This handsomely produced catalogue is published to accompany an exhibition at Queen Sof�a Spanish Institute that analyzes the rich history of Spain's regional clothing styles through the monumental paintings of Valencian artist Joaqu�n Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923). Celebrated as a painter of light and hailed as a "modern of the moderns" by famed collector Duncan Phillips, Sorolla was one of the most successful artists of his time, lauded for his Manet-esque depictions of Spanish festivals and costume. Here, for the first time, Sorolla's colorful, sunlit paintings are shown side by side with the types of costumes they portray, in a spectacular display of Spain's traditional dress in all its glory. The exhibition was conceived by Spanish Institute Chairman, Oscar de la Renta (who contributes a foreword to this volume), and curated by Vogue's Andr� Leon Talley.

Joaqu n Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923) first achieved major international success with his painting Otra Margarita (Another Marguerite ) (1892), for which he received first prize at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. This painting was also the first work by the Spanish artist to enter an American institution when it was donated to the Museum of Fine Arts (today the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum) at Washington University in St. Louis in 1894. Sorolla's fame in America grew; in 1909, more than 150,000 visitors attended an exhibition of Sorolla's art at The Hispanic Society of America in New York in 1909. Furthermore, the artist was invited to the White House to paint the portrait of President William Howard Taft. The landmark exhibition of 1909 was followed two years later by another major show of more than 150 of his paintings held at the Art Institute of Chicago and the St. Louis Art Museum. Sorolla and America explores the artist's relationship with early twentieth century America through the lens of those who commissioned him, those who collected his works, and those artists, such as John Singer Sargent and William Merritt Chase, with whom Sorolla closely associated. Particular attention is dedicated to the artist's association with The Hispanic Society of America and with key figures like Archer Milton Huntington and Thomas Fortune Ryan

The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal has been published annually since 1974. It contains scholarly articles and shorter notes pertaining to objects in the Museum’s seven curatorial departments: Antiquities, Manuscripts, Paintings, Drawings, Decorative Arts, Sculpture and Works of Art, and Photographs. The Journal also contains an illustrated checklist of the Museum’s acquisitions for the previous year, a staff listing, and a statement by the Museum’s Director outlining the year’s most important activities. Volume 19 of the J. Paul Getty Museum Journal includes articles by Nicholas Penny, Ariane van Suchtelen, Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann and Virginia Roehrig Kaufmann, Frits Scholten, David Harris Cohen, and Dawson W. Carr.

A revealing exploration of Spain's significant impact on American painting in the 19th and early 20th century