The mindset of the American people was one of innovation and growth-- without an underlying culture of innovation, Impressionism could never have taken root. No event better showcased the avant-garde nature of the time than the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. This event showcased not only innovations made by American inventors, but also discoveries and ideas of scientists and engineers on a global platform.
In his opening address at the World’s Fair, President Grover Cleveland said, “I am… surrounded by the stupendous results of American enterprise and activity. We stand… in the presence of the oldest nations of the world and point to the great achievements here exhibited, asking no allowance on the score of youth.”(26) While Cleveland was not speaking explicitly about American art, or the Impressionist movement in general, this quotation could easily be applied to art. Compared to other nations, American art was infantile, barely even living, lacking richness and the history found in European institutions. Despite lacking historical depth, American art was willing to strain against the boundaries, developing more innovative techniques, and moving to the front of the field by accepting new ideas. The American mindset described by Cleveland of endless movement, regardless of age or right, lay in the heart of impressionism: rejecting the old to find the new. For example, the technique of laying pigment directly next to each other instead of blending it in order to let the colors mix in the viewer’s eye lended a new, vibrant quality to artwork that had not been present before.
In the same opening statement, President Cleveland also discussed the value of international collaboration, saying “It is an exalted mission in which we and our guests… are engaged, … and in the undertaking we here enter upon we exemplify in the noblest sense the brotherhood of nations.”(27) America’s long standing isolationist policy finally began to fall by the wayside. Many artists, such as Childe Hassam and Mary Cassatt, traveled to Europe to study for a few years, to learn different techniques with a new, global perspective, so that they could take elements that they liked from each style and bring it together to make their own. They were open minded, allowing for input on a global scale to influence them in order to pursue a higher, elevated form of art that has benefitted from each little fragment instilled in it.
In his opening address at the World’s Fair, President Grover Cleveland said, “I am… surrounded by the stupendous results of American enterprise and activity. We stand… in the presence of the oldest nations of the world and point to the great achievements here exhibited, asking no allowance on the score of youth.”(26) While Cleveland was not speaking explicitly about American art, or the Impressionist movement in general, this quotation could easily be applied to art. Compared to other nations, American art was infantile, barely even living, lacking richness and the history found in European institutions. Despite lacking historical depth, American art was willing to strain against the boundaries, developing more innovative techniques, and moving to the front of the field by accepting new ideas. The American mindset described by Cleveland of endless movement, regardless of age or right, lay in the heart of impressionism: rejecting the old to find the new. For example, the technique of laying pigment directly next to each other instead of blending it in order to let the colors mix in the viewer’s eye lended a new, vibrant quality to artwork that had not been present before.
In the same opening statement, President Cleveland also discussed the value of international collaboration, saying “It is an exalted mission in which we and our guests… are engaged, … and in the undertaking we here enter upon we exemplify in the noblest sense the brotherhood of nations.”(27) America’s long standing isolationist policy finally began to fall by the wayside. Many artists, such as Childe Hassam and Mary Cassatt, traveled to Europe to study for a few years, to learn different techniques with a new, global perspective, so that they could take elements that they liked from each style and bring it together to make their own. They were open minded, allowing for input on a global scale to influence them in order to pursue a higher, elevated form of art that has benefitted from each little fragment instilled in it.
While the Impressionists were at the forefront of the art world and utilized technology to its fullest, they still had reserves to technology with regards to cities and factories. The quintessential Impressionist painting usually depicted elegant gardens, landscapes, or seascapes. They were attached to a life of leisure, spent with nature, in appreciation of natural beauty. Burgeoning industrialism meant that urban sprawl was overtaking these places and replacing them with factories and cities. Some artists flocked to the West, where cowboys were beginning to emerge, and with them, the ideal image of the rugged hero.(28)
Bunker, Dennis Miller. Wild Asters, Study. 1889. Oil on Canvas. Private
collection. Accessed February 23, 2016. http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/
detail.php?ID=45274.
26. "The Great Fair Open.," San Saba County News (San Saba, TX), May 12, 1893, [Page #], accessed February 23, 2016, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86088452/1893-05-12/ed-1/seq-2/#words=fair+GREAT+great+FAIR.
27. "The Great Fair Open.,"
28. H. Barbara Weinberg and Carrie Rebora Barratt, "American Scenes of Everyday Life, 1840-1910," 2009, in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York, NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000), [Page #], accessed February 7, 2016, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/scen/hd_scen.htm.
27. "The Great Fair Open.,"
28. H. Barbara Weinberg and Carrie Rebora Barratt, "American Scenes of Everyday Life, 1840-1910," 2009, in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (New York, NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000), [Page #], accessed February 7, 2016, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/scen/hd_scen.htm.
Cover Image: Childe Hassam, The Water Garden, 1909, oil on canvas, accessed February 23, 2016, http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/14871.