American Gothic: Regionalist Portraiture from the Collection presents a survey of portraiture over the past 100 years. Through this centennial review a genealogy of stylistic development emerges with a special focus on artists and activities in and around UC Davis and Northern California. The strength of the UC Davis collection allows for a vivid trip through American art history, a colorful story of independent thought and the ongoing fight for liberty and equality.

Taking its name from arguably the most famous painting of Americans (American Gothic, Grant Wood), American Gothic investigates how artists have chosen to picture themselves and their neighbors through the 20th and 21st century. Informed by and yet rejecting European academic traditions, American artists pioneered new methods and styles that reflected the attitudes and social ideas of their times. The ideals of early modernism gave birth to a complex self-reflexivity and artists turned a critical eye to their community, picturing the evolving complexity of their contemporary life. From Whistler through Warhol this exhibition will include significant presentations of major artists with a special focus on the Davis 5 (de Forest, Thiebaud, Arneson, Neri, and Wiley). Also presented are important works by Mark Tobey, Nathan Olivera, Deborah Butterfield, Bruce Connor, Bruce Nauman, Nancy Holt, Anthony Hernandez, Chris Johanson and many more.

Guest curator Lee Plested, originially from Vancouver, Canada, he holds a MA in Curatorial Practice from San Francisco's College of the Arts, and has selected over 100 pieces from the collection, including several new acquisitions never before seen.