Pennsylvania Impressionism
Encyclopedia
Pennsylvania Impressionism refers to an American Impressionist
movement from the first half of the 20th century that was centered in and around Bucks County
, Pennsylvania
, particularly the area around the town of New Hope
. The movement is sometimes referred to as the "New Hope School" or the "Pennsylvania School" of landscape painting.
, Walter Emerson Baum
, George Sotter
, Nate Dunn
, Fern Coppedge
, Edward Redfield, Daniel Garber
, Roy Cleveland Nuse
, and Walter E. Schofield. Similar to the French impressionist
movement, this style of art is characterized by an interest in the quality of color, light, and the time of day. This group of artists usually painted en plein air, or out of doors, to capture the moment. According to James A. Michener Art Museum
’s Senior Curator Brian Peterson, “what most characterized Pennsylvania impressionism was not a single, unified style but rather the emergence of many mature, distinctive voices: Daniel Garber's luminous, poetic renditions of the Delaware River; Fern Coppedge's colorful village scenes; Robert Spencer's lyrical views of mills and tenements; John Folinsbee's moody, expressionistic snowscapes; and William L. Lathrop's deeply felt, evocative Bucks County vistas.
Art historian Thomas C. Folk defines the movement as the Late Pennsylvania School, those artists that "came to prominence in Bucks County after 1915 or after the Armory Show
and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition." According to Folk, the three most notable artists in this group were John Fulton Folinsbee
, Walter Emerson Baum
and George Sotter
.
One of the artists, Walter Emerson Baum, worked as a teacher and educator and through his founding of the Baum School of Art
and the Allentown Art Museum
, would serve to expand the influence of the movement out of Bucks County and into Lehigh County
, specifically Allentown
and the Lehigh Valley
, where the movement continued to flourish into the 1940s and 1950s. Today, this group of artists is collectively known as the Baum Circle
.
American Impressionism
Impressionism, a style of painting characterized by loose brushwork and vivid colors, was practiced widely among American artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.-An emerging artistic style from Paris:...
movement from the first half of the 20th century that was centered in and around Bucks County
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, particularly the area around the town of New Hope
New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope, formerly known as Coryell's Ferry, is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 2,528 at the 2010 census. The borough lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. A two-lane bridge carries automobile and foot traffic across the...
. The movement is sometimes referred to as the "New Hope School" or the "Pennsylvania School" of landscape painting.
The movement
Artists in the Pennsylvania Impressionism movement include but are not limited to: John Fulton FolinsbeeJohn Fulton Folinsbee
John Fulton Folinsbee was an American landscape painter and member of the art colony at New Hope, Pennsylvania. He is best known today for his impressionist scenes of New Hope and Lambertville, New Jersey, particularly the factories, quarries, and canals along the Delaware River.Folinsbee was born...
, Walter Emerson Baum
Walter Emerson Baum
Walter Emerson Baum was an American artist and educator active in the Bucks and Lehigh County areas of Pennsylvania in the United States...
, George Sotter
George Sotter
George W. Sotter was an American painter best known for Impressionist-style works. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but eventually made his name in Philadelphia. He is also known for his work in stained glass, some of which are still installed in numerous churches...
, Nate Dunn
Nate Dunn
Nathan "Nate" Dunn was an American painter born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Polish-Russian immigrant parents. Dunn was known for his artistic works throughout the northeastern United States.-Career:...
, Fern Coppedge
Fern Coppedge
Fern Isabel Coppedge was an American impressionist painter.Born in Decatur, Illinois, she spent much of her life in Pennsylvania where she was associated with the New Hope School of American Impressionism, the Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Philadelphia Art Alliance,...
, Edward Redfield, Daniel Garber
Daniel Garber
Daniel Garber was an American Impressionist landscape painter and member of the art colony at New Hope, Pennsylvania. He is best known today for his large impressionist scenes of the New Hope area, in which he often depicted the Delaware River. He also painted figurative interior works and...
, Roy Cleveland Nuse
Roy Cleveland Nuse
Roy Cleveland Nuse was a Pennsylvania Impressionist artist and a teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1925 to 1954. For almost 60 years he lived and painted in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, working in a plein-air, impressionist style...
, and Walter E. Schofield. Similar to the French impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
movement, this style of art is characterized by an interest in the quality of color, light, and the time of day. This group of artists usually painted en plein air, or out of doors, to capture the moment. According to James A. Michener Art Museum
James A. Michener Art Museum
The James A. Michener Art Museum is a private, non-profit museum in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania founded in 1988 and named for the Pulitzer Prize–winning writer James A. Michener, a Doylestown resident...
’s Senior Curator Brian Peterson, “what most characterized Pennsylvania impressionism was not a single, unified style but rather the emergence of many mature, distinctive voices: Daniel Garber's luminous, poetic renditions of the Delaware River; Fern Coppedge's colorful village scenes; Robert Spencer's lyrical views of mills and tenements; John Folinsbee's moody, expressionistic snowscapes; and William L. Lathrop's deeply felt, evocative Bucks County vistas.
Art historian Thomas C. Folk defines the movement as the Late Pennsylvania School, those artists that "came to prominence in Bucks County after 1915 or after the Armory Show
Armory Show
Many exhibitions have been held in the vast spaces of U.S. National Guard armories, but the Armory Show refers to the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art that was organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors...
and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition." According to Folk, the three most notable artists in this group were John Fulton Folinsbee
John Fulton Folinsbee
John Fulton Folinsbee was an American landscape painter and member of the art colony at New Hope, Pennsylvania. He is best known today for his impressionist scenes of New Hope and Lambertville, New Jersey, particularly the factories, quarries, and canals along the Delaware River.Folinsbee was born...
, Walter Emerson Baum
Walter Emerson Baum
Walter Emerson Baum was an American artist and educator active in the Bucks and Lehigh County areas of Pennsylvania in the United States...
and George Sotter
George Sotter
George W. Sotter was an American painter best known for Impressionist-style works. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but eventually made his name in Philadelphia. He is also known for his work in stained glass, some of which are still installed in numerous churches...
.
One of the artists, Walter Emerson Baum, worked as a teacher and educator and through his founding of the Baum School of Art
Baum School of Art
The Baum School of Art is a non-profit community art school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States.In 2007-2008, the school had a total enrollment of 3,326 students, 1,911 of which were children and teens, and 1,415 of which were adults...
and the Allentown Art Museum
Allentown Art Museum
The Allentown Art Museum is an art museum located in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It was founded in 1934 by a group organized by noted Pennsylvania impressionist painter, Walter Emerson Baum. With its collection of over 13,000 works of art, the Allentown Art Museum...
, would serve to expand the influence of the movement out of Bucks County and into Lehigh County
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
-Climate:Most of the county's climate is considered to fall in the humid continental climate zone. Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold. Precipitation is almost uniformly distributed throughout the year....
, specifically Allentown
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
and the Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
, where the movement continued to flourish into the 1940s and 1950s. Today, this group of artists is collectively known as the Baum Circle
Baum Circle
The Baum Circle refers to the group of artists either taught by, associated with, or directly influenced by Pennsylvania impressionist painter Walter Emerson Baum...
.