“What is American Impressionism? Does my work fit?” are questions that are often asked. In the past, AIS adopted a more formal definition for American Impressionism. However, we realize it’s a complex subject and a rigid definition is far too restrictive. Here are insights from our Founder, Officers, Board Members and a few Master Members.
Charlotte Dickinson AIS AIS Founder and Board Member
C. W. Mundy AISM Awards Judge 2021
American Impressionism ranges from pure Impressionism, such as John Twachtman, Childe Hassam, and Willard Metcalf; to Edward Redfield, Aldro Hibbard, Emile Gruppe and their contemporaries, among whom were Charles Movalli, William Schultz, and the many working Masters of today. Impressionism is characterized by loose brushwork and some realism, thereby being more creative and showing something of the artist’s soul.
A broad interpretation of Impressionism has morphed into what I would call “energetic realism”. In my discoveries, at first glance, the painting seems to be realistic, but looking at the inner parts of all its forms, it is very charismatic in paint manipulation. Anne Blair Brown AISM Awards Judge 2021 The ability to evoke emotion or a sense of light, atmosphere, and space through brushwork and paint application.
Cheryl St. John AIS AIS Vice President
Impressionism to me is a spontaneous interpretation of a scene using little detail and expressive brush strokes. The viewer is to use their imagination to determine what it represents or means to them...or “fill in the blanks.”
Bill Schneider AISM Awards Judge 2020
Bill shared a quote he likes, attributed to Richard Schmid: ‘People don’t want to know what you SEE, they want to know what YOU see.” It’s accurate and simultaneously loose. The viewer fills in the missing pieces. I try to see how far I can go (to destroy the form) while still keeping the image recognizable
Doreen St. John AIS AIS Secretary
Impressionism, for me, is the interpretation of real world subjects that emphasize light, atmosphere, shapes/form, energetic brushwork, and color and that express the emotion of the artist and/or scene. The importance is on the interpretation and emotion, rather than on accurate, stiff renderings of reality.
Roger Dale Brown AISM Awards Judge 2021
Impressionism is broken color, everyday subject matter, light and brushwork. The original Impressionists wanted to capture the prism of light that they saw in nature. They used broken color, juxtaposition of colors to create vibrations in their paintings.
Mark Daly AIS Board Member
Impressionism is an immediate and imprecise visual art form that portrays a spontaneous and personal interpretation of everyday life. It typically focuses on light, color, movement, and emotion.
AIS Definition American Impressionism is “The concern for light on form, color, and brushstrokes. Allowing equal latitude between these attributes, and recognizing not a single definitive element, but several factors including light and hue, visual breakdown of detail, concern for contemporary life, and cultivation of direct and spontaneous approaches to a subject.”
Terry Proctor AIS Board Member
Impressionism is a genre of painting, where the artist is inspired by light on the subject. The work is then painted with strokes of color, value, and temperature that play off each other without fine details, except at the center of interest .
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