American Salons : Encounters with European Modernism, 1885-1917: Encounters with European Modernism, 1885-1917 (Google eBook)

Austin Robert M. Crunden Professor of History and American Civilization University of Texas

Oxford University Press, Dec 11, 1992 - Art - 520 pages

In American Salons, Robert Crunden provides a sweeping account of the American encounter with European Modernism up to the American entry into World War I. Crunden begins with deft portraits of the figures who were central to the birth of Modernism, including James Whistler, the eccentric expatriate American painter who became the archetypal artist in his dress and behavior, and Henry and William James, who broke new ground in the genre of the novel and in psychology, influencing an international audience in a broad range of fields. At the heart of the book are the American salons--the intimate, personal gatherings of artists and intellectuals where Modernism flourished. In Chicago, Floyd Dell and Margery Currey spread new ideas to Sherwood Anderson, Theodore Dreiser, and others. In London, Ezra Pound could be found behind everything from the cigars of W. B. Yeats to the prose of Ford Madox Hueffer. In Paris, the salons of Leo and Gertrude Stein, and Michael and Sarah Stein, gave Picasso and Matisse their first secure audiences and incomes; meanwhile, Gertrude Stein produced a new writing style that had an incalculable impact on the generation of Ernest Hemingway. Most important of all were the salons of New York City. Alfred Stieglitz pioneered new forms of photography at the famous 291 Gallery. Mabel Dodge brought together modernist playwrights and painters, introducing them to political reformers and radicals. At the salon of Walter and Louise Arensberg, Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia rubbed shoulders with Wallace Stevens, Man Ray, and William Carlos Williams. By 1917, no art in America remained untouched by these new institutions. From the journalism of H. L. Mencken to the famous 1913 Armory Show in New York, Crunden illuminates this pivotal era, offering perceptive insights and evocative descriptions of the central personalities of Modernism.

What people are saying

Review: American Salons: Encounters with European Modernism, 1885-1917

User Review  - Jeff R - Goodreads

This had a bit more of a painting emphasis and a bit less of a literature emphasis than I was hoping for. I think I can only recommend if you're relatively obsessed on the topic. A decent book, a dense book.

Contents

• Three Precursors: 3
• William James a World of Pure Experience: 30
• Henry James the Drama of Consciousness: 57
• Discontent in the Provinces: 81
• London Where Ezra Pound Appropriated: 195
• Paris Where the Stein Families Provided: 275
• Alfred Stieglitz: 339
• Mable Dodge: 383
• Walter Louise Arensberg: 409
• A Note on Archival Sources: 445
• Index: 487

Bibliographic information

• Title: American Salons : Encounters with European Modernism, 1885-1917: Encounters with European Modernism, 1885-1917
• Author: Austin Robert M. Crunden Professor of History and American Civilization University of Texas
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1992
• ISBN: 0195362209, 9780195362206
• Length: 520 pages
• Subjects: Art / History / General