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A Century and a Half Ago, American artists could not afford to be mere artists. They were forced by their precarious situation to construct an edifice composed of talent, self-esteem and a good measure of sheer pluck - sturdy enough to withstand the chill winds of Philistine animosity. These heroic builders were the art makers of 19th century America.
Distinguished art historian Russell Lynes has chronicled their fortunes and misfortunes in a lively and unconventional history that highlights not just their artistic successes. But also their struggles to change the climate of the arts, to give their craft the status of a profession, and to acquire for themselves a measure of respectability.
Painters like Homer, Eakins, Cassatt and Church; sculptors like Greenough, Saint- Gaudens and French; and architects like Latrobe, Hunt and Richardson achieved that which would be worthy of admiration in any era.
The story of this remarkable achievement is all here, in an account as learned as it is readable, with 211 stunning illustrations of the most original painting, sculpture and architecture of 19th century America. It recaptures perfectly the spirit of that dynamic in invented era, that paradoxical age of Revolution and reaction, the age of the art makers.
Condition: soft cover with light to moderate wear, 514 pages, 1982, illustrations in black and white.
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