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The American artistic horizon changed radically during the early decades of the nineteenth century. The formation of galleries and art academies in major cities through the union, where European paintings on loan from local collectors hung side by side with American ones - compelled artists to show their best work. Such inspiration also inspired artists and collectors to fully explore the various genres of painting: landscape, history, still life, and narrative. By mid-century, the collective work of American artists represented a rich pageant of styles and subject matter, and it had become common for painters and sculptors to seek European education. They travelled to Dusseldorf, Florence, London, Munich, Paris, and Rome, worked with a great variety of masterful instructors, and studied art on their journeys beyond the studio. As a result, American artists explored their national identity as often as they gave expression to foreign subjects, and their modes of working involved a tremendous degree of assimilation and adaptation.
The principal art centers during this period were New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, but other cities throughout the country maintained vital artistic communities, usually supported by talented artists and avid collectors. Within the state of Ohio burgeoned a tremendous art market that saw its greatest activity in the Cincinnati region and engendered work from myriad talented artists, some local to the area, others just passing through for commissions.
Web LINKS
Brigham Young University Museum of Art
19th Century American Portraiture
http://www.byu.edu/moa/education/resource/19thcent.html
Michigan State University Kresge Art Museum
Masterpieces of 19th Century American Landscape Painting
http://www.msu.edu/~kamuseum/exhibitions/online/american/amintro.html
National Gallery of Art
Themes in American Art: Topographical Views
http://www.nga.gov/education/american/topography.htm
Themes in American Art: The Figure
http://www.nga.gov/education/american/figure.htm
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