American Artists Abroad & Expatriate Artists

American Artists Abroad

and Expatriate Artists

(above: Whistler, James McNeill, Portrait of Whistler, 1859. Image courtesy of The New York Public Library)

From other websites:

American Artists Abroad, 1900-1950, an exhibit held February 2 - May 11, 2008 at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. Accessed July, 2014.

American Artists and the Legacy of the Grand Tour, 1880-1960 is a 2017 exhibit at the Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery which says: "This exhibition explores a time from approximately 1880 to 1960 when American artists endeavored to follow in the footsteps of this tradition and trek to Europe for a variety of reasons: study and opportunities to exhibit, illustration on commission, war, and leisure." Also see 6/17 article in Nashville Arts Magazine. Accessed 8/17

Americans in Paris: The French Connection from the Wichita Art Museum Collection is an exhibition hosted by the Wichita Art Museum from December 16, 2017 through August 5, 2018. The museum described the exhibition as follows: "Paris was the capital of the art world in the 19th century. Any ambitious American artist needed to spend time in Europe. A period of residence on the continent was a simple requirement for worldly sophistication for Americans in the arts and upper-class. 19th-century American painter William Merritt Chase, reflecting the thoughts of his generation, said "My God, I'd rather go to Europe than go to Heaven!" Naturally, he meant to Paris. The experience of Paris transformed American art. Writer Henry James astutely observed in 1887, "when today we look for 'American art,' we find it mainly in Paris. When we find it out of Paris, we at least find a great deal of Paris in it." The Wichita Art Museum presents gems from its prized American art collection to reflect the vital cultural phenomenon of Americans in Paris. This exhibition complements the Monet to Matisse: French Moderns from the Brooklyn Museum, 1850-1950 that will be on view beginning February 24, 2018." Accessed 9/23

An American in London: Whistler and the Thames, an exhibit held February 1 - April 13, 2014 at the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy. Includes illustrated checklist. Accessed January, 2016. Also see: An American in London: Whistler and the Thames, an exhibit held May 3 - August 17, 2014 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Includes video. From Freer Gallery of Art. Accessed 11/20/14.

An American In Paris: Mary Colman Wheeler (1846-1920) is a 2017 exhibit at the Chazen Gallery which says: "The drawings on display are selected from a portfolio donated by Richard and Betty Ann Wheeler of Concord, Massachusetts, Mary Wheeler's birthplace. The collection offers a fascinating insight into the teaching methods employed by the 19th century French atelier, most prominently the use of the plaster cast as a means of heightening observational skills and the precise rendering of value." Accessed 4/17

American Painters in Italy: From Copley to Sargent is a 2018 exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which says: "This exhibition of works from the Museum's collection features watercolors, drawings, and sketchbooks by eighteen American artists who traveled to and were inspired by Italy from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century. Among the best known are John Singleton Copley, Thomas Sully, George Inness, James McNeill Whistler, Maurice Prendergast, and John Singer Sargent. Sargent, who was born in Italy and maintained a lifelong interest in the country's art and scenery, is represented by ten works, including an early scrapbook never before shown at The Met." Accessed 3/18

(above: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022, photo by Christie Coupe)

American Portraits 1880-1915 is a 2015 exhibit at the Frye Art Museum which says: "The profound impact of Europe, especially France, on American intellectuals, writers, and artists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has been addressed on numerous occasions in exhibitions and academic volumes. Less often examined, but equally important, were America's close ties to Germany, where American artists sought inspiration and a place to study, as well as the opportunity to exhibit their work and build a career." Accessed 3/17

Americans in Italy, January 19, 2013 - April 21, 2013 from Georgia Museum of Art. Accessed 3/14

Americans in Paris, 1860-1900 and American Neoclassical Sculptors Abroad, from the Timeline of Art History section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art website. Accessed 4/14 Accessed 4/14

Americans in Spain: Painting and Travel, 1820-1920 is a 2021 exhibit at the Chrysler Museum of Art which says that the exhibit "... explores a pivotal moment, in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when American artists and their European counterparts flocked to Spain to capture its scenic charms and seemingly exotic customs." Accessed 6/21

America's Rome: Artists in the Eternal City, 1800-1900, an exhibit held May 22, 2009 - December 30, 2009 at the Fenimore Art Museum. Includes link to Wall Street Journal article (July 17, 2009). Accessed 10/14

