This book is a study of 19th-century American art within the context of French art as presented at the Paris Salons--annual exhibitions of contemporary art which, at the time, were the most important events in the Western world. 48 color plates; l52 halftones.

The Paris Salons of the mid-nineteenth century are famous today above all for the paintings that were rejected more than for those that were actually shown. The rejected works form today's canon of art history and are regarded as heralds of a modern age. This book looks to reassess the other side of the art history of the nineteenth century. Salon Painting has often been dismissed as overly academic or staid. Now art historian Norbert Wolf turns back the pages of history as he reintroduces readers to the artistry and excellence of the Salon Painting in Europe, Britain, Russia and the US. In an opulent new book, illustrated throughout with gorgeous reproductions, Wolf looks at Salon painting from a variety of perspectives, such as the rise of the bourgeoisie and Paris's position as Europe's cultural capitol. Wolf examines masterpieces by Cabanel, Manet, Bierstadt, The Pre-Raphaelites, and Sargent, demonstrating how classical subjects gave way to modern concerns.

Paris was the epicenter of art during the latter half of the nineteenth century, luring artists from around the world with its academies, museums, salons, and galleries. Despite the city's cosmopolitanism and its cultural stature, Parisian society remained strikingly conservative, particularly with respect to gender. Nonetheless, many women painters chose to work and study in Paris at this time, overcoming immense obstacles to access the city's resources. 'Women Artists in Paris, 1850-1900' showcases the remarkable artistic production of women during this period of great cultural change, revealing the breadth and strength of their creative achievements. Guest Curator Laurence Madeline (Chief Curator at Musées d'art et d'histoire, Geneva) has selected close to seventy compelling paintings by women of varied nationalities, ranging from well-known artists such as Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, and Rosa Bonheur, to lesser-known figures such as Kitty Kielland, Louise Breslau, and Anna Ancher.

"Many well-known artists, including Thomas Eakins and Winslow Homer, and lesser-known artists like Harriet Hosmer are closely examined, as is the art world of the time. In addition to discussing the free movement of American visual culture between 'high' and 'low', Barbara Groseclose interweaves nineteenth-century art criticism with current art history, to create a fascinating insight into the changing interpretations of American art of this period."--BOOK JACKET.

"A collection of essays presenting international perspectives on the narratives and the practices grounding the scholarly study of American Art"--Provided by publisher.

John White Alexander, Cecilia Beaux, James Carroll Beckwich, Frank Weston Benson, Nelson Norris Bickford, John Leslie Breck, Dennis Miller Bunker, Mary Stevenson Cassatt, Jefferson David Chalfant, William Merritt Chase, Charles Courtney Curran, Thomas Eakins, Mary Fairchild, Elizabeth Jane Gardner, Abbott Fuller Graves, Ellen Day Hale, Frederick Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, Thomas Hovenden, William Morris Hunt, Anna Elizabeth Klumpke, Willard Leroy Metcalf, Hermann Dudley Murphy, Elizabeth Nourse, Charles Sprague Pearce, Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Theodore Robinson, John Singer Sargent, Julius LeBlanc Stewart, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Edmund Charles Tarbell, John Henry Twachtman, Harry van der Weyden, Frederic Porter Vinton, Robert Vonnoh, Julian Alden Weir, James Abbott McNeill Whistler.