American Art in the Thyssen Collection is the result of a research project funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art to study and reinterpret the collection of American Art assembled by Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (1921−2002) over the course of more than three decades.

As a result of this line of collecting, the museum owns an extensive selection of American painting, especially from the nineteenth century, and has become an essential point of reference in Europe. Divided into four themed sections, it sets out to rethink the collection of American Art from a cross-cutting approach using categories such as history, politics, science, the environment, material culture and urban life, and considering aspects such as gender, ethnic group, class, and language, among others, to provide a deeper understanding of the complexities of American art and culture.

The catalogue features a selection of 140 works belonging to the permanent collection and the Carmen Thyssen Collection or loaned by the Thyssen family in occasion of the exhibition.