An American in Paris: Donald Beauregard is a 2023 exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Art which says: "An American in Paris: Donald Beauregard surveys the short yet ambitious career of one of the first artists affiliated with the New Mexico Museum of Art. When artist Donald Beauregard (1884-1914) passed away prematurely at age 29, he left behind an impressive body of work conversant in the latest artistic developments in Europe. Following his study at the prestigious Académie Julian in Paris in 1906-07, Beauregard looked to the avant-garde for guidance and developed a style that blended the innovative experiments of Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and the early work of Henri Matisse." Accessed 4/23

Anna Heyward Taylor: Intrepid Explorer is a 2019 exhibit at the Gibbes Museum of Art which says: "This exhibition focuses on Taylor's visits to British Guiana as she created a substantial body of work during these trips." Also see Charleston Renaissance from Resource Library and Anna Heyward Taylor from The Johnson Collection. Accessed 3/19

(above: Gibbes Museum of Art near dusk, May, 2011. Photo © John Hazeltine)

The Artist Abroad is an exhibition hosted by the Huntsville Museum of Art in Huntsville, Alabama from May 7 through August 6, 2023. The Museum described the exhibition as follows: "In the decades following the U.S. Civil War, many American artists eagerly flocked to Europe's great art centers, seeking inspiration, patronage, and formal artistic training. Traversing the continent and frequently settling in cities throughout Europe and the Mediterranean region, these artists honed their formal techniques, drawing upon the richness of Europe's architecture, ancient ruins, and regional distinctions. The Artist Abroad explores the artworks of American artists who traveled throughout France and Italy and, later, locations further south, including Spain, Greece, North Africa, and the region referred to as the Holy Lands -- a route originally established by 17th and 18th-century travelers as part of The Grand Tour." Accessed 9/23

Artistic Territories: Journeys in Place and Time is a 2016 exhibit at the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy which says: "The exhibition, curated by students in the Phillips Academy class Visual Culture: Discovering the Addison Collection, explores how artists have documented place, conveyed the nuances of space, and extracted meaning from their surroundings. Including 32 works from the museum's permanent collection, many rarely or never before displayed, Artistic Territories shows how traveling artists interpret what they see through the lens of their experiences, in representations of subjects ranging from natural landscapes to social interactions." Accessed 2/17

The Art of Romaine Brooks is an ongoing online exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum which says: "Romaine Brooks (1874-1970) was an expatriate American who circulated among the most refined circles in Paris, London, and Capri during times of dynamic change. Her most active professional period, from 1910 to 1925, was one of political and cultural upheaval, punctuated by World War I." Accessed 8/17

A Buckeye Abroad, Frank Wilcox in Paris 1910-1926, an exhibit held August 24 2013 - January 5 2014 at the Dayton Art Institute. Includeslinks to article. Accessed 9/14.

Buena Vista - California Artists in Mexico 1928-1970 is a 2010 exhibit at the California Heritage Museum which says: "Among the artists affiliated with the California Style that traveled to Mexico were Millard Sheets, Phil Dike, Rex Brandt, Emil Kosa, Marion Wachtel, Barse Miller and Ken Potter, each of whom created watercolors inspired by what they saw and encountered that captured the picturesque landscapes and scenes of Mexican people in their everyday environment." Accessed 10/18

Calamitous Microcosm: An Online Exhibition of Artwork by Jave Yoshimoto.is a 2020 exhibit at the Giertz Gallery, Parkland College which says: "Born in Japan to Chinese parents, but having grown up in the United States, Yoshimoto explores the convergence of tradition and contemporary society. His work references popular culture in America, China, and Japan." Accessed 4/21

Church: A Painter's Pilgrimage is a 2017 exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts which says: "Church: A Painter's Pilgrimage focuses on American artist Frederic Church's paintings done in the Middle East, Athens and Rome. Church was the most popular and financially successful painter in mid-19th-century America, best known for his large paintings of wild places in North and South America, the North Atlantic and the Caribbean. But from the late 1860s until the late 1870s, many of his most important paintings represented ancient cities or buildings that he had seen on his 1867 to 1869 trip to the Middle East and the Mediterranean." Accessed 12/17

(above: Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), The Heart of the Andes. Picture from National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.) Source: Wikimedia Commons - public domain)

