Learning to Paint: American Artists and European Art, 1876-1893

Museum of Art Museum of Art

Exhibition: Learning to Paint: American Artists and European Art, 1876-1893

Dates:

Location:

Center Gallery, Focus Gallery
In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Europe became a training ground for American art students. Goaded by criticism of native art as technically inferior to foreign work, aspiring young men and women crossed the Atlantic to learn the "language" of painting.

Selected Works

"Two Figures by a Pool", 1919 by Gertrude Horsford Fiske, American, 1878-1961, oil on canvas, Gift of Osborne R. and Mary M. Soverel, 1991.100
"Girl Reading", 1920 by Frederick Andrew Bosley, American, 1881-1942, oil on canvas, Gift of Mrs. Eastham Guild, Jr. , 1975.27
"Portrait of A. Bryan Wall", 1904 by Thomas Eakins, American, 1844-1916, oil on canvas, Museum Purchase, George Otis Hamlin Fund, 1962.16
Installation Shot of Center Gallery, "Learning to Paint: American Artists and European Art 1876 - 1893"

About

In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Europe became a training ground for American art students. Goaded by criticism of native art as technically inferior to foreign work, aspiring young men and women crossed the Atlantic to learn the "language" of painting. Some sought formal instruction in academies and studios, while others drew inspiration from studying the achievements of the masters. This exhibition will illuminate the promise and the pitfalls of viewing technical accomplishment as a prerequisite for individual and national expression.

Lecture by Erica Hirshler

Friday, February 26, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium, VAC

Reception to follow at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art