The Tile Club: Camaraderie and American Plein-Air Painting

Exhibition Website

Aug 4 2018 - Nov 4 2018


The Tile Club was one of many societies that formed across the United States during the late nineteenth century. Including such well-known artists as Winslow Homer, William Merritt Chase, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Edwin Austin Abbey, J. Alden Weir, and John H. Twachtman, the club was founded in 1877 riding a wave of interest in the decorative arts. 

Members met once a week and would each contribute to the “decorative age” by painting an eight-by-eight-inch ceramic tile. These meetings became a time to socialize, dine, and enjoy the music performed by guests and honorary members.

Tiles formed only a small part of the Club’s output. Members made excursions to Long Island and up the Hudson River to sketch and paint. These trips were lively journeys, and the works completed during them document the first plein-air painting organization in the young nation. 

52 pieces -- tiles, paintings, sculptures, and sketches—many by distinguished artists working early in their careers—are showcased in this exhibition.


Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.   
Image: Winslow Homer, Resting Shepherdess, 1877, painted and glazed ceramic tiles, Heckscher Museum of Art

   

Whether you go or not,  Tile Club and the Aesthetic Movement in America is the first publication to document the work of the Tile Club and its influence. Although the club was in existence for only ten years, it exerted a powerful influence on the development of the art and culture of late-nineteenth-century America.

Select Tile Club and the Aesthetic Movement in America to learn more, or to place this book in your Amazon shopping cart. Your Amazon purchase through this link generates a small commission that will help to fund the ArtGeek.art search engine. 

  • Various Media
  • American
  • 19th Century
  • Francis Davis Millet
  • Charles Stanley Reinhart
  • and others

Exhibition Venues & Dates