Americans in Paris, 1860-1900

A Special Exhibition Review by Anne-Marie Jacobus

If one were passionate about 19th century art, Americans in Paris, 1860-1900 would be one of the most definitive exhibitions to see this year. Your heart will flutter with excitement at seeing so many iconic and famous works of art in one space and, by the time you leave this exhibition, you will be overcome with such a strong romantic sensibility that you will be dreaming of escaping to a bohemian life in Paris.

This exhibition was organized by the National Gallery, London, the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, and in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. It seeks to examine the relationship between the city of Paris and the American artists who came to the city to train and study between 1860 and 1900. This period would inspire some of the most important and iconic work ever to be completed by American artists such as James Abbott Mc Neill Whistler (1834-1903), John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) and Winslow Homer (1836-1910). Original works created by these and many other artists during the period separate the exhibition into themes that explore the Parisian lifestyle, as well as the academic and practical instruction adopted by American students.

By the end of the nineteenth century, Paris had become the "cultural capital" of the world. During this exciting period, the city seemed to beckon like a seductive mistress who promised to reveal her secrets to American artists from across the Atlantic. Students came in large numbers to train at various Académies and in the studios of the great artists of the day, like Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) and Carolus-Duran (1837-1917), who had taken on American pupils. Parisian Salons provided an added arena in which expatriated painters might prove their artistic merit.

Appropriately, "Paris As Training Ground" is the first theme in the exhibition and explores the significance of why American artists were drawn to the city for study. Art académies there specialized in providing artists with the training to compete in both the French Salons and at home. Importantly, especially when compared to other French Académies, the Académie Julian in Paris was one of the few in the late nineteenth century that offered women artists the opportunity to train in an academic environment typically reserved for men. An example of this restriction can be seen in the stance taken by the official art school of France, the École des Beaux-Arts. This institution did not allow women to enter its doors until 1897, and then only after the school had struggled for over thirty years with the concept that women were at all capable of academic instruction in the visual arts. Women were not the only minority to be found studying in Paris during this time, as African-American artists like Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) also found success here.

Alternatives to the académies were the many independent artists studios throughout the city that welcomed American pupils. Enthusiastic artists had the opportunity to learn directly from the masters themselves and, in this environment, students were offered greater artistic freedom compared to the Académies' more formulaic style of painting instruction. The studios varied from being incredibly competitive to being more relaxed environments where students would regularly spend much of their free time together.


James Abbott Mc Neill Whistler (American, 1834-1903)
Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl, 1862
Oil on canvas
213 x 107.9 cm (83 7/8 x 42 1/2 in.)
Harris Whittemore Collection
1943.6.2
© National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.


The second theme of the exhibition focuses on the submission of work by American artists competing with their European peers in the all-important French Salon. In this, artists both male and female were able to have their work viewed by the public, their peers and critics alike, affording the artists greater visibility. Whistler summed up the significance of the Salon with his belief that "Success in Paris meant more than rejection in London."

All of the paintings found in this section of Americans in Paris... were submitted to the Paris Salon for competition. But one particular entry that had caused disapproval was Whistler's Symphony in White, No.1: The White Girl (1862), famously rejected by both London's Royal Academy jury in 1862 and the 1863 Paris Salon. That same year, Whistler's painting was accepted at the Salon des Refusés where it became one of the most controversial works of art in an exhibition brimming with controversy.


Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859-1937)
Les Invalides, Paris, 1896
Oil on canvas
33.3 x 41.0 cm (13 1/8 x 16 1/8 in.)
Daniel J. Terra Collection, 1999.140
© Terra Foundation for American Art


The third theme in the exhibition explores how the Americans embraced living in Paris. Paintings in this section mirror that which the artists observed as visitors in French society. The exotica of their adopted city seemed to fascinate their artistic sensibilities and the essence of their surroundings was frequently captured in cityscapes and intimate genre paintings. Most of the works in this part of the exhibition are small and appear to be quickly sketched, as if the artists were hurriedly trying to capture a moment before it was lost. Examples of such painterly style can be seen in the works of Henry Ossawa Tanner's Les Invalides, Paris (1896) and John Singer Sargent's Rehearsal of the Paseldup Orchestra at the Cinque d'Hiver (about 1879-80).


Mary Stevenson Cassatt (American, 1844-1926)
Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, 1878
Oil on canvas
Overall: 89.5 x 129.8 cm (35 1/4x51 1/8 in.)
Collection of Mr. And Mrs. Paul Mellon
1983.1.18
© National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.


