19th Annual Student Research Conference
Fine Arts
The Nationalistic Purpose of Nineteenth-Century American Landscape Paintings
Jennifer A. Roberts
Dr. Sara Orel, Faculty Mentor
Landscape painting developed as an American art form in the early nineteenth-century. After the United States’ break from England and the War of 1812, the American people found it necessary to establish an identity separate from that of England. Landscape painting became a means through which the United States could showcase its nationalism and distinguish itself from European nations. These paintings highlighted the vast expanses of land available in America and dismissed European historical painting traditions. This paper will focus on the landscape paintings of American artists Thomas Cole, Frederic Edwin Church and Albert Bierstadt while proving that these artists painted with a nationalistic purpose.
Keywords: Art History, Landscape Painting, American Art, Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, Albert Bierstadt
Topic(s):Art History
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 19-2
Location: OP 2210
Time: 10:00