American Impressionism

Beginning with Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), who was the only American to exhibit with the original French group, American artists responded with enthusiasm to the paintings of French Impressionists Claude Monet (1840-1926), Pierre-August Renoir (1841-1919), and Edgar Degas (1834-1917). Their loose brushwork and informal cheerful subjects, coupled with bright primary colors, appealed to Theodore Robinson (1852-1896), Childe Hassam (1859-1935), John Twachtman (1853-1902), Willard Metcalf (1858-1925), and others, whose canvases capture the impression of light and atmosphere.

French Impressionism, understood as a novel creation of light and atmosphere based on the manipulation of optical effects, the relationships of complementary colors, and loose brushwork, was one of many experimental modes that inspired American artists.

While some Americans chose to remain in France, others, like Hassam, returned to New York after studying in Paris. Soon, by their example and through their teaching, they inspired generations to come. Many chose to work outdoors, once paint became available in tubes for the first time. While New York remained the art center of the country, the Impressionists fled the city in the summer and congregated at art colonies along the East Coast, particularly on the Connecticut shore at Cos Cob and Old Lyme.