American Etchers Abroad, 1880-1939

Exhibition

Exhibition Overview

Image not available
American Etchers Abroad, 1880-1939
Reed Anderson, curator
June 3, 2006–September 4, 2006
Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

The exhibition and accompanying catalogue-written by Anderson and published by the Spencer thanks to the Marilyn J. Stokstad Publications Fund at the KU Endowment Association-combine to present a critical examination of the etching revival in America. The exhibition addresses nearly 50 years of artistic production and showcases the works of such notable etchers as Mary Cassatt, Joseph Pennell, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Equal attention is given to lesser-known masters like R. Swain Gifford, Otto Bacher, and Herman Webster. Issues explored include the motivations of the artists for working abroad in this era, as well as how these works fit into existing definitions of American art.

Guest curator Reed Anderson, a doctoral student in art history, organized this exhibition of etchings by American artists, most of which were selected from the Spencer’s extensive print collection.

Organized by the Spencer Museum of Art. The accompanying publication is made possible through the generous support of the Marilyn J. Stokstad Publications Fund.

American Etchers Abroad, 1880-1939 is an exhibition of sixty-five etchings by thirty American artists chosen from the Spencer’s extensive print collection. The exhibition will examine the exciting revival of etching in the United States at the turn of the last century. Spanning almost fifty years of artistic production, it will showcase the works of such notable etchers as Mary Cassatt, Joseph Pennell, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler while also giving attention to lesser-known masters like R. Swain Gifford, Otto Bacher, and Herman Webster. The exhibition will explore the motivations of the artists to work abroad in this time period, how their works fit existing American definitions of art, and their discovery and use of etching as a medium of artistic expression.

Works of art

Louis Conrad Rosenberg
Charles Adams Platt
Robert Swain Gifford
Scheveningen, circa 1880s
Charles Adams Platt
Dordrecht from the Mass, circa 1882–1889
Joseph Pennell
Charles E. Mills
untitled, 1883
Oliver Dennett Grover
untitled, 1883
Julius Rolshoven
Charles E. Mills
untitled, 1883
Samuel V. Chamberlain
Arthur William Hall
Arthur William Hall
Donald Shaw MacLaughlan
Pastoral, 1932
Louis Conrad Rosenberg; The Chicago Society of Etchers
Thomas Scofield Handforth
Thomas Scofield Handforth
Thomas Scofield Handforth
Casablanca Port, circa 1928–1929
Mary Cassatt
Baby's Back, 1890
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
The Garden, 1880
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Orville Houghton Peets
Louis Conrad Rosenberg
John Marin
John Taylor Arms; Frederick Thomas Reynolds
John Taylor Arms
John Taylor Arms; Frederick Thomas Reynolds
Samuel V. Chamberlain
Samuel V. Chamberlain
Kerr Eby
Kerr Eby
Kerr Eby
Gerald Kenneth Geerlings
Lester George Hornby
Jules Andre Smith
Grim Towers of Loches, circa 1920s
Jules Andre Smith
Carros, circa 1920s
Alonso Charles Webb
Gothic Lace, 1929
Alonso Charles Webb
Herman Armour Webster
Spitalplatz, Strasburg, before 1914
Joseph Pennell
Robert Swain Gifford
Palestine, 1882
Frank Duveneck

Resources

Documents