The Everson is a museum of firsts. It was the first museum to dedicate itself to the collection of American art, to create a permanent collection of ceramics, to collect video art, to create a docent program and to hire the now internationally known architect I.M. Pei to design its building, a sculptural work of art in its own right. The Everson is home to more than 10,000 works of art: American paintings, sculpture, drawings, video and one of the largest holdings of international ceramics.