Poetic Vision : American Tonalism

by Ralph Sessions

Book by Sessions, Ralph.

Genres: Art History

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good overview of the American art movement of Tonalism. Using a limited palette and a narrow range of tones or values, these artists were mainly interested in representing a mood rather than describing a specific location. The heyday of this movement was 1880 - 1920, but is still a viable artistic style. This book is a catalog of an art show and includes a number of important artists like Twachtman, Inness, Murphy and Weir. The authors include some well known art historians like Lisa Peters and William Gerdts. The first section is essays followed by the catalog, artist by artist. Lots of excellent reproductions.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 20% writing was as boring as the paintings

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tonalism was more or less left out of my art education, although I occasionally heard references to it in connection with the American Impressionist John Twachtman, whose snowscapes I have always admired. The Spanierman Gallery's Poetic Vision: American Tonalism is helpful in understanding and appreciating the work of painters such as Henry Ward Ranger, Bruce Crane, Dwight William Tryon, Birge Harrison, Leonard Ochtman and others whose moody, evocative landscapes did not fit into the modernist version of American art history that was prevalent for many years. Lisa N. Peters' essay on Twatchman and his colleague J. Aldan Weir, which explores these painters' use of a restricted palette of low-key color tones and other aspects of the Tonalist aesthetic, clarified for me why I prefer them to more orthodox Impressionists such as Childe Hassam. In addition to essays on Tonalism, the book includes beautiful color illustrations, biographies of the major Tonalist artists and information about the Lotos Club, which exhibited many of their works.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent explanation and overview of Tonalism with essays and lots of photographs of paintings by artists of this movement.