American impressionism : a new vision, 1880-1900 /

In the 19th century, American artists generally went to Europe to study, so it was only natural that in the 1880s, artists such as John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, Mary Cassatt, Childe Hassam, and others were drawn to the new impressionist style of some of their teachers and fellow painters. This catalog for an exhibition that opened at the Giverny Museum of Impressionisms and is currently at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh includes reproductions of 60 of the 80 paintings in the show; three essays "Impressionism and Nationalism: the American Case" by Richard Brettell (art and aesthetic studies, Univ. of Texas, Dallas), "American Artists in Europe: Engaging with Impressionism" by Frances Fowle (curator, National Galleries of Scotland), and "Painting Impressionism in America" by Katherine M. Bourguignon (curator, Terra Fdn. for American Art); artist biographies; and a chronology of American impressionism from 1874 to 1900. VERDICT While Donelson F. Hoopes's The American Impressionists (1972) and William H. Gerdts's American Impressionism (2001) remain the standard works on the subject, this carefully researched catalog is as thought provoking as it is beautiful and will appeal to art historians and students as well as lovers of American impressionism.-Marcia G. Welsh, Dartmouth Coll. Lib., Hanover, NH (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.