American Academy of Art and Letters

Group of US citizens qualified by notable achievements in art, literature, or music, selected from the membership of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. These two institutions merged in 1976 to form the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. The academy's aim is the furtherance of literature and the fine arts in the USA; its headquarters are in New York.

It gives awards in art, literature, and music, jointly with the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and maintains a library of 15,000 volumes; a museum for book and manuscript exhibitions and storage of a permanent manuscript collection; an art gallery; and a permanent exhibition of the work of US painters Childe Hassam and Eugene Speicher (1883-1962). The academy also awards the Howells Medal for the Novel (every five years); the Award of Merit Medal; and a prize of $1,000 annually. It holds exhibitions of works of art, manuscripts, books, and music scores. Paintings by American artists are purchased from the Childe Hassam Fund and Speicher Fund for distribution to museums.