Colby College Museum of Art Launches Five-Year Whistler Studies Initiative with Tate Britain Partnership

At the heart of this initiative is the Colby Museum ‘s collection and its role as a teaching museum. The museum stewards nearly four hundred exceptional paintings, prints, and drawings by James McNeill Whistler as part of its renowned Lunder Collection, making it one of the foremost repositories of Whistler’s art in the world. Jacqueline Terrassa, Carolyn Muzzy Director, remarks: “This work will spur research and public appreciation of the art of James McNeill Whistler and demonstrate how—even when art history appears well-established—our understanding of art deepens and evolves when we ask new questions, apply different disciplinary methods, or bring new perspectives to the work of an artist. This is especially relevant at Colby, a leader in liberal arts education, where we teach students to engage in this process of inquiry and discovery, and at a museum with extensive holdings of artworks by single artists, including Whistler.“

As part of its five-year Whistler Studies initiative, the Colby Museum will engage in a series of major curatorial projects, beginning with an international retrospective on Whistler’s life and career co-organized by Tate Britain and the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, opening in May 2026. The Colby Museum will contribute key loans from the Lunder Collection, including two paintings featured in “Whistler’s Finish,” a project already yielding new insights into Whistler’s process through the technical study of his works. 

Germán is serving as a curatorial advisor to the Tate team, contributing to the  development of the exhibition’s opening section, which focuses on Whistler’s  transcontinental upbringing in the United States, Russia, and Europe. An essay on this subject by Germán will be included in the exhibition catalogue, to be published by Tate Publishing in 2026. 

James McNeill Whistler will be on view at Tate Britain May 21–September 27, 2026, before traveling to the Van Gogh Museum. Concurrent with its international tour, the Colby Museum is organizing an exhibition on Whistler’s early life and artistic development in the United States, scheduled to open in Waterville in summer 2027. This is the first major exhibition to explore this formative period, including the artist’s childhood in Connecticut and Massachusetts; his time in Maryland, Washington, DC,  and New York; his education and artistic training at West Point and exposure to  Hudson River School painters; and his eventual transatlantic move. This exhibition will be accompanied by a publication and a study day hosted at Colby. The timing of  the Colby Museum exhibition will mark the tenth anniversary of the second major gift of artworks by Peter and Paula Lunder to the Colby Museum and the  establishment of the Lunder Institute for American Art. 

Beyond the classroom, Colby College students will carry out hands-on research through curatorial internships at the Colby Museum beginning in the 2025–26 academic year working under Germán’s mentorship to support research and planning for the forthcoming Whistler exhibitions at the Colby Museum and  internationally. These interns, along with Germán, the Anne Lunder Leland Curatorial Fellow, and other Colby Museum staff will travel to London in 2026 to experience  the Whistler exhibition at Tate Britain and meet with staff there. This visit will offer students valuable international exposure and professional development opportunities, while deepening institutional collaborations between the two museums. 

During the Colby Museum’s 2027 exhibition on Whistler’s early life and artistic  development in the United States, Germán will host a Whistler study day to engage scholars and broader audiences in dialogue around Whistler’s work. Members of Tate’s professional staff will be invited to participate, further cementing the transatlantic academic exchange at the heart of this initiative. These educational efforts demonstrate the Colby Museum’s commitment to interdisciplinary learning, technical study, and the development of future scholarship. 

About the Colby College Museum of Art

Since its founding in 1959, the Colby College Museum of Art has been dedicated to its mission of access to, meaningful engagement with, and joyful connection through art.

Free and open to all, with locations on the Colby College campus and in downtown Waterville, the museum advances Colby College’s educational mission, enriches the region’s cultural and community life, and contributes to the great field of American art. With an outstanding permanent collection, community-engaged programs, and path-setting exhibitions, publications, and convenings, Colby Museum has earned a reputation as both a leading teaching museum and premier destination for American art.

The museum and its Lunder Institute for American Art bring extraordinary art experiences to central Maine and generate new scholarship with national and international impact. As forums for experimentation, research, and dialogue, the museum and its Lunder Institute convene different perspectives to explore—and expand—our understanding of today’s most vital questions.

About the Lunder Foundation

The Lunder Foundation’s long-standing commitment to American art has been  instrumental in shaping the Colby Museum’s leadership role in the field. The Lunder family’s transformational support ensures the ongoing care of the Lunder Collection and empowers the museum to pursue bold, collaborative projects that bring world class art experiences to Maine and generate new scholarship that resonates internationally.