American Gilded Age · American Impressionism · American Women Artists · Exhibitions · New York City

Breaking All Bounds: American Women Artists (1825-1945), An Exhibition and Sale

Hawthorne Fine Art is pleased to present a new group show entitled, “Breaking All Bounds: American Women Artists (1825-1945), An Exhibition and Sale.” The majority of the works from this show date from the period in the nineteenth century when academic training was primarily for men. Beginning in the Gilded Age, during the rise of… Continue reading Breaking All Bounds: American Women Artists (1825-1945), An Exhibition and Sale

American Gilded Age · Essay · Works on Paper

A Portrait of Her Father in the Studio

Opportunities for women artists in the nineteenth century had advanced little beyond the informal apprenticeships originating in the Renaissance. While specialized art academies were founded across Europe beginning in the eighteenth century, these schools rarely admitted women. The culture was such that art made by women was considered “domestic” or “amateur” up until the early… Continue reading A Portrait of Her Father in the Studio

American Gilded Age · Essay · Works on Paper

‘Medium Specificity’ in Nineteenth Century Watercolors: Winslow Homer and Julian Alden Weir

In the watercolor Autumn Trees from 1878, Winslow Homer nicked the surface of his drawing to create curt, white marks seen across the swath of grass in the foreground of the scene. This enlivening technique, though present in the work of other artists including J. M. W. Turner, is unusual for Homer. It is likely the… Continue reading ‘Medium Specificity’ in Nineteenth Century Watercolors: Winslow Homer and Julian Alden Weir

American Gilded Age · American Impressionism · Essay

Aesthetics of the Nude: Childe Hassam and George Ault

In his 1988 treatise on Pablo Picasso’s painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), art historian Leo Steinberg asks us, “Are the anatomies of these women… a matter of changing taste, or of substituting the abstract expressiveness of sharp angles for anatomical curves?”[1] The subtext of Steinberg’s query is clear: is it the way the nude is… Continue reading Aesthetics of the Nude: Childe Hassam and George Ault

American Gilded Age · American Impressionism · Essay

Viewing New York in the Interwar Period

New York City of the late 1920s and 1930s – an era bracketed by World Wars – witnessed cultural change colored by societal contradictions. A unique combination of ethnic diversity, white-collar industries, and concentrated wealth made the city a playground for the intellectual elite. Accordingly, “writers, painters, and musicians were increasingly drawn to the city”… Continue reading Viewing New York in the Interwar Period