Reflections: The American Collection at the Columbus Museum of Art

Reflections celebrates a milestone 140th year for the Columbus Museum of Art, and the culmination of years of work from their curators and directors. In its 705 pages, it includes 160 essays on 222 pieces of art, across nine sub-collections, by 72 writers and contributors.

The book is divided into sections for the museum’s main collections, individual works, and intersections essays, featuring two essays on one significant piece of art, set in parallel, written by authors from totally different backgrounds. All of this is focused on creating a balance between academic discussion and an accessible entry point to the art world.

Chosen for their stylistic references to American graphic design, Post Grotesk and Sentinel (Comicraft) do the heavy lifting for the majority of the book, used as body text and headlines. Their hierarchy simply flips when we finish the collections sections and move on to individual works. All of the other typefaces listed are for intersections, introductory pages and pull quotes; and they are meant to match the style of the accompanying piece of art—or to contribute to the discussion around the piece.