Book excerpt: The Metropolitan Museum of Art has long been renowned for its collection of American sculpture, in particular its world-famous American Neoclassical marbles. This volume contains eight papers presented at a symposium held at the Museum on October 26, 2001, upon the publication of American Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The contributors, who include art historians, museum professionals, and independent scholars, offer a fascinating cross section of current thematic interests and scholarly approaches to American sculpture. Each contributor takes as their starting point a sculpture or group of sculptures in the Metropolitan's collection, presenting a wide variety of approaches to the study and understanding of these works.