Taking its lead from French artists like R enoir and Monet\, the American impressionist movement followed its own pat h which over a forty-year period reveals as much about America as a nation as it does about its art as a creative powerhouse. It&rsquo\;s a story cl osely tied to a love of gardens and a desire to preserve nature in a rapid ly urbanizing nation. Traveling to studios\, gardens and iconic locations throughout the United States\, UK and France\, this mesmerizing film is a feast for the eyes.
\nIn 1886\, the French art dealer Paul Durand-Ru el brought a selection of his huge stock of impressionist paintings to New York\, changing the course of art in America forever. American artists fl ocked to the French village of Giverny\, home to the master impressionist Claude Monet\, and cheered the French new wave: painting outdoors with a n ewfound brilliance and vitality. As Europe recoiled against the work of Mo net\, Degas and Renoir\, Americans embraced it and created their own style of impressionism.
\nThe timing of Durand-Ruel&rsquo\;s transformati ve visit was perfect. As America steamed into the Industrial Age\, urban r eformers fought to create public parks and gardens: patches of beauty amid smokestacks and ash heaps. These gardens provided unlimited inspiration f or artists and a never-ending oasis for the growing middle class\, made up of increasingly independent women\, who relished the writings of English horticulturalists Gertrude Jekyll and William Robinson. Meanwhile the rise of wide-circulation magazines cultivated the idea that gardening was a pa th to spiritual renewal amid industrial blight and the belief that artists should work in native landscapes.
\nAs America made its epic move f rom a nation of farmers to a land of factories\, the pioneering American I mpressionists crafted a sumptuous visual language that told the story of a n era.
\nThe Artist&rsquo\;s Garden: American Impressionism features the sell-out exhibition The Artist&rsquo\;s Garden: American Impressionis m and the Garden Movement\, 1887&ndash\;1920 that began at the Pennsylvani a Academy of the Fine Arts and ended at the Florence Griswold Museum\, Old Lyme\, Connecticut.
\nImportant Information:
\nFilm Start Tim e: \;Doors open at 3:00pm\, and Exhibition on Screen will begin prompt ly at 4:00pm. As our films are general admission seating\, please be sure to arrive early to secure your seat. Beer\, wine\, and concessions will be available.
\nFree Parking: \;We&rsquo\;re pleased to offer comp limentary parking for all attendees. Simply bring your parking ticket from the library parking lot (across from the Main Library on Rock Street) or the parking deck (next to the Main Library on Rock Street) inside the thea ter\, and our friendly box office staff will validate it for you. Validati ons are for paid ticket holders only.
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