Mark D. Mitchell – författare

An illuminating look at how the Pre-Raphaelite movement was embraced by a group of vanguard American artistsBringing together insights from a distinguished group of scholars, this beautiful book analyzes the history and historiography of the American Pre-Raphaelites, and how the movement made its way from England to America. Led by Thomas Charles Farrer—an English expatriate and acolyte of the hugely influential English critic John Ruskin—the American Pre-Raphaelite artists followed Ruskin’s dictum to depict nature close up and with great fidelity. Many members of the group (including Farrer, who served in the Union army during the American Civil War) were also abolitionists, and several created works with a rich political subtext.  Featuring the work of artists such as Fidelia Bridges, Henry and Thomas Charles Farrer, Charles Herbert Moore, Henry Roderick Newman, and William Trost Richards, this generously illustrated volume is filled with insightful essays that explore the influence of Ruskin on the American artists, the role of watercolor and photography in their work, symbolism and veiled references to the Civil War, and much more.Published in association with the National Gallery of Art, WashingtonExhibition Schedule:National Gallery of Art, Washington(04/14/19–07/21/19)

An exploration of the human figure and artistic imagination in public art of the American Renaissance, from the nation’s centennial to World War I  In an era of sweeping change following the devastation of the Civil War, an ambitious generation of American artists focused on the human figure in civic art. This richly illustrated publication showcases more than one hundred studies related to major commissions for the Boston Public Library, Library of Congress, Pennsylvania State Capitol, and other key civic institutions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. From intimate pencil sketches and clay maquettes to half-scale oil paintings for massive murals, these compelling expressions of ideas in formation reveal how artists such as Edwin Austin Abbey, Violet Oakley, John Singer Sargent, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and others shaped their vision, recorded their influences, and developed a visual language that captivated a divided nation. Thematic sections offer discussions of related works, and essays address wider creative and cultural contexts, from the laboring body in an age of expanding industrialization to the relationship between the natural environment, art, and technology. This timely volume reassesses a neglected chapter in American art and shows how artists engaged with the struggles and forces of their time.  Distributed for the Yale University Art Gallery  Exhibition Schedule:  Yale University Art Gallery(September 6, 2024–January 5, 2025)