The New Britain Museum of American Art's founding in 1903 entitles the institution to be designated the first museum of strictly American art in the country. With particular strengths in colonial portraiture, the Hudson River School, American Impressionism, and the Ash Can School, not to mention the important mural series The Arts of Life in America by Thomas Hart Benton, the museum relies heavily on its permanent collection for exhibitions and programming, yet also displays a significant number of borrowed shows and work by emerging artists. The singular focus on American art and its panoramic view of American artistic achievement make the NBMAA a significant teaching resource available to the local, regional, and national public.