Les Américains à Paris: 1860-1900

In the nineteenth century, Paris was at the centre of the art world and an unstoppable attraction for American students and artists, especially after 1860. They would turn up en masse at the studios of artists like Gérôme and Bougeureau, aspiring to exhibit their works at the annual Paris Salon and following with admiration (and sometimes in horror) developments in the fine arts, such as the irresistible rise of impressionism. Few were the American painters who were able to escape the lure of Paris, and even those who chose not to come and study in the capital were keen to see their efforts applauded by French opinion.

This particularly well researched book examines the role played by American artists in Paris from the Salon des Refusés in 1863 up until the emergence of a recognizably American style of painting.The over one hundred works are analysed in three amply illustrated essays by Kathleen Adler, Erica E. Hirschler, and H. Barbara Weinberg, who explain why these artists came to Paris in the first place, how they reacted to what they found, and what they absorbed from this experience. Contributions by David Park Curry, Rodolphe Rapetti, and Christopher Riopelle provide further invaluable background information about this fascinating period.

Kathleen Adler is the former Director of Education at the National Gallery, London.
Erica E. Hirschler is a curator of Paintings and curator in the Department of American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
H. Barbara Weinberg is curator of American Paintings and Sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NewYork.
David Park Curry is head curator in the Department of Decorative Arts and the Department of American Sculpture and Painting at the Museum of Art, in Baltimore.
Rodolphe Rapetti is head curator of heritage and Deputy Director at the head offices of the Musées de France, in Paris.
Christopher Riopelle is curator of Nineteenth-century Paintings at the National Gallery, in London.