During the aftermath of the Civil War, wealthy American art collectors,
mainly from the Northeast, turned their attention to Europe. This change in
tastes had American artists following their patrons to Europe to study, most
notably in Paris, in an effort to absorb modern European techniques. In Paris,
these American artists were met with Impressionism, a movement
characterized by quick, visible brush strokes, vibrant colors, a keen detail to
natural light, and the depiction of everyday life usually captured on the spot
or
en plein air
. At first, Impressionism was largely untouched by American
expatriates studying abroad in Europe, but as the movement gradually
became perceived as less radical and more accepted by the mid 1880s,
American artists began adopting the new style. By 1890, Impressionism was
widely recognized as an established movement in America.
The assemblage of artists known as the Ten American Painters (or The Ten)
was formed in 1897. The Ten was founded and organized by John Henry
Twatchman (lot 141), Childe Hassam (lots 143-47) and Julian Alden Weir (lot
142), who were joined by Thomas W. Dewing, Joseph De Camp, Frank W.
Benson, Willard Leroy Metcalf, Edmund Tarbell, Robert Reid and E.E.
Simmons. After passing away suddenly in 1902, Twachtman was replaced by
William Merritt Chase. Composed of American Impressionists living in New
York and Boston, this group of artists broke away from the Society of
American Artists, founded in 1877, to escape many of the accepted practices
and the institutional restraints of the Society. Interestingly, the Society was
itself a more liberal outgrowth of a prior organization, in this case the
National Academy of Design, founded in 1825.
One of the focal motives for The Ten’s breaking away centered on exhibition
practices. They wanted to exhibit their paintings in a more curated
environment in which each artist displayed a select, limited number of
works. Their aim was to create an exhibition experience that was thoughtful
and meditative; this practice was inspired greatly by James A. M. Whistler’s
pioneering ideas on Aestheticism. The Ten also aimed for a greater
acceptance and appreciation of Impressionism, presented in cohesive group
exhibits without the rules and politics of an established institution.
Following the secession of The Ten from the Society of American Artists,
the group began holding exclusive exhibitions featuring its members alone—
a practice that spanned 20 years, through 1919. They held their annual
exhibitions in New York, usually at Durand-Ruel Gallery or Montross Gallery;
often these exhibitions would also travel to the St. Botolph Club in Boston.
The Ten held their first group exhibition from March 31 to April 16, 1898, at
Durand-Ruel Gallery.
The three founders of The Ten were its most accomplished, well known and
lauded members. Childe Hassam (1859-1935), a Massachusetts native with a
background as an illustrator, moved to Paris in 1886 to pursue a formal art
