The American Impressionists in the Garden April 19, 2011

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American impressionist painters turned their attention to the garden, finding it an ideal subject for the study of light and color in landscape. They were not alone. Appreciated for their variations of form, color, style, and silhouette, gardens constituted a key cultural interest of the period. The vogue for gardening expressed itself in the birth of garden clubs, horticultural and hobbyist publications, the establishment of civic and private gardens, and new modes of garden design. The relationship between the gardening movement and the fine arts of painting and sculpture is the focus of this exhibition.