Americans in Paris

"Americans in Paris" explores the magnetic attraction the French capital (then considered to be the headquarters of the western art world) held for many of America's finest painters during the late nineteenth century. The show presents masterpieces - all with Paris connections - by James McNeill Whistler, John Singer Sargent, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, and Mary Cassatt, including Whistler's Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1: Portrait of the Artist's Mother, Sargent's Madame X, and Cassatt's Woman with a Pearl Necklace in a Loge.

Many Americans enrolled in art school in Paris, seeking to polish their artistic education. Others used the city as a proving ground, taking advantage of its important international exhibitions to establish their reputations. A few made Paris their home, becoming part of a significant American expatriate community in the French capital. Those who returned to the United States adapted French styles to explore distinctly American subjects.

"Americans in Paris" made its US debut at the MFA, illuminating the enduring connection of the American art world with Paris, and featuring some of the greatest paintings produced by American artists of the nineteenth century.

June 25 - September 24, 2006
Gund Gallery