The Evolution of Taste in American Collecting
Published on 7. December 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
424 pages
978-0-271-07325-5 (ISBN)
Description
The Evolution of Taste in American Collecting is a new critical translation of Rene Brimo's classic study of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century patronage and art collecting in the United States. Originally published in French in 1938, Brimo's foundational text is a detailed examination of collecting in America from colonial times to the end of World War I, when American collectors came to dominate the European art market. This work helped shape the then-fledgling field of American art history by explaining larger cultural transformations as manifested in the collecting habits of American elites. It remains the most substantive account of the history of collecting in the United States.
In his introduction, Kenneth Haltman provides a biographical study of the author and his social and intellectual milieu in France and the United States. He also explores how Brimo's work formed a turning point and initiated a new area of academic study: the history of art collecting.
Making accessible a text that has until now only been available in French, Haltman's elegant translation of The Evolution of Taste in American Collecting sheds new critical light on the essential work of this extraordinary but overlooked scholar.
In his introduction, Kenneth Haltman provides a biographical study of the author and his social and intellectual milieu in France and the United States. He also explores how Brimo's work formed a turning point and initiated a new area of academic study: the history of art collecting.
Making accessible a text that has until now only been available in French, Haltman's elegant translation of The Evolution of Taste in American Collecting sheds new critical light on the essential work of this extraordinary but overlooked scholar.
Reviews / Votes
"Kenneth Haltman's edition makes the book available in English and also provides a rich biographical and intellectual context for Brimo's work, a most timely contribution to an emerging discipline of art market studies."-Julie Codell Journal of the History of Collections "The judicious reader will find much to admire and much of scholarly value in Kenneth Haltman's translation of Rene Brimo's The Evolution of Taste in American Collecting. Brimo's encyclopedic knowledge of his subject results in a host of penetrating observations about artists, critics, collectors, dealers, and institutions. Haltman's introduction is a research tour de force that brings to light an extraordinary if mainly forgotten scholar and his opus magnum, hitherto virtually unknown to students of American art and history."
-Alan Wallach, Ralph H. Wark Professor of Art and Art History and Professor of American Studies Emeritus, The College of William and Mary "Brimo's book is a remarkable, groundbreaking investigation of America's evolving artistic tastes, a compendium of collectors-individual and institutional-and the cultural backdrops for their interests, an early history of museums in America, and a comprehensive overview of the literature of American art up to his time. Haltman's translation makes this significant scholarly achievement more widely available and, thanks to his judicious editorial interventions, more reliable. His introduction brings to light-and to life-an intriguing personality."
-Carol Troyen caa.reviews
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
University Park
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
43 Halftones, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 178 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
1021 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-271-07325-5 (9780271073255)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Rene Brimo (1911-1948) was an antiquarian dealer and a graduate of the Ecole du Louvre, as well as a recipient of master's degrees from Harvard and the Sorbonne and a docteur es lettres from the University of Paris.
Kenneth Haltman is H. Russell Pitman Professor of Art History at the University of Oklahoma and the author of many books, including Looking Close and Seeing Far: Samuel Seymour, Titian Ramsay Peale, and the Art of the Long Expedition, 1818-1823, also published by Penn State University Press, and critical translations from the French, notably of works by Gaston Bachelard.
Kenneth Haltman is H. Russell Pitman Professor of Art History at the University of Oklahoma and the author of many books, including Looking Close and Seeing Far: Samuel Seymour, Titian Ramsay Peale, and the Art of the Long Expedition, 1818-1823, also published by Penn State University Press, and critical translations from the French, notably of works by Gaston Bachelard.
Content
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Making Sense of an Unusual Contribution to Art History 1
Notes 67
Kenneth Haltman
The Evolution of Taste in American Collecting 85
Rene Brimo
Preface 87
Introduction 89
Book 1:
Early Developments: From the Colonial Period to the
Philadelphia Centennial
Part 1: Colonial America
Looking Backward 96
Part 2: Science or Sentiment
[Historical Introduction, 1776-1840] 107
1 Encyclopedic Spirit 111
2 The Search for a National Style 121
Part 3: The Critical Era
[Historical Introduction, 1840-1876] 131
1 TheTaste for Anecdote and Realism 135
2 The Discovery of History 151
Book 2:
The Triumph of Quality: Major Collections from the Philadelphia Centennial to the Great War
[Historical Introduction, 1876-1919] 166
1 Eclecticism 171
2 The Notion of the "Old Master" 195
3 The Vogue for Archaeology and "Pre-History" 226
4 Staying in Touch with the Contemporary Scene 255
5 The Modern Art Museum 272
Conclusion 294
Notes 301
Bibliography 344
Index
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Making Sense of an Unusual Contribution to Art History 1
Notes 67
Kenneth Haltman
The Evolution of Taste in American Collecting 85
Rene Brimo
Preface 87
Introduction 89
Book 1:
Early Developments: From the Colonial Period to the
Philadelphia Centennial
Part 1: Colonial America
Looking Backward 96
Part 2: Science or Sentiment
[Historical Introduction, 1776-1840] 107
1 Encyclopedic Spirit 111
2 The Search for a National Style 121
Part 3: The Critical Era
[Historical Introduction, 1840-1876] 131
1 TheTaste for Anecdote and Realism 135
2 The Discovery of History 151
Book 2:
The Triumph of Quality: Major Collections from the Philadelphia Centennial to the Great War
[Historical Introduction, 1876-1919] 166
1 Eclecticism 171
2 The Notion of the "Old Master" 195
3 The Vogue for Archaeology and "Pre-History" 226
4 Staying in Touch with the Contemporary Scene 255
5 The Modern Art Museum 272
Conclusion 294
Notes 301
Bibliography 344
Index