American Impressionism
Started: 1880
Ended: 1920
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THE ART STORY
 | American Art Definition Page |
 | Impressionism Movement Page |
KEY ARTISTS
 | Mary Cassatt Quick View Artist Page |
| Mary Cassatt |  |
| Mary Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker active in France in the late nineteenth century. She was closely associated with Impressionism, and her signature subjects were intimate, domestic scenes of women, mothers, and children. Art Story: Mary Cassatt Artist Page | ||
 | John Singer Sargent Quick View Artist Page |
| John Singer Sargent | |
| John Singer Sargent was the premiere portraitist of his generation, well-known for his depictions of high society figures in Paris, London, and New York. He updated a centuries-old tradition in order to capture his sitters' character and even reputation. Art Story: John Singer Sargent Artist Page | ||
 | Childe Hassam Quick View Artist Page |
| Childe Hassam | |
| Childe Hassam is one of the giants of American Impressionism - he turned his art into an industry that mirrored the rapid industrialization of America at the turn of the twentieth century. In hundreds of works, he strove to depict both the frenzied pace of city life as well as the unspoiled expanses of nature. Art Story: Childe Hassam Artist Page | ||
 | William Merritt Chase Quick View Further External Info  |
| William Merritt Chase | |
| William Merritt Chase was an American painter and proponent of Impressionism. Chase brought the then new European style of painting to America, disseminating its methods through his works and his teaching at the Chase School of Art. Chase taught artists such as Georgia O'Keefe and Marsden Hartley. Further External Info | ||
"I think that if you shake the tree, you ought to be around when the fruit falls to pick it up."
Summary of American Impressionism
Like much of the art world, American painters of the late 19th-century were stunned and startled by the dazzling colors and vibrant brushwork of French Impressionism, yet by the century's end, Americans would be among the most passionate devotees of the Impressionist style. Inspired by the novel approaches to painting modern life embodied in French Impressionism, American Impressionism adopted bright palettes and loose brushstrokes to capture the intimate beauty of everyday American life. Whether capturing the natural world or urban energy, the American Impressionists broke with the traditional expectations of academic art to usher in the first popular, modern art movement in America.
Key Ideas
Beginnings:
With the end of the Civil War and a new era of American prosperity, the wealthy built large houses to showcase their success. In order to demonstrate their cosmopolitan taste, they furnished these mansions with furniture and art imported from Europe. Although American artists such as the Hudson River School and the Tonalists had developed distinctively national styles, their paintings did not command the prices of European art; American art was not considered fashionable or sophisticated. To become a respected artist, it was necessary for Americans to train in the famous art schools of London and Paris and adopt the academic styles taught there.
Important Art and Artists of American Impressionism | |
  | Mrs. Chase in Prospect Park (1886)Artist: William Merritt Chase Artwork description & Analysis: William Merritt Chase was one of the earliest American artists to incorporate Impressionism into his work. His series on the Prospect Park in Brooklyn, which he painted and exhibited in 1886, exemplifies his Impressionist style. Here, Chase depicts his future wife sitting in a row boat in a small lake. There is a sense of ease as she strikes a contemplative pose. The park offered a convenient spot to paint en plein air, following the example of the French. Furthermore, as a natural space engineered by people in the midst of an urban environment, the park provided the perfect backdrop for Chase's vision of upper class leisure and genteel interaction with light and nature. Prospect Park was also an answer to the sophisticated spaces of European capitals, arguing that American cities had evolved to include such cultural considerations. Oil on panel - Metropolitan Museum of Art |
 | Paul Helleu Sketching with his Wife (1889)Artist: John Singer Sargent Artwork description & Analysis: John Singer Sargent was not a fully-fledged American Impressionist, but he had an important impact on the development of the movement as a conduit of new ideas from Paris to friends and colleagues in the states. His own style mixed elements of Impressionism with more traditional, academic portraiture. In this painting, Sargent depicts his friend, the French artist Paul Helleu, painting outdoors with his wife. Oil on canvas - Brooklyn Museum, New York |
 | Woman Sitting with a Child in Her Arms (c.1890)Artist: Mary Cassatt Artwork description & Analysis: Although she developed her painterly style in tandem with artists such as Degas and Camille Pissarro, Cassatt's position as both a woman and an American positioned her as an outsider. While she was not quite as restricted by her gender as was her French-born colleague, Berthe Morisot, Cassatt tended to represent feminine subjects and domestic interiors. Unable to visit the racecourses, dance academies and cafes favored by her male counterparts, Cassatt painted the spaces and scenes she had easy access to among her acquaintances. Oil on canvas - Museo Bilbao, Spain |
More American Impressionism Artwork and Analysis:
Content compiled and written by Anna Souter
Edited and revised, with Synopsis and Key Ideas added by Sarah Archino
" Movement Overview and Analysis". [Internet]. . TheArtStory.org
Content compiled and written by Anna Souter
Edited and revised, with Synopsis and Key Ideas added by Sarah Archino
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First published on 30 Jul 2018. Updated and modified regularly. 
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