19th-Century American Art
Gallery 2
In the early 19th century, American artists broadened their subject scope to include still-life paintings and landscapes. While some artists were immigrating to the U.S. from England and Europe, home-grown artists were being trained by newly organized art schools in places like Philadelphia, Boston, Cincinnati, and New York.
By the 1830s, paintings of the American landscape were the most popular subject. American landscape paintings were believed to represent the world before the intervention of man. Wrapped within the notion of America’s unsullied land was the belief in the country’s manifest destiny and its westward expansion entitlement.
By the 1870s, American artists, like their European counterparts, were completing their artistic studies in the famous European academies and art schools. In their pursuit of excellence, many artists borrowed from the images, costuming, and landscape of ancient Italy, attempting to recreate the grandeur and beauty of the ancient past. |
