Tucson Museum of Art
photo by John Hazeltine
Tucson, AZ
502-624-2333
Sunlight and Shadow: American Impressionism 1885-1945
The Tucson Museum of Art is pleased to
present "Sunlight and Shadow: American Impressionism 1885-1945."
This exhibition includes seventy-eight Impressionist works rendered in oil,
watercolor and pastels, dating from 1885 to 1945. The works will be on display
through April 2, 2000. (left: R. Hunter, Summer Garden)
When Claude Monet began painting in what is now known as the Impressionist style, he was seeking to depict a moment in time. Little did he imagine he was actually creating a century long movement which would ignite the imagination of artists from France and the rest of Europe to America.
Imported
from France just prior to the turn of the century, the movement underwent
fundamental changes as it made its way across the Atlantic. Lacking the
impetus which caused it to arise in France in the late 1800's, Impressionism
in America became more of a style than a cause, producing a body of extraordinarily
beautiful works of art. (left: John Noble Barlow, Summer Along
the River)
In most American artists' hands the French rebellion against
the artificiality and polish of academic painting was 
lost. On these shores, American artists went straight
to the heart of the movement's endearing appeal. American artists applied
the idea of squaring off the intense color oppositions to create an exuberant
and immediate sense of color and light to the American landscape. The ever-changing
conditions of the sky and sunlight offered landscapists the opportunity
to capture the unique sunlight and shadow of each of the four seasons.
(right: Louis Kronberg (1872-1965), Portrait, c. 1900, oil on canvas)
Although its focus is on impressionist landscape painting, the exquisite exhibition at the Tucson Museum of Art is not entirely made up of landscapes but also contains still life and portrait paintings.
A private collector through the Fuller Art Museum, Brockton, Mass., has generously loaned this exhibition to TMA. The Tucson show has been underwritten by Edith and Sumner Milender. With the assistance of Smith Kramer, Inc., a fine arts service company, the exhibition will travel to approximately twenty museums across the United States over the next two years.
Please also see our articles on the:
Read more about the Tucson Museum of Art in Resource Library Magazine
For further biographical information please see America's Distinguished Artists, a national registry of historic artists.
rev. 12/27/10
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