5 American Impressionists You Need to Know

1. Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt (1844–1926) was probably the most famous American Impressionist. Born in Pennsylvania, she moved to Paris in 1865 to study alongside leading academic painter Jean-Léon Gérôme. She officially settled in Paris almost a decade later, when she met famous Impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834–1917), who introduced her to the Impressionists. Cassatt exhibited alongside the Impressionists in eight exhibitions in 1879, 1880, 1881, and 1886, learning her eye-catching technique and use of color and form from them.

Cassatt explored various themes throughout her career, from portraying family members to the art world and entertainment, with many of her works focusing on the opera or theatre. Her paintings of mothers and their children are sweet and sensitive, showcasing her ability to depict the tenderness of a mother’s touch. Through her gentle and expressive brushstrokes, Cassatt rendered imaginative works brought to life by a light-filled, well-balanced color palette.

2. Theodore Robinson

Theodore Robinson (1852–1896) was an American Impressionist painter born in Irasburg, a village in northern Vermont, USA. He strongly admired the French Impressionists, who influenced his work and technique. Of all the French painters, he had the closest friendship with Claude Monet (1840–1926).

Although raised in Wisconsin, Robinson lived abroad for most of his life, notably in France. He met Monet in Giverny, where the two dined together many times. Robinson’s connection to the European Impressionists had a significant impact on his painting style, with broad brushstrokes. Although he used a more temperate color palette than Monet, the same desire to depict the surrounding world in Impressionistic, rather dream-like strokes is persistent throughout his work.

As an acknowledgment of his talent, Robinson was awarded the Webb Prize in 1890 and the Shaw Fund Prize in 1891.

3. Edmund C. Tarbell

Edmund Charles Tarbell (1862–1938) grew up in Massachusetts, USA. He studied at the Boston’s Museum School and in Paris at the Académie Julian, where he was exposed to the work of the Impressionists. He was an influential figure in Boston’s art scene, with many of his students and colleagues self-titling themselves “Tarbellites.” Indeed, Tarbell had a long teaching career as the head of the painting department at the Museum School in Boston and the director of the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC. He was also part of The Ten, a group of artists who resigned from the conservative Society of American Artists, and the founder of the Guild of Boston Artists in 1914.

Tarbell was an icon of the American Impressionists. Not only did his work appeal to the tastes of the upper classes, being strongly inspired by the leading French Impressionists, but he also remained distinctively local to his fellow Boston students and colleagues. His approach was free and energetic, clearly focused on the creative display of light and often playing with intriguing compositions and vibrant colors.

4. John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was a renowned portrait and landscape painter. Even though Sargent is not considered an Impressionist painter, his technique adopted Impressionistic elements. In this light, given his magnanimous influence on the art world and closeness to the Impressionists, we decided to include him in our list of five American Impressionists you need to know.

Sargent was born in Paris to expatriate American parents and later studied in Paris, where he met Monet in 1876. Notably, Sargent exhibited at the Salon several times throughout his lifetime and was celebrated for his innovative yet disciplined approach. He did not completely depart from the traditionalist preferences of the Salon.

In his early years, he was inspired by his travels in Europe and North Africa before moving on to portraiture. Indeed, he was first acclaimed for his portraits in America, particularly in Boston. Isabella Stewart Gardner, a renowned socialite and art collector from Boston, was one of his acquaintances. Sargent painted her portrait, which is now exhibited as part of her collection.

Sargent had a unique style that marked him as an expert at depicting reality, the intriguing, honest beauty of his subjects, as well as the atmosphere of his landscapes. Although sometimes described as a Realist, he certainly didn’t shy away from breaking convention and employing more Impressionistic techniques in his oeuvre, which made him stand out. He had several Impressionist works, in which he was influenced by Monet, whom he visited at Giverny in 1885 and during his time in Worcestershire in England a year later.

Near the end of his life, Sargent switched to landscapes once again, depicting scenes not only from Europe but also from England and America. He continued painting portraits of close friends, such as the British-American author Henry James, and famous Americans, such as John D. Rockefeller.

5. William Merritt Chase

William Merritt Chase (1849–1916) was an artist from Indiana, USA. He later moved abroad to work in Munich before returning to America to continue his career as an artist.

Perhaps one of the most successful American Impressionist painters, Chase never fully departed from more conservative approaches, especially when it came to portraiture and still lifes. He painted portraits of upper-class women, as well as large-scale paintings of fish. He also featured park subjects, particularly in New York City, which allowed him to explore nature in an ultimately urban environment.

Chase’s paintings are alive and sumptuous, inviting one’s gaze to rest peacefully over the delightful, bright colors. His brushstrokes and subject matter are clearly Impressionist in nature, even though his artwork retains an element of conservative composition and technique, which makes it distinctly local to Chase and his native environment.