American Paintings

Key themes

The Formation of American National Identity

This theme explores how American painters, from the colonial period through the early 20th century, contributed to and reflected a developing sense of national identity. The book showcases how artists depicted unique American landscapes, historical events, and figures to forge a visual language for a new nation, often wrestling with definitions of patriotism, individualism, and collective experience.

Landscape as Metaphor and Reflection

The book extensively features American landscape painting, illustrating how artists used the genre not just to depict nature, but to convey deeper meanings about spirituality, manifest destiny, environmental concerns, and the impact of industrialization. It shows the evolution from romanticized wilderness to more nuanced or even critical views of man's relationship with the land.

The Influence of European Art and the Search for American Style

The catalog implicitly explores the ongoing dialogue between American artists and their European counterparts. It illustrates how American painters often trained in Europe, absorbed various European styles (e.g., Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Impressionism, Modernism), and then adapted or transformed these influences to create a distinctively American artistic language and subject matter.

Worth discussing

How does the Met's collection, as presented in this catalog, define 'American Art'? What are the inclusions and exclusions, and what might they signify?