American Impressionism: Treasures from the Daywood Collection
October 9, 2022 - January 8, 2023
American Impressionism: Treasures from the Daywood Collection features 41 paintings that embody the evocative, timeless beauty of late 19th and early 20th century American art. This singular collection, drawn from the Huntington Museum of Art, highlights a pivotal period, when artists began to shake off the rigors of the traditional academic hierarchies and to embrace the creative freedoms and innovations of their European counterparts. Inspired by their training abroad, these painters adopted the shimmering light, warm colors, and expressive brushwork of French Impressionism. Many of them turned their painterly gaze away from the industrialization and urbanization of their country in favor of intimate portraits, quiet scenes of domestic life, and poetic views of the American landscape.
As the Impressionists began to dominate the European scene in the 1870s, American artists such as John Twachtman, J. Alden Weir, and Willard Metcalf adapted some of the movement’s more striking effects and techniques to the lush landscapes of their own country. Like the European Impressionists, many of these artists favored working “en plein air” —outside in the open landscape—rather than in the more formal setting of the indoor studio. Figure painters also gravitated to Impressionism, arranging their subjects in relaxed poses amid natural surroundings and cozy interiors.
Several artists in American Impressionism are primarily associated with the Realist movement. Though often characterized as opposing camps, the Impressionists and Realists—in terms of style, compositional experimentation, and rejection of traditional subjects—shared many affinities
The Daywood Collection is named for its original owners, Arthur Dayton and Ruth Woods Dayton, whose family surnames combine to form “Daywood.” They were prominent art patrons in early 20th century West Virginia, who sought to preserve and share artworks that they felt captured the essence of American life.
American Impressionism: Treasures from the Daywood Collection was organized by the Huntington Museum of Art and is toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC
Sponsored By
Merrill O'Brien
Jim & Ann Price
George & Lila Girvin
The Broadway Group
Painting Sponsors
Anonymous
Rod and Greer Bacon
The Barnett Family
Lynn Donaldson and Ross Bogey
Patti Boyd
Windermere City Group
Carla M. Nuxoll and James R. Braukmann
Sherry Bucholz
Joyce Cameron and James Carollo
Marisa Stone and Mary Compton
Joan Degerstrom
Janet and Robert Durnford
Kara and Ezra Eckhardt
Jan Wigen and Larry Ellingson
Priscilla and Harold Gilkey
Lila and George Girvin
Betsy and David Godlewski
Hal and Sandy Goldberg
Bill, Maureen, and Will Green
Joseph and Rebecca Gunselman
Robert Karl Cellars
Brooke and Rob Hawley
Mike and Cathy Henneberry
Liz Dreisbach and Eugene Jablonsky
Travis and Denay Johnson
Johnson’s Custom Jewelry
Karen Gendron and Dean Kiefer
Larry and Robin Krauter
Michael Flannery and Dean Lynch
Jon Merck
Tim and Elizabeth Merck
Connie and Kelly Mickelson
Joel and Joy Moore
Dan Morris and Genevieve Mann Morris
In Memory of Margaret T. Muehlethaler
Gayle Terry and Gregory Reese
Annette and Peter Sanburn
David and Pamela Sani
The 509 Garage
Lana Noble and Evan Schneider
Andrew Schultheis
Charles and Cathy Simon
Pamela and William Small
Danielle Owen and Eric Stevenson
Chick and Donna Weaver
Hal and Elizabeth Willis
Neil and Dawn Worrall