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The Lure of Paris:
When Albert Bierstadt exhibited the Corcoran's Last of the Buffalo in 1889 in Paris, he joined an increasing number of American artists who looked across the Atlantic for fresh opportunities following the Civil War. The French capital's architecture, gardens, and above all its great number of art academies, exhibitions, and practicing artists inspired many to take advantage of the increased ease of steamship travel in the late 1800s.
Diverse artists trained in Parisian academies. Upon returning to the United States, many utilized somber palettes to meticulously render genre scenes, highly individualized portraits, and landscapes. These dynamic, engaging compositions frequently featured the increasingly urban, ethnically diverse populace that emerged during the Industrial Revolution.
Many painters traveled by train to the French countryside. Some worked near the great French master Claude Monet in his picturesque Giverny surroundings, where they embraced the bright, loosely brushed style of Impressionism. These artists of airy landscapes and views of leisure-class women became important conduits of the new style to their stateside contemporaries. Gilded Age magnates frequently collected these tranquil antidotes to the stresses of turbulent modern life. |