like the art of which we are justly proud, has come far, if not always in directions we might choose. An excellent opportunity, we’d suggest, to take stock, to review 30 years of exploration in American Art, to assess how far we’ve come and, should we able, lay the groundwork for where we need to go.
Attendees will experience a compelling and wide-ranging series of talks, panels, and conversations. They will also attend a private preview and reception for the American Art sale at Heritage Auctions and received an invitation to the Gala Opening of the American Art Fair at the land-marked Bohemian National Hall.
IAC’s annual American Art Conference is the premier gathering of collectors, curators, dealers, museum professionals, academics, artists and anyone else interested in American Art. Since 1996, the Conference has been at the forefront of critical inquiry in the field, pushing the boundaries of accepted thinking and spotlighting pioneering perspectives on American Art. The 2026 Conference (May 14 – 16) coincides with the American Art Fair (May 16 – 19), TEFAF New York (May 15 – 19) and Frieze Art Fair (May 13 – 17) and is made possible by Leadership Funding from O’Brien Art Foundation and Anchor Sponsorship from Heritage Auctions.
We gratefully acknowledge Leadership Funding from O’Brien Art Foundation and Anchor Sponsorship from Heritage Auctions.
We are grateful as well for funding from D. Wigmore Fine Art; James Dicke II; Kenneth R. Woodcock; the Steven Alan Bennett Foundation; and anonymous donors (as of September 19, 2025).
We are deeply grateful for the media sponsorship provided by The Magazine ANTIQUES, and American Fine Art Magazine.
