The American Art-Union (1839–1851) was a subscription-based organization whose goal was to enlighten and educate an American public to a national art, while providing a support system for the viewing and sales of art “executed by artists in the United States or by American artists abroad."[1] Art unions had been popular since the early 19th century in Europe; they first appeared in Switzerland, gaining great popularity in both Germany and the United Kingdom in the 1830s. It was the British version — Art Union of London (AUL) — that was used as a model for the American Art-Union (AAU).[2]