The Coast of Genoa by Francis Cropsey is a 2018 exhibit at the Polk Museum of Art which says: "In 1847, Cropsey sailed to Europe for the first time with his new bride, spending most of this time in Thomas Cole's Rome studio. His two years in Italy were among his most productive. His drawings from that period are considered among his most beautiful and reflected his deep response to the historic landscapes there. For the rest of his career, Cropsey would create oil paintings of Italian scenes based on the many sketches and studies he did during this time." Also see biography in Wikipedia. Accessed 5/18

Coming Away: Winslow Homer and England is a 2018 exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum which says: "For nearly two years, beginning in the spring of 1881, beloved American artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910) lived and worked in the remote northern English fishing village of Cullercoats. This decision to abandon the American art world at the height of his fame for an isolated English hamlet dramatically altered Homer's life and art....The paintings, drawings, and prints of Homer's English period bear the mark of the influences he encountered there and focus on the hardships and joys of life along the waterfront." Extensive online coverage. Accessed 5/18

Coming Away: Winslow Homer and England is a 2017 exhibit at the Worcester Art Museum which says: "Developed around two iconic Homer paintings -- the Worcester Art Museum's The Gale (1883-93) and the Milwaukee Art Museum's Hark! The Lark (1882) -- the exhibition Coming Away: Winslow Homer and England explores the artist's time in Cullercoats, England, in 1881 and 1882. Jointly coordinated by Worcester and Milwaukee, the exhibition features the most comprehensive group of oils made during or emerging directly from Homer's time abroad." Also see press release Accessed 12/17

Dutch Utopia: American Artists in Holland, 1880-1914, an exhibit held February 5-May 2, 2010 at the Taft Museum of Art. Includes Portico article. Accessed April, 2015.

Franklin White: An American in Venezuela is a 2023 exhibit presented by the Alper Initiative for Washington Art at the American University Museum which says: "Viewing this exhibition takes you on a journey of an inner-city guy who falls in love with the natural beauty and lifestyle of a little municipality in western, Venezuela officially known as Santiago de Los Caballeros de Merida. The works represent nearly two decades of appreciation for the way nature effortlessly provides Merida with such beautiful flowers, foliage, landscapes, and insects in unpredictable places." Accessed 10/23

Global Vistas: American Art and Internationalism in the Gilded Age is an online exhibit at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum which says: "Global Vistas: American Art and Internationalism in the Gilded Age explores the importance of international travel and exchange to American art of the late nineteenth century, a period of transition for the United States marked by the rise of global trade, international tourism, massive waves of immigration, and forces of orientalism and imperialism." Accessed 10/23

In the Studios of Paris: William Bouguereau & His American Students, an exhibit held July 6, 2007 - October 14, 2007 at the Frick Art & Historical Center. Includes news release. From Frick Art & Historical Center. Accessed 11/20/14.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler: Realism in Print, an exhibit held September 17, 2013 - January 18, 2014 at the Grace Museum. Accessed 12/14

James E. Freeman 1808-1884: An American Painter in Italy, an exhibit held September 13, 2009 - January 17, 2010 at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. Accessed March, 2015.

John La Farge's Second Paradise: Voyages in the South Seas, 1890-1891, an exhibit held at the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy. January 22, 2011 - March 27, 2011. Accessed 4/14

Lina Iris Viktor: A Haven. A Hell. A Dream Deferred is a 2018 exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art which says: "Recasting factual and fantastical narratives surrounding America's involvement in the founding of Liberia, Lina Iris Viktor: A Haven. A Hell. A Dream Deferred. explores a mythicized history of the West African nation." Also see press release and artist's website. Accessed 11/18

The Lure of Cuba: Reginald Marsh's Tropical Watercolors, 1924-1930 is a 2019 exhibit at the William Benton Museum of Art, University of Connecticut which says: "In contrast to his frequently gritty representations of American urban life, Marsh depicted the Cuban landscape from the idyllic point of view of the artist-traveler. This exhibition brings together his rare Cuban watercolor series with postcards and printed material that document Cuba's appeal as a tourist destination during this period." Accessed 3/20

Maia Cruz Palileo is a 2019 exhibit at the American University Museum which says: "These works, including a small painting titled Burying Teeth, depict historical narratives from the colonial past of the Philippines, Maia's country of origin, as well as stories and moments about her own life as a Filipina American growing up in the United States." Accessed 10/20

