American Impressionism: Treasures from the Daywood Collection at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture

William Frederic Ritschel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This was a nice collection of 41 American, impressionist paintings from the Daywood collection, including Robert Henri’s, Katherine, which I had never seen before in-person and it did not disappoint. I was already familiar with some of the artists, such as Henri and George Inness, but mostly the rest of the artist’s were new to me. It is fascinating to see the work artists were creating in America during, roughly the same time, as the more famous impressionist art movement in Europe, which undoubtedly receives more press, praise, and attention.

The show was a well-balanced mix of mostly landscape paintings along with some small to medium-sized figurative paintings. The show mostly featured paintings crafted in local color, combined with some intense pure hues in some pieces. The paintings were oil on canvas/board and the sizes ranged anywhere between around 9” x 12” to about 4ft x 5ft. Don’t miss the chance to get an up-close look to appreciate the amazing and masterful brushwork in all these paintings. Admittedly, I didn’t know much about or hadn’t seen many images of the American Impressionism art movement, but this show displayed a decent sampling of works from a wide range of artists working in a similar style. This movement is over-looked and deserves more appreciation, than it gets credit for.

My favorite paintings included the large-format, ocean landscape by William Ritschel, Shores of Monterey, California, John Fulton Folinsbee, Outskirts of Trenton, Charles H. Davis, Summer Afternoon, and J. Alden Weir, June Connecticut 1896.

Overall, I’d recommend the show, if you like impressionist panting. There’s something to be learned from each piece and the compositions are well thought-out/worked out. The color choices and harmonies of the paintings are spot-on also. I’m looking forward to the next great show and also look for another blog in the future from my next museum visit. Note: Images shown may or may not appear in the exhibit. Please check out the rest of my website for updated content, including new student work images to be added soon, and yes more blogs will be added shortly. Thanks for your support.

#AmericanImpressionism #DaywoodCollection #RobertHenri #GeorgeInness