The Long View | From Conservation to Sustainability Works from the Bank of America Collection

The Long View: From Conservation to Sustainability | Works from the Bank of America Collection traces the history and impact of the environmental movement through art. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century and continuing to the present, the exhibition examines the evolution of our relationship with—and need to protect—the Earth and its inhabitants, and the artists that have played a role in shaping the environmental conversation.

In 2020, the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. In commemoration of this event, the Art in our Communities® program launched The Long View to reaffirm Bank of America’s dedication to financing low-carbon and sustainable business activities across the globe.

The show comprises 77 photographs, paintings, fine prints and sculpture categorized into four thematic sections. The Beginnings of Conservation features artists from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries whose works influenced the environmental movement. Included are John James Audubon, whose painstaking prints of birds and other wildlife inspired the founding of the Audubon Society, and photographer Carleton Watkins, whose vistas of Yosemite gave rise to the founding of the National Park Service.

Push and Pull—Industry and Environment features works from the first half of the twentieth century, including iconic images by photojournalists Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression, when unsustainable farming practices worsened the effect of an extreme drought, a disaster both natural and of human origin.

The Emergence of Conservation Activism focuses on postwar works and the ecology movement of the late 1960s and 1970s. When the first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, millions of Americans celebrated this movement dedicated to protecting our world, brought to life in Robert Rauschenberg’s Earth Day poster from the same year. Land artist Michael Heizer’s dialogue with the Earth, reversing geological history by leaving a human imprint, is seen in his Scrap Metal series, 1978,
composed of aluminum and zinc waste recycled from California’s aeronautical industry.

In Working Towards a Sustainable Vision, contemporary artists including Tony Matelli, Aurora Robson, John Sabraw, Lauren Rosenthal McManus, Wout Berger and Albert Casanye focus our attention on ways humanity has radically transformed the planet, and how

About Art in our Communities® | The Bank of America Art in Our Communities Program was established in 2009 in order to share the company’s art collection with the widest possible audience. Comprising the art collections of the predecessor banks that are now part of Bank of America, the program offers museums and nonprofit galleries the opportunity to borrow complete or customized exhibitions at no cost. The public is able to enjoy new art installations at its local museums, while the museums themselves are able to generate vital revenue. Since 2009, more than 140 exhibitions have been loaned through this one-of-a-kind program.