United States

Prendergast humbly entered the shimmering world of 19th-century Parisian art by working on a cattle boat for his passage to Europe in 1884. The young artist stayed for three years, absorbing the influence of Impressionism, which led him to use color to emphasize form and rhythm in an intensely personal mode of expression. In The Holiday, Prendergast painted a tapestrylike scene, outlining figures, trees, and water in lively, dancing brushstrokes.

Despite its small size and isolation, Maine’s Appledore Island played a large role in Hassam’s life, shaping the course of his career and artistic development. The writer Nathaniel Hawthorne described Appledore, “it seems as if some of the materials of the world remained superfluous, after the Creator had finished, and were carelessly thrown down here, where the millionth part of them emerge from the sea, and in the course of thousands of years, have got partially bestrewn with a little soil.”

Despite its small size and isolation, Maine’s Appledore Island played a large role in Hassam’s life, shaping the course of his career and artistic development. The writer Nathaniel Hawthorne described Appledore, “it seems as if some of the materials of the world remained superfluous, after the Creator had finished, and were carelessly thrown down here, where the millionth part of them emerge from the sea, and in the course of thousands of years, have got partially bestrewn with a little soil.”

In 1920 Bellows depicted his colleague Waldo Peirce, an irreverent painter, Harvard graduate, and friend of the writer Ernest Hemingway and the socialist activist John Reed. Peirce’s work had begun to receive serious recognition in the mid-1920s, and Bellows’s respect for his friend is evident in this portrait. The sitter leans forward slightly, conveying a remarkable sense of immediacy and liveliness, while the glowing colors and solid geometry imbue the picture with monumentality.

When this portrait was painted, Marjorie Organ Henri had been married to the artist for less than two years. “O,” as Henri called her, was a successful cartoonist for the New York Journal, and her caricatures appeared regularly in print. This portrait challenged the conventions of society portraiture; posing her against a dark background, the artist’s psychological realism presents her as independent, confident, and self-possessed—the very model of the period’s “New Woman.”

When this portrait was painted, Marjorie Organ Henri had been married to the artist for less than two years. “O,” as Henri called her, was a successful cartoonist for the New York Journal, and her caricatures appeared regularly in print. This portrait challenged the conventions of society portraiture; posing her against a dark background, the artist’s psychological realism presents her as independent, confident, and self-possessed—the very model of the period’s “New Woman.”

A friend who accompanied Sargent on three trips to the Alps and the Austrian Tyrol once described the artist’s precarious position as he painted an alpine stream: “I saw him working on a steep mountain side, the branch of a torrent rushing between his feet, one of which was set on stones piled up in the water.” Perhaps that was the artist’s perch as he painted this mountain landscape, which shows an angler prowling the bank of a wild stream, watching the water intently for his next catch.

A friend who accompanied Sargent on three trips to the Alps and the Austrian Tyrol once described the artist’s precarious position as he painted an alpine stream: “I saw him working on a steep mountain side, the branch of a torrent rushing between his feet, one of which was set on stones piled up in the water.” Perhaps that was the artist’s perch as he painted this mountain landscape, which shows an angler prowling the bank of a wild stream, watching the water intently for his next catch.

Cassatt painted her mother many times throughout her career. Shown here at the age of 73, the subject is depicted in a reflective pose suggesting her vitality, tenderness, and intelligence. Short, delicate brushstrokes define her face and hands; the details of the shawl, flowers, and background are painted with broad strokes of color that contrast with the deep black of her dress. This painting might remind some viewers of Whistler’s Mother, James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s iconic portrait of 1871.

Cassatt painted her mother many times throughout her career. Shown here at the age of 73, the subject is depicted in a reflective pose suggesting her vitality, tenderness, and intelligence. Short, delicate brushstrokes define her face and hands; the details of the shawl, flowers, and background are painted with broad strokes of color that contrast with the deep black of her dress. This painting might remind some viewers of Whistler’s Mother, James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s iconic portrait of 1871.