Mediterranea: American Art from the Graham D. Williford Collection is a 2017 exhibit at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas which says: "This exhibition explores the atmosphere, architecture, and people of the Mediterranean region through the paintings of late 19th and early 20th-Century American artists. The 71 works in oil painting, watercolor, etching, and oil on paper connect the lands, sea and people of another time with an American view of the Mediterranean." Accessed 2/17 Also see catalog preview at Issuu. Accessed 2/17

Mediterranea: American Art from the Graham D. Williford Collection is a 2017 exhibit at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens which says: "For American artists to be considered serious and cultured in the 19th and early 20th centuries, they not only needed to study in Europe, but travel widely there as well. This exhibition looks at how they captured the diversity and distinctiveness of certain places that make up the Mediterranean region such as Italy, Spain, the Middle East, and North Africa." Accessed 9/17

New World Eden: Artist-Explorers in the American Tropics, an exhibit held January 27 - April 18, 2010 at the Flagler Museum. Includes press reviews. Note: This website does not provide URLs for past exhibits. Accessed October, 2014

Off the Beaten Path: Early Works by James McNeill Whistler, an exhibit held September 28, 2013 - September 28, 2014 at the Freer Gallery of Art. Includes introductory panels. From Freer Gallery of Art. Accessed 11/20/14.

Oh Panama!: Jonas Lie Paints the Panama Canal, is a 2016 exhibit organized by the Hudson River Museum and the Michener Art Museum. MAM says: "The Norwegian-born painter Jonas Lie (1880-1940) was drawn early in his career to architectural subjects, and earned his reputation through his powerful renderings of New York and its icons of technological progress, such as the Brooklyn Bridge, the new skyscrapers, and the urban canyons they created. Inspired by an early color film documenting the construction of the canal, Lie was enthralled by the feats of engineering and the sublime visual qualities of the massive trench being carved across the Isthmus of Panama. He visited the Canal Zone for three months in 1913. Oh Panama! presents his dramatic vision of the canal's construction in eleven paintings on loan from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, as well as oil sketches, lithographs, and ephemera -- all will impress viewers as a sublime and beautiful documentation of man's relentless quest to conquer nature and harness its riches." Accessed 9/16.

Passages: Keith Morrison, 1999-2019 is a 2019 exhibit at the American University Museum which says: "Exactly four hundred years ago, the first African slaves arrived in the colonies a year before the Mayflower brought the pilgrims. Many of Morrison's paintings transport us back in time to the moments before embarkation. Calling on his formidable power as an abstract painter, the artist delineates cramped, empty spaces with restricted vistas framed by windows and bars." Accessed 10/20

Reflections and Undercurrents: Ernest Roth and Printmaking in Venice, 1900-1940, an exhibit held January 23 - April 4, 2014 at the Walsh (Thomas J.) Art Gallery at Fairfield University. Includes video and audio tours. Accessed May, 2015.

Samuel F.B. Morse's 'Gallery of the Louvre' and the Art of Invention is a 2017 exhibit at the Reynolda House Museum of American Art which says: "Morse's monumental oil on canvas -- six-by-nine feet -- is composed of 38 old master paintings, from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. He painstakingly copied works of Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Rubens, Tintoretto, Titian, Watteau and others in miniature and imaginatively 'installed' the works in one of the Louvre's most majestic spaces: the Salon Carré. His arrangement of the old master miniatures within his own painting was done to demonstrate differences in style and technique among the artists.... "Gallery of the Louvre" is considered an example of the Kunstkammer (literally "art room") tradition of paintings, a form popularized in 17th-century Europe, which shows people studying a collection of artworks hanging in a known architectural space" . Accessed 3/17

Samuel F.B. Morse's "Gallery of the Louvre" & the Art of Invention is a 2017 exhibit at the New Britain Museum of American Art which says: " The exhibition showcases Samuel F.B. Morse's monumental painting Gallery of the Louvre (1831-1833), on loan from the Terra Foundation for American Art, and follows the history of its extensive conservation treatment in 2010 as well as two years of scholarly investigation." Accessed 8/17

Summer Wheat: Blood, Sweat, and Tears is a 2020 exhibit at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art which says: "Using an inventive process of pushing paint through aluminum mesh, Wheat's large-scale paintings resemble medieval tapestries showing female figures as hunters, fishers, and beekeepers." Accessed 11/20

