Upcoming Exhibitions
Robert Cottingham: An American Alphabet
November 18, 2025 – February 14, 2026
Curator | Carla Shelton, Associate Director, Museum Collection and Chief Registrar, OSU Museum of Art
Robert Cottingham (American, b. 1935) is renowned for his depictions of American life through his work featuring building facades, neon signs, movie marquees, and storefronts. In 1974, supported by a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Cottingham traveled by Greyhound across the Northeast, photographing 27 cities and collecting thousands of slides. These images became the foundation for An American Alphabet, a 15-year project exploring the beauty of disappearing signage and American typography.