1. Ayres, William. Ed.
Picturing History: American Painting 1770-1930.
Rizzoli, New York. 1990.
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Gail E. Husch - “Freedom’s Holy Cause”: History, Religious, and Genre Painting in America, 1840-1860
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Ron Tyler- Historic reportage and artistic license: Prints and paintings of the Mexican War.
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This book is a catalogue of the Fraunces Tavern Museum’s exhibition
Picturing History: American Painting, 1770-1930
. William Ayres directed the exhibition and Barbara J. Mitnick served as curator. Before this, no comprehensive exhibition existed of American history painting, and thus this particular exhibition was quite important. The book itself covers the vast expanse of the period in question through the contributions of a wide array of art historians knowledgeable on the subject.
The articles drawn from in this unit provide valuable background information to the sections on Manifest Destiny, and the Mexican American War. Husch delves deeply into the intersection between history and genre painting in America during the antebellum period. While Tyler offers specific background to the painting and lithography that accompanied the Mexican American War, specifically dealing with representations of the war for the press.
2. Bingham, George Caleb.
Stump Speaking.
Oil on Canvas, 42 1/2 “ by 58”. Boatmen’s Bancshares, Inc. St. Louis, MO. 1853-54.
3. Cikovsky, Nicolai Jr. and Kelly, Franklin.
Winslow Homer
, Yale University Press, New Haven. 1995.
This is the catalogue to an exhibition of the work of Winslow Homer during 1995 and 1996. The National Gallery of Art organized the exhibition. The catalogue strives to avoid being a book that simply deals with Homer’s art. In stead it tries to be attentive dealing with particular objects of his art. Building on the works of Alvert Ten Eyck Gardner and Gordon Hendricks’, the catalogue seeks to offer a new perspective, or a compilation of perspectives on Homer’s specific works of art. The catalogue also seeks to shed light on Homer’s elusive, sometimes fiercely guarded meanings behind many of his works by helping readers to understand why he was so guarded.
4. Fahlman, Betsy.
John Ferguson Weir: The Labor of Art.
Associated University Presses, Inc. Newark, NJ. 1997
Betsy Fahlman presents here the first scholarly study to deal specifically with the work of John Ferguson Weir. Weir spent the last forty-four years of his life as director of the School of Fine Arts at Yale, and therefore had little time later in life for his artistic endeavors. She presents her monograph in an unconventional format as a result of Weir’s imbalanced career. The volume is organized into seven chapters on a loosely chronological basis offering a contextualized view of his work.
5. Homer, Winslow.
The Fog Warning.
Oil on Canvas, 30” by 48”. Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA. 1885.
6. Homer, Winslow.
Veteran in a New Field
. Oil on Canvas, 24 1/8” by 38 1/8”. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. 1865.
7. Finch, Christopher.
Norman Rockwell’s America
, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York. 1975.
Given that this book was written before Rockwell’s death, Finch has the unique opportunity to deal directly with Rockwell himself on the facts and details in question. The book begins with a brief biography, but deals chiefly with Rockwell’s prolific work, covering topically the span of his entire career. There is little that the book misses, and it offers insight into Rockwell’s techniques and methods.
8. Johns, Elizabeth.
American Genre Painting: The Politics of Everyday Life
, Yale University Press, and New Haven. 1991
Elizabeth Johns has presented a comprehensive look at American genre painting during the height of their popularity. During the period of 1830 to the outbreak of the Civil War, American genre painting had its heyday, and accordingly the book deals chiefly with this period. Johns focuses her look at genre painting around two chief notions: the individuals depicted, and the relationship of the actors in the paintings to its viewers. Johns deals chiefly with the contexts in which genre paintings were created drawing heavily from previous scholarship, which centered on biography, style, and the artists themselves.
9. Mount, William Sidney.
Bargaining for a Horse.
Oil on Canvas, 24” by 30”. New York Historical Society, New York, NY. 1835.
10. Neagle, John.
Pat Lyon at the Forge.
Oil on Canvas, 93” by 68”. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. 1826-27.
11. Pohl, Frances K.
Framing America: A social History of American Art,
Thames &
Hudson, New York. 2002
Frances Pohl’s
Framing America
is a survey text on American Art. As a survey text, it is not a complete account of American Art but serves as a primer for further study. The book is chronologically and thematically arranged to develop an understanding of artists, their work, and the social history surrounding that work. In that vein, it is a successful introduction to American Art and social history at once.
12. Rockwell, Norman.
Ticket Agent.
Cover of
The Saturday Evening Post
, April 24, 1937.
13. Rockwell, Norman.
Willie Gillis in College.
Cover of
The Saturday Evening Post
, October 5 1946.
14. Shapiro, Michael Edward, Ed. Et al,
George Caleb
. The Saint Louis Art Museum in association with Harry N. Abrams Inc. New York City, 1990
This catalog of an exhibition of Bingham’s work, which took place at the Saint Louis Art Museum and the National Gallery of Art in 1990, is made up of a number of articles contributed by various authors. The articles specifically deal with Bingham as an artist, historian, and 19th century American. The book spans the length and breadth of his career offering a wealth of information on the artist himself, while placing him in the context of his times. The editor, Michael Edward Shapiro, was the chief curator of the Saint Louis Art Museum and was the driving force behind the exhibition.
15. Tindall, George Brown and Shi, David E.
America: A Narrative History
, Sixth Edition. W.W. Norton & Co. New York, 2004.
Tindall and Shi’s narrative history is a comprehensive volume of American history. The history is presented in narrative form and traces the development of the American people throughout the 5 centuries since Columbus’ voyage. The text is intended for use as a textbook in college and A.P. courses on U.S. History, and it does an excellent job presenting facts in a fair and balanced manner. Its focus is predominantly the people and social history of America, though it still does an adequate job providing political and military history.
16. Weir, John Furguson.
Forging the Shaft.
Oil on Canvas, 52 1/6” by 73 ¼”. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. 1877.
17. Woodville, Richard Caton.
War News from Mexico
. Oil on Canvas, 27” by 24 ¾”. The National Gallery, Washington D.C. 1848.