A NEW VIEW: 19TH CENTURY
In the years after the Civil War, depictions of familiar, well-worn objects and scenes of rural childhood captured nostalgia for a past imagined to be less complicated than the present. However, as advances in transatlantic transportation made study abroad more accessible, many artists attended academies in Paris and Munich. These artists adopted European styles and developed a more cosmopolitan outlook, perceiving themselves as part of an international art community.
Independent Visions of a New Century
At the turn of the 19th century, the individual vision of the artist was of particular interest. American Impressionists emphasized the artist's "impression" of the world rather than objective reality. Artist groups, such as a the circle known as The Eight, also supported the idea that each artist should be at liberty to develop an independent style rather than be obligated to follow the dictates of the conservative art academies.
The American Highlights installation was curated by Janeen Turk, senior curatorial assistant.
