The American Impressionists believed that modern life should be recorded in a vibrant modern style. Like the French artists who inspired them, they preferred to work out-of-doors, observing nature directly and transcribing fleeting atmospheric effects. While they infused their paintings with light and color, they also responded to a challenging era during which the agrarian tradition gave way to an industrialized urban society. They were excited by change and, at the same time, nostalgic for the familiar past. American Impressionists' portrayals of city, country, and home, including the twenty-seven canvases in this exhibition, thus reflect their engagement with sunlight and shadow, with the new and the old.

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