Thomas Cole's Journey is a 2018 exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which says: "Thomas Cole's Journey marks the 200th anniversary of Cole's first Atlantic crossing, when he emigrated from England to the United States in 1818, and examines in depth Cole's return journey to England in 182931 and his travels in Italy in 183132, revealing the development of his artistic processes." Also see press release Accessed 2/18

Voyage to Italia: Americans in Italy in the Nineteenth Century was a 2010 exhibit at the Sheldon Museum of Art which says: "Americans in nineteenth-century Italy sought to capture and make sense of their cross-cultural experiences. Through works of art, travel diaries, and guidebooks, Voyage to Italia: Americans in Italy in the Nineteenth Century documents the idealizing and critical attitudes that American tourists had about Italy." Viewers may download the exhibition brochure. Accessed 1/17

Walter Launt Palmer: Painting the Moment is a 2015 exhibit at the Albany (NY) Institute of History and Art which says: "Artist Walter Launt Palmer (1854-1932), the son of Albany sculptor Erastus Dow Palmer, has enjoyed a revival of interest in the art world over the last several years." Also see Venetian Scenes by Walter Launt Palmer from Resource Library. Accessed 10/18

Whistler and the World: The Lunder Collection of James McNeill Whistler is an exhibit at the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine from September 24, 2015 through January 10, 2016. The museum describes the exhibition as follows: "In his Ten O'Clock Lecture in 1885, James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903) presented himself as an artist set apart from the public, bearing no relation to the historical moment he lived in. However, the myth of artistic independence that Whistler developed was but one part of a complex and highly significant relationship he had with the world around him. As a painter, printmaker, and designer, Whistler engaged with a variety of places, people, and ideas that stretched from the United States to London, Venice, and Japan. Drawn entirely from the renowned Lunder Collection, this comprehensive exhibition -- featuring the finest examples of his prints among works in other media -- explores Whistler's travels across Europe in his quest to re-imagine his surroundings and to transport the modern world into the "realm of art". Accessed 9/23

Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France is a 2021 exhibit at the Denver Art Museum which says: "Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France features more than 100 paintings made between 1855 and 1913 in the first comprehensive examination of France's stylistic impact on American painting of the period." Accessed 1/22

William H. Johnson: Full Circle is a 2018 exhibit at the Greenville County Museum of Art which says: "In 1994, Steve Turner, gallerist and art historian, retraced Johnson's European sojourn in search of the artist's collectors and paintings. Turner found that the artist enjoyed a highly respected career." Accessed 3/18

The WGBH/Boston Forum Network is an audio and video streaming web site dedicated to curating and serving live and on-demand lectures, including a number of videos on Art and Architecture. Partners include a number of museums, colleges, universities and other cultural organizations. See listings of related videos in this catalogue indexed by partner name. High Museum of Art partnered with the WGBH Forum Network for American Artists and the Louvre: Morse Gallery, (2 hours, 10 minutes) American Artists and the Louvre: Morse Gallery. Lectures and panel discussion by Paul Staiti, professor, art history, Mount Holyoke College, Jean-Philippe Antoine, senior fellow, Terra Foundation, Olivier Meslay, curator, Musee du Louvre, Sylvia Yount, curator, American art, High Art Museum. Paul Staiti and Jean-Philippe Antoine discuss early nineteenth-century American artists who sought training in Paris and the artistic practice of copying. (Lecture contributed by WABE/AFN) [February 24, 2007] Accessed May, 2015.

The WGBH/Boston Forum Network is an audio and video streaming web site dedicated to curating and serving live and on-demand lectures, including a number of videos on Art and Architecture. Partners include a number of museums, colleges, universities and other cultural organizations. See listings of related videos in this catalogue indexed by partner name. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston partnered with the WGBH Forum Network for At Home and Abroad: American Expatriate Artists, (56 minutes) in which Heather Cotter, fellow, Adult Learning Programs, Museum of Fine Arts, explores the various influences reflected in the art of American expatriate artists -- including John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, and James McNeill Whistler -- working at home and abroad. [Spring, 2003] Accessed May, 2015.

(above: Augustus Dunbier, Toward Taxco, 1949, oil on canvas, 24 x 28 inches. Private collection.)

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