January 2, 2007 -- The Allen Memorial Art Museum's Hendrick Terbrugghen painting of Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene and a Companion (1625) features prominently in an intriguing new book, Only in America: One Hundred Paintings in American Museums Unmatched in European Collections, by art historian Pierre Rosenberg, recent President-Director of the Musée du Louvre in Paris.

Rosenberg surveyed American art historians, asking them which paintings in American museums they felt were "unmatched in European collections." For his book, he chose 100 works from every school from the 1400s to the early 1900s.

The AMAM's contemplative Saint Sebastian, Rosenberg reveals, was "cited more often than any other painting" as meeting that extremely high standard — as a result, it graces the book's front cover. You can experience firsthand the dramatically lit masterpiece in the AMAM's Willard-Newell Gallery.

The AMAM is widely recognized as one of the finest college or university collections in the United States, with a permanent collection of 12,000 works of art from virtually every culture and spanning the history of art.

The museum is open free to the public. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Closed Mondays and major holidays. Free educational and group guided tours may be arranged by calling the museum's Education Office at
(440) 775-8671.

Related Links:
- Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM)
- Hendrick Terbrugghen bio & provenance of this painting