The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860 to 1989 illuminates the dynamic and profound impact of Asian art and philosophical concepts on American artistic practices of the late 19th century, early modern, and postwar avant-garde periods. To premiere at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in late January 2009 as part of the museum’s 50th-anniversary celebrations of the Frank Lloyd Wright landmark building, the exhibition will trace how the material culture, artistic legacies, and philosophical systems of Asia—collectively admired as “the East”—were known, reconstructed, and transformed by American art and cultural forces. The exhibition will feature approximately 260 works by 114 American and Asian-American artists, drawn from major public and private collections in the United States and Europe. The Third Mind will provide an unprecedented opportunity for audiences to experience how Eastern art forms and philosophies had a far more important and sustained influence on American modern and contemporary art than is generally recognized or understood. Organized by Alexandra Munroe, Senior Curator of Asian Art.