United States

Eakins’s portraits are distinguished by their unvarnished realism, anatomical precision, and attention to detail. In this portrait of Philadelphia coal merchant Frank Jay St. John, Eakins masterfully evoked the energy and impatience of his subject, who still wears his overcoat and clutches his hat. St. John is portrayed with the tools of his trade—two grate bars (upon which coal burns to power steamship boilers), for which he had received a patent in 1894.

Eakins’s portraits are distinguished by their unvarnished realism, anatomical precision, and attention to detail. In this portrait of Philadelphia coal merchant Frank Jay St. John, Eakins masterfully evoked the energy and impatience of his subject, who still wears his overcoat and clutches his hat. St. John is portrayed with the tools of his trade—two grate bars (upon which coal burns to power steamship boilers), for which he had received a patent in 1894.

The luminous haze of this bright, rural scene characterizes Ryder’s work and may reflect the influence of the American Transcendentalist movement, which emphasized poetic feelings over ordinary experiences. Through painstaking technique, Ryder created enamel-like surfaces and intense colors in his works, whose rich textures and abstract qualities made him a hero to early American modernists.

The luminous haze of this bright, rural scene characterizes Ryder’s work and may reflect the influence of the American Transcendentalist movement, which emphasized poetic feelings over ordinary experiences. Through painstaking technique, Ryder created enamel-like surfaces and intense colors in his works, whose rich textures and abstract qualities made him a hero to early American modernists.

William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s popular comic operetta The Mikado(1885) contributed to a taste for Japanese culture in Europe and the United States. Alexander’s image of a San Francisco production includes examples of cultural mistakes (such as the presence of an open rain parasol and platform shoes indoors), showing that the enthusiasm for Japanese culture was not always matched by a high degree of cultural accuracy.

William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s popular comic operetta The Mikado(1885) contributed to a taste for Japanese culture in Europe and the United States. Alexander’s image of a San Francisco production includes examples of cultural mistakes (such as the presence of an open rain parasol and platform shoes indoors), showing that the enthusiasm for Japanese culture was not always matched by a high degree of cultural accuracy.

Bierstadt’s warrior skillfully rides bareback on a rearing horse, ready to strike a struggling buffalo with his spear. His muscular body and athletic pose recall the classical conventions of ancient Greek sculpture. The scene takes place against the indistinct backdrop of an endless prairie and a flattened, cloud-filled sky. A second Native American on horseback rushes into view from the middle ground, attempting to aid the hunt with his arrow aimed at the burly beast.

Bierstadt’s warrior skillfully rides bareback on a rearing horse, ready to strike a struggling buffalo with his spear. His muscular body and athletic pose recall the classical conventions of ancient Greek sculpture. The scene takes place against the indistinct backdrop of an endless prairie and a flattened, cloud-filled sky. A second Native American on horseback rushes into view from the middle ground, attempting to aid the hunt with his arrow aimed at the burly beast.

Vedder’s interest in ancient Egypt was inspired in part by recent archaeological discoveries, including the 1858 excavation of the Great Sphinx at Giza. In Greek mythology, the sphinx—half woman and half lion—demanded that travelers answer her riddle, strangling those who failed. Surrounded by architectural ruins, a shipwreck, and the skulls of her victims, Vedder’s sphinx reflects the fascination with women as dangerous and erotic temptresses.

Vedder’s interest in ancient Egypt was inspired in part by recent archaeological discoveries, including the 1858 excavation of the Great Sphinx at Giza. In Greek mythology, the sphinx—half woman and half lion—demanded that travelers answer her riddle, strangling those who failed. Surrounded by architectural ruins, a shipwreck, and the skulls of her victims, Vedder’s sphinx reflects the fascination with women as dangerous and erotic temptresses.