American Impressionists: Painters of Light and the Modern Landscape [Hardcover]

Susan Behrends Frank (Author), Ellen Cohen (Editor), William H. Gerdts (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2007

Luminous works by Childe Hassam, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, John Henry Twachtman, are among the 100 seminal works featured in this book showcasing 27 artists. As members of the first generation of American painters to absorb the technique, brighter palette, and subject matter of Impressionism from their French counterparts, these artists transformed the heroic American landscape into a modern idiom, in atmospheric park and beach scenes, urban views, and charming interiors, with particular interest in optical effects, light, and the seasons. This book provides a vivid summary of the movement, starting with its roots in earlier American art and its relationship to French Impressionism. It charts the response of many of these American artists to one of the most beloved movements in 19th century painting. All of the masterworks are here, in full color, from Hassam's sun-drenced gardens to Twachtman's snowy landscapes. It is a celebration of the Impressionist style and it's fresh interpretatiuon of America's landscapes

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Susan Behrends Frank is assistant curator at The Phillips Collection. Her previous books include Impressionist Still Life. The Phillips Collection, opened in 1921, is America's first museum of modern art in the home of Duncan Phillips.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (May 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847829480
• ISBN-13: 978-0847829484
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 0.9 x 9.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,263,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American Impression: The Modern Landscape (Phillips Collection), March 1, 2008

By 

E. LoCicero (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: American Impressionists: Painters of Light and the Modern Landscape (Hardcover)

The book is filled with works not in other books on the subject (or at least books I'm familiar with). I especially love the details of the pictures. They beautifully depict the brushwork and texture of the works. The book contains a really nice selection of paintings. It also includes biographical information about the artists without too much digging into the meaning of their work. Beautiful book! Amazon sent an email about this book, and I checked it out. Glad I did! I like an art book with more art (after all that's what it's about)...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American Impressionism in One Beautiful Volume, October 30, 2011

By 

L. Potts (Franklin, TN United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: American Impressionists: Painters of Light and the Modern Landscape (Paperback)

I discovered American Impressionism rather late in life, having believed previously that all the Impressionist painters were European. Then I encountered the work of such superb American painters as Childe Hassam, William Merritt Chase, and Frank Weston Benson, to name but a few, and looked around eagerly for books about their lives and work. This volume, American Impressionists: Painters of Light and the Modern Landscape, is now one of my treasures. An excellent introduction by William H. Gerdts on the history of American Impressionism is followed by short essays on the artists and their work, and its place in the important and influential art of their day, written by Susan Behrends Frank. For those already familiar with this background, it might be basic information, but it is well-written and authoritative information that provides an outstanding opening for the second half of the book: the full-color plates.

This has to be one of the best, most brilliant collections of paintings gathered into one book. Reproduction of color and detail is flawless, and the gallery features both the paintings and details from selected works which beautifully educate the reader on each artist's personal style. Size of the paintings is generous--some are two-page spreads, and others, with few exceptions, fill the page. I was thrilled with this, as my eyesight is not as sharp as it was. Anyone learning about American Impressionism for the first time could not do better than to purchase this title and enjoy poring over its pages again and again.