American Art History
By Vanessa Nguyen
Art Schools
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Hudson River School - (1825-1875) This was a
group of painters whose work reflected their pride
of American landscape. The second generation of
this school were “luminist artist” because of their
usage of art
Rocky Mountain School - (1858-1900) These
were western artists who painted the frontier
experience and the Rocky Mountains. They are
similar to the painters of the Hudson River School
because they also painted landscape. The frontier
life they depicted in their art included Indian
scenes, landscape and army life.
American Impressionism
American Impressionism
began in the late
nineteenth century. A
characteristic of
Impressionism is the
objective to visual
reality in terms of
transient effects of
light and color. This is
Mary Cassatt’s Mother
and Child (1886).
The Ten
The Ten were a group of 10 American painters who were
first exhibited together in 1898, in New York City, and
continued to do so for the next 20 years. The group’s
members’ works differed in technique and subject
matter from that of artists who participated in the large
annual exhibitions of the Society of American Artists
and the National Academy of Design. The members
hoped to draw public attention to their small,
independent group and thereby to their paintings. The
members of The Ten were Childe Hassam, John Henry
Twachtman, J. Alden Weir, Thomas W. Dewing, Joseph
De Camp, Frank W. Benson, Willard Leroy Metcalf,
Edmund Charles Tarbell, Robert Reid, and E.E.
Simmons. When Twachtman died, in 1902, he was
replaced by William Merritt Chase.
Trompe L’oeil Painters
In the paintings, the
representation of an
object has such
verisimilitude as to
deceive the viewer
concerning the material
reality of the object. The
object “deceives the eye”
because it looks so
realistic. This is
Raphaelle Peale’s Still
Life.
The Eight (The Ashcan School)
Their paintings (1900-1920)
realistically depicted daily life in
American urban environment,
specializing in people on
crowded streets and at the
park, theaters and
entertainment spectacles. The
original Eight included Robert
Henri, leader of the group,
Everett Shinn, John Sloan,
Arthur B. Davies, Ernest
Lawson, Maurice Prendergast,
George Luks, and William J.
Glackens. Later the group was
joined by George Bellows.
This is Robert Henri’s Street
Scene.
Dada
This movement started
in 1916 as a revolt
against World War I.
Originating in
France, it fostered
creativity by
rebelling against
traditional forms of
logic, art and
culture. This is Man
Ray’s Legend (1916).
Futurism/Cubism
Futurist/Cubist painting
(1909) was mainly a
European movement.
A few American
painters attemted to
show pace and
movement of American
cities with fractured
prisms of light. This is
Picasso’s Girl with Dark
Hair.
Photo Secession
This movement (1905-1917)
was headed by photographer
Alfred Stielglitz. In 1902 he
became one of the founders
of the Photo-Secession, a
group of talented avant-garde
artists. He also founded and
directed the Photo-Secession
Gallery, also known as Gallery
291, which exhibited not only
the work of contemporary
photographers, but also
works of Picasso, Rodin,
Matisse and ToulouseLautrec.
Art Deco
Art deco was a product of the
fertile artistic exchange
between Paris, France, and
New York City that occurred
after World War I (1914-1918).
Art deco is characterized by
sleek, streamlined forms;
geometric patterns; and
experiments with industrial
materials such as metals,
plastics, and glass. Art Deco
influenced American
architecture evident in New
York City's skyscrapers of the
1920-1930s like the Chrysler,
Daily News, and Empire State
buildings. This is Rockwell
Kent’s Workers of the World,
Unite.
Precisionism
Precisionism was a style of early
twentieth century painting in
which depicted scenes-- many
of industrial architecture-- or
objects. Precisionists typically
depicted mechanical and
industrial subject matter, such
as smokestacks, steel
foundries, or grain elevators.
These subjects were usually
reduced or simplified to
geometric forms and rendered
in bright and clear light, by a
combination of abstraction and
realism. This is Charles
Demuth’s Figure 5 in Gold,
1928.
American Scene Painting
American Scene painting describes
scenes of typical American life
painted c.1920-c.1942. Much of
this work is also included within
Regionalism and Social
Realism. Born in the aftermath
of World War I, American Scene
painting developed partly as an
outgrowth of the Ashcan
school, and partly as a reaction
to French modernism. This
movement came from interest
in celebrating the democratic
ideals of America by promoting
subject-matter accessible to
the masses. This is Mabel
Dwight Railway Station, 1935.
The Harlem Renaissance
During the (1919-1929)
Harlem Renaissance,
African American artists
in all art forms received
recognition. Many young
African American artists
were recruited to paint
murals by the
government during the
depression. This is
William H. Johnson’s
Swing Low Sweet
Chariot.
Social Realism
Social Realism is a form of
naturalistic realism focusing
specifically on social
problems and the hardships
of everyday life. The term
most commonly refers to
the urban American Scene
artists of the Depression
era, who were greatly
influenced by the Ashcan
School of early 20th century
New York City. This Luke
Fildes’ Applicants for
Admission to a Casual
Ward.
Abstract Expressionism
Abstract Expressionism,
movement in mid-20thcentury painting that was
primarily concerned with
the spontaneous assertion
of the individual through
the act of painting. The
movement contains a
variety of styles and is
characterized more by the
concepts behind the art
than by a specific look.
This is de Kooning's Marilyn
Monroe.
Hard-Edge
With the creation of polymer
paints, new techniques
were possible in 19581960’s. Artists started to
apply masking tape to
canvas in order to make
straight edges. Hard-egde
referred to brightly colored
geometric paintings where
colors didn’t blend into
each other, but were next
to each other. This is
William DeKoornbolt’s
Indigo Dancing.
Color Field Painting
In Color Field Paintings
(1960) large printed
canvases were
stained with acrylic
paints without use of
strong tonal
contrasts or visible
brushstrokes. The
paintings usually
involved few colors.
This is Milton Avery’s
Pitcher Painter.
Pop Art
Pop Art (1945-1965)
reacted to the emotional
quality of Abstract
Expressionism through
the use of banal
consumer products as
themes. The techniques
were often direct copies
of advertising techniques
such as the Benday dot,
or comic book styles.
This is Andy Worhol’s
Marilyn, 1964.
Conceptual Art
Conceptual Art (1970 to
present) is more an
idea of art than it is
actual artwork.
Sometimes it is
writen or drawn, but
not always executed.
The location of the
artwork is sometimes
in the mind of the
viewer. This is Man
Ray’s Palais.
Photorealism and Hyperrealism
These 1967-1977 artists
used the everyday
environment for their
subjects as seen
through the eye of a
camera. Photorealists
tended to specialize,
one doing signs,
another faces, and so
on. This is Olga
Antonova’s
 Still Life with Tangerine .
Earth Art
Earth Art (1968 to
present day) began
when artist used a
new medium (piles
of rocks or dirt).
Materials might be
shaped by chance
(heap of sand) or by
an artist. This is
Robert Smithson’s
Spiral Jetty
Feminist Art
This movement started
in the late 1960’s.
Women artists
combined female
subjects with female
objects such as quilts,
fibers, and ceramics
to make a statement
about feminism. This
is Audrey Flack’s
Hannah.
The end.