Impressionism and the South

On April 15, 1874, in an act of defiance against the official French government-sanctioned Salon exhibitions, thirty self-proclaimed Independent artists opened an exhibition at photographer Nadar’s vacated Paris studio. Shortly after, a satirical review that mocked Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise gave the movement its name. Impressionism was the first bombshell launched against academic tradition. The movement defined light as color, becoming the first modern language of paint.

Sun-drenched and spontaneous, this selection of American Impressionist paintings from the GCMA permanent collection invites viewers to consider the ideas and techniques that opened the door to modern visual expression.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website