American Art Collector – September 2026

Summary

Lindsey Kustusch's oil on panel painting This Will Always Be at 36 x 24 inches fronts the September 2026 Issue 251 of American Art Collector at USD 10.95, available through Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia, as the issue dedicates its annual Collector Focus to the Mid-Atlantic region with an Art Lover's Guide to Washington, D.C. and the Mid-Atlantic States (page 88) covering 17 galleries across Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, southern New Jersey and D.C., and the Washington Society of Landscape Painters exhibition in Easton, Maryland (page 74).

The Collector Focus: Landscapes section (page 104) presents contemporary realist landscape painting as one of the market's most enduring categories, with editor Sarah Gianelli's Letter from the Editor (The Power of Place) reflecting on her personal geography — from the Pacific Northwest to Oregon to the Arizona desert to Montana and back — as a framework for understanding how landscape painters from the Hudson River School to today have sought inspiration. The Art Lover's Guide (page 88) offers vetted gallery listings for the Mid-Atlantic region, designed for weekend trips and longer collecting journeys. The Washington Society of Landscape Painters exhibition in Easton, Maryland, is described by the editor as a rare opportunity to see landscape through dozens of distinct voices, each preserving something transient, beautiful and worth remembering. Cover artist Lindsey Kustusch's feature (page 52) accompanies the painting This Will Always Be. Alexey Steele, Michael Bergt and multiple landscape painters are flagged on the cover.

Regular features include gallery show previews across the United States, publisher's letter by Wendie Martin and Adolfo Castillo, and exhibition advertisements including the American Impressionist Society 27th National Juried Exhibition at Mockingbird Gallery in Bend, Oregon (4 September – 3 October 2026, 180 works in oil, watercolour, pastel, gouache and acrylic), and multiple Fall Arts Fest features in the western galleries. The issue includes previews of more than 12 national gallery shows.

Editor's Take

The September issue is a reliable regional guide for collectors targeting the Mid-Atlantic market. The strongest feature is the Art Lover's Guide itself — 17 galleries vetted and mapped across 7 states is genuinely useful, especially for collectors planning fall gallery trips. Sarah Gianelli's editor's letter is well-crafted and sets up the landscape theme effectively. The weakest element is the Collector Focus section: despite being flagged as the issue's anchor, it reads as a loose grouping of gallery promotions rather than a curated market analysis. The Washington Society of Landscape Painters exhibition preview is too brief to convey what makes the show distinctive. This is for collectors who need a regional gallery directory with good production values, not for critical art writing.

Strengths
• Art Lover's Guide to Mid-Atlantic covers 17 galleries across 7 states with practical detail
• Sarah Gianelli's The Power of Place essay is a genuinely personal frame for the landscape focus
• Strong representation of East Coast realist landscape tradition

Weaknesses
• Collector Focus: Landscapes section is a gallery promotion bundle, not market analysis
• Washington Society exhibition preview is too brief to convey curatorial distinctiveness

Verdict: Recommended — Practical collecting guide for Mid-Atlantic buyers; less useful for readers outside the region.