Americans in Paris, 1860–1900

Americans in Paris, 1860–1900, October 24, 2006 – January 28, 2007 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, NY. "...In the late 19th century, American artists by the hundreds—including such luminaries as James McNeill Whistler, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, Thomas Eakins, and Winslow Homer—were irresistibly drawn to Paris, the world’s new art capital. By studying with leading masters and showing their work in Paris, these artists aimed to attract patronage from American collectors who had begun to buy contemporary French art in earnest soon after the end of the American Civil War. Paris inspired decisive changes in American painters’ styles and subjects, and stimulated the creation of more sophisticated art schools and higher professional standards back in the United States."