The Italian Presence in American Art, 1760-1860

Since 1760 when Benjamin West fulfilled a life long dream and travelled to Italy, American artists have journeyed to Rome, to Florence, to Venice and to Italy’s many smaller treasure filled cities and towns, to learn their art and to enrich their souls. There they found the technical instruction they sought, of course, but more than that, they gained insight into the means of making line, colour form and space speak of significant matters. And while American artists were coming to Italy. Italian artists began to come to America. Furthermore, Italian art itself began to arrive in the United States through the activities of early collectors and art patrons, and these kinds of Italian presence also find a place in the sixteen essays included in this volume. This book examines aspects of American art that owe an important debt to Italy and Italian artists. With reproductions of many of the art works discussed, it is an interesting contribution to our understanding of America’s artistic heritage.