American Impressionism
http://www.gavinspanierman.com/current-exhibition
Impressionism emerged in the 1860s in France as an artistic style characterized by loose brushwork and vivid colors. The idea was to capture the excitement of modern life employing a modern technique with a high-key palette, natural light and a loose, but rapid brushstroke. It was not until the mid-1880s that American collectors sought to own impressionist works, and more American artists began to experiment with the style. Major exhibitions of French impressionist works exhibited in Boston and New York in the 1880s exposed American artists to the modern technique, which sought to escape academic rigors of meticulous technique and unnatural subjects embedded in the past, and pursue a more vibrant style. While embracing contemporary life, the American Impressionists imbued their subjects with a sense of nostalgia, a cry for the past in which they found in the rural landscapes along the eastern coast. Colonies set up in rural Connecticut and the shores of New York gave the artists a sense of escape from the growing industries found in urban settings and evoked a more tranquil era. Artists included: John Leslie Breck, Theodore Earl Butler, Colin Campbell Cooper, John E. Costigan, Childe Hassam, F. Luis Mora, Willard L. Metcalf, William Lamb Picknell, Maurice Prendergast, Theodore Robinson, George Gardner Symons, and John Henry Twachtman.
