Luman Reed’s European Paintings
This small installation from about 20 European paintings that Reed owned shows his broad interests ranging from Italian religious paintings to English genre themes to Dutch masters. Reed bought most of his European paintings from the American dealer Michael Paff, who was notorious for selling old master paintings with dubious attributions. Like many of his contemporaries, Reed eventually became suspicious of the European trade and moved on to collect contemporary American art. Though most of these paintings do not bear their original attributions, they offer a fascinating record of early American collecting.


