American Impressionism: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum [Paperback]

Elizabeth Prelinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2000 | Series: Treasures from the Smithsonian

The best work of American artists influenced by European Impressionism comes together in these appealing pages. As a generation of painters studied abroad and absorbed new approaches to light, palette, and composition, their landscapes, cityscapes, figural paintings, and still lifes began to exude their own distinct departures from academic styles. Shown are works by James McNeill Whistler, Childe Hassam, John Twachtman, Maria Oakey Dewing, William Merritt Chase, Edmund Tarbell, Frank Benson, Maurice Prendergast, and others.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These picture books accompany four of the eight exhibitions traveling through 2002 while the National Museum of American Art undergoes renovation. They cover periods or themes in American art and historyDthe West from the Louisiana Purchase to the Taos School, young America from 1760 to the Civil War, the Gilded Age from the Civil War into the 1920s, and American Impressionism from 1880 to 1930. Organized alphabetically by artist, each book presents single-page color plates facing brief entries of 100-150 words written by the museum's staff. With the minimal text and the arrangement by artist, the books lack sustained arguments. Nevertheless, they give a broad overview of their particular periods, including many famous and less-well-known works, and will make quite affordable additions to public libraries. (Illustrations seen only in galleys.)DJack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (June 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823001903
• ISBN-13: 978-0823001903
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Impressionism
  • #20 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Post-Impressionism

Customer Reviews

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An embarassment of riches, May 29, 2009

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M. Duo "Qatramans" (Ahm in the sahth, below the Mason Dixon Lon) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: American Impressionism: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Paperback)

From the dust jacket to the final page, American Impressionism is worth its weight in gold, if only for the incredible number of color plates, intelligently presented. As a student of the American impressionists, I have spent hours at the Smithsonian, drinking in the richness of this wonderful section of our country's art history. The colors are extremely good in this Smithsonian publication, and no place else will you find as thorough a documentation of this era. It's so attractive a volume, it makes for a coffee table book of distinction, even if you are not well versed in this particular group of art works.