The Origins of Impressionism in America

The Reader 1910 (PD US) Frank Weston Benson

As an organized, exhibiting group, the French Impressionists had a relatively short run in the grand scheme of things —only eight exhibitions together, lasting from their debut in 1874 as the Cooperative and Anonymous Association of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers and Engravers to their final Impressionist exhibition in 1886. The moniker Impressionist was given to them by critic Louis Leroy in their very first show, when he reviewed Monet’s painting, Impression, Sunrise. He disparaged it as being an unfinished painting—”a mere sketch or impression”. The paintings by these pioneering artists were initially considered radical assaults on the senses and inspired outrage among the citizens, dealers and collectors who were used to somber, traditional Académie des Beaux-Arts approved work. However, by 1871, the world was changing—the Franco-Prussian War had ended. Paris was renovated by Baron Haussman into a cleaner, …