The Terra Foundation for American Art, a Chicago-based institution, is dedicated to facilitating research and knowledge of the historical art of the United States across the globe. Its Paris Center is the nexus of the foundation’s grant and fellowship programs in Europe, which include support to exhibitions as well as academic programs.

The Paris Center hosts an international community of art historians and scholars and provides a regular public forum of dialogues, lectures, and symposia on the art and visual culture of the United States. It houses the Terra Foundation Library of American Art, the only research library in Europe devoted exclusively to the artistic and cultural history of visual arts of the United States, with a special emphasis on transnational artistic exchange. 

The Paris Center partners with institutions across Europe and offers research and teaching fellowships, publication grants and prizes, as well as residencies in Giverny, France to enable continued engagement with American art and scholarship. It also organizes exhibitions and produces scholarly volumes that contribute to international research on topics in American art.