The fourth and fifth themes are both devoted to capturing in portraiture the society of American artists and expats living in Paris during this period. The fourth theme focuses specifically on the intimate and subtle work of Mary Cassatt. Cassatt frequently painted her friends' and family members' portraits in domestic interior scenes. Her paintings often appear like inviting photographs, almost as if Cassatt is allowing the viewer to become a confidant into the private lives of the sitters in her paintings. Such intimacy is reflected in Cassatt's Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (1878).


John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925)
The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1878
Oil on canvas
221.93 x 222.57 cm (87 3/8 x 87 5/8 in.)
Gift of Mary Louisa Boit, Julia Overing Boit,
Jane Hubbard Boit, and Florence D. Boit in memory of
their father, Edward Darley Boit, 1919
19.124
© Museum of Fine Arts, Boston


In contrast to Cassatt's subtle and overly familiar portraits that are reminiscent of the shared intimacy of 17th century Dutch interiors, in the fifth theme we have John Singer Sargent's grand provocative portraits of American expats living in Paris. His work is bold and commanding compared to Cassatt's understatements, as seen in Sargent's haunting The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (1882) and the iconic Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) (1883-84). Both paintings were considered scandalous due to their subject matter and composition, and both challenged conventional standards of portraiture.


John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925)
Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau), 1883-84
Oil on canvas
208.6 x 109.9 cm (82 1/8 x 43 1/4 in.)
Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1916 (16.53)
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art


The sixth theme in the exhibition explores the American vision of French landscapes and seascapes created during the warm summer months, when many of the artists embarked on holidays to the coasts of Normandy and Brittany or the cool country villages of Giverny and Barbizon. Here in the French countryside, struggling American and foreign artists came together united by their desire to escape the Parisian summer heat for the visual feast that surrounded the areas. As a result, these holidays provided the means for many artists to create works that would be sold off to help pay for their continued artistic training.

The seventh and final theme of the exhibition examines the influence of the French artistic manner on the American art market and how the American artist, once back in the United States after studying in Paris, adapted their work to suit the home market. The end result was the emergence of works of that merged Impressionist stylization with a wholesome Americana subject matter. The influence of the "French Manner" did not end with works of art, but was also included in the transference of technical principles to a new generation of American art students. Finally, visual artists like Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895) and Mary Cassatt were important agents in the formation of French art in American Collections.

Because of an unbalanced arrangement of "star" pieces, by the time the viewer reaches the tail end of the exhibition there is a sense that the visual feast has ebbed away somewhat. That is until the Frederick Childe Hassam (1859-1935) painting, Allies Day, May 1917 (1917) closes the show with one final hurrah.


Frederick Childe Hassam (American, 1859-1935)
Allies Day May 1917, 1917
Oil on canvas
93.5 x 77 cm (36 13/16 x 30 5/16 in.)
Gift of Ethelyn McKinney in memory of
her brother, Glenn Ford McKinney
1943.9.1
© National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.


In conclusion, Americans in Paris... displays some of the most iconic and famous paintings created by nineteenth century American artists. This alone contributes to the exhibition being a most visually sumptuous experiences, making the visit worthwhile just for the opportunity to see these many works confined in one space.

Click here for a large gallery of additional works of art in the special exhibition.

Catalogue:

Adler, Kathleen, Erica E. Hirshler and
H. Barbara Weinberg (eds.) et al.
American in Paris: 1860-1900 (exh. cat.).
London: National Gallery, 2006.

For further reading:

Weinberg, B. H., G. P. Weisberg and G. Hardy.
Americans in Paris 1850-1910: The Academy, the Salon,
the Studio, and the Artists Colony.
Oklahoma City: Oklahoma City Museum, 2004.

Weisberg, G. P. and J. R. Becker (eds.). Overcoming All
Obstacles: The Women of the Academie Julian.
New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1999.

Fischer, Diane P. (ed.), Linda Docherty, et al.
Paris 1900: The "American School" At the Universal Exposition.
New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1999.

Eisenman, Stephen F., et al.
Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History.
London: Thames & Hudson, 1994.

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From your Guide: Anne-Marie Jacobus, Correspondent for Museums and Special Exhibitions, is a specialist in the history of nineteenth-century art collecting with a special focus on women collectors of European decorative arts and oriental porcelain, and gender issues relating to female artists during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.