American Etchers Abroad, 1880-1939

Exhibition

Exhibition Overview

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American Etchers Abroad, 1880-1939
Reed Anderson, curator
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
1927
Charles Adams Platt
1884
Robert Swain Gifford
circa 1880s
Charles Adams Platt
circa 1882–1889
Joseph Pennell
circa 1904
Charles E. Mills
1883
Oliver Dennett Grover
1883
Julius Rolshoven
1883
Charles E. Mills
1883
Samuel V. Chamberlain
1930
Arthur William Hall
1900s
Arthur William Hall
1933
Donald Shaw MacLaughlan
1932
Louis Conrad Rosenberg, The Chicago Society of Etchers
1926
Thomas Scofield Handforth
1927
Thomas Scofield Handforth
1933
Thomas Scofield Handforth
circa 1928–1929
Mary Cassatt
1890
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
1880
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
1858
Louis Conrad Rosenberg
1927
John Marin
1906
John Taylor Arms, Frederick Thomas Reynolds
1919
John Taylor Arms
1931
John Taylor Arms, Frederick Thomas Reynolds
1926
Samuel V. Chamberlain
1933
Samuel V. Chamberlain
1934
Kerr Eby
1922
Kerr Eby
1927
Gerald Kenneth Geerlings
1929
Lester George Hornby
circa 1907
Jules Andre Smith
circa 1920s
Jules Andre Smith
circa 1920s
Alonso Charles Webb
1929
Alonso Charles Webb
circa 1920s
Herman Armour Webster
before 1914
Joseph Pennell
1907
Robert Swain Gifford
1882
Frank Duveneck
1883

Resources

Documents