Rarely has the exceptional collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art traveled outside of its home in Washington, D.C.

The Corcoran opened its doors in 1869 as the first art museum in the United States capital.

Today, the Corcoran features a collection of exceptional quality, depth, and breadth featuring numerous icons in the history of American art.

Making only one stop east of the Mississippi, "Encouraging American Genius: Master Paintings from the Corcoran Gallery of Art" will be on view through Dec. 31 at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte.

A tour of this nature enhances the fine reputation of The Mint Museums' that has been established through the museums' inclusion with national tours, such as "Renaissance to Rococo: Masterpieces from the Collection of the Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art," "Raphael to Monet, European Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore," "Andrew Wyeth: The Helga Pictures," and "Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration."

"Encouraging American Genius: Master Paintings from the Corcoran Gallery of Art" focuses on a wide range of works spanning from the late 18th century American colonial era through the first half of the 20th century and features 74 works from the Corcoran's world-renowned collection.

This visually stunning exhibition will be organized around the Corcoran's three areas of greatest strength in American painting: Hudson River School landscapes, canvases from the Gilded Age, and early 20th century realism.

Hudson River School works will be celebrations of the New World terrain such as Thomas Cole's famous cycle "Departure and Return" (1837), Frederic Church's majestic "Niagara" (1857), and Albert Bierstadt's operatic "Mount Corcoran" (c. 1876-77).

The rapid changes wrought by America's Gilded Age will feature John Singer Sargent's "Madame Pailleron" (1897) and Thomas Eakins' "Singing a Pathetic Song" (1881).

Portraying the pulsating energy and change of the 20th century will be engaging realist works like George Bellow's "Forty-two Kids" (1907), John Sloan's "Yeats at Petitpas" (1910), and Edward Hopper's "Ground Swell" (1939).

Well-known examples by early masters like John Singleton Copley and Joshua Johnson will introduce the exhibition, and striking compositions such as those by modernist greats Maurice Prendergast, Thomas Hart Benton and Aaron Douglas.

Late 19th century works by trompe-l'oeil master William Michael Harnett, realist Richard Norris Brooke, and American Barbizon painter George Inness, among many others, will round out this veritable walk through American history and culture.

"Encouraging American Genius: Master Paintings from the Corcoran Gallery of Art" was organized by Sarah Cash, Bechhoefer Curator of American Art at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

The Mint Museum of Art is located at 2730 Randolph Road in Charlotte.

Hours are Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m.

Admission is free at the Mint Museum of Art from 5 to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, $3 for ages 6 to 17, and free for members and children 5 and younger.