Synopses & Reviews
The Civil War redefined America and forever changed American art. Its grim reality, captured through the new medium of photography, was laid bare. American artists could not approach the conflict with the conventions of European history painting, which glamorized the hero on the battlefield. Instead, many artists found ways to weave the war into works of art that considered the human narrativeandmdash;the daily experiences of soldiers, slaves, and families left behind. Artists and writers wrestled with the ambiguity and anxiety of the Civil War and used landscape imagery to give voice to their misgivings as well as their hopes for themselves and the nation.
This important book looks at the range of artwork created before, during, and following the war, in the years between 1852 and 1877. Author Eleanor Jones Harvey surveys paintings made by some of America's finest artists, including Frederic Church, Sanford Gifford, Winslow Homer, and Eastman Johnson, and photographs taken by George Barnard, Alexander Gardner, and Timothy H. O'Sullivan.and#160;
Harvey examines Americanand#160;landscape and genre painting and the new medium of photography to understand both how artists made sense of the war and how they portrayed what was a deeply painful, complex period in American history. Enriched by firsthand accounts of the war by soldiers, former slaves, abolitionists, and statesmen, Harvey's research demonstrates how these artists used painting and photography to reshape American culture. Alongside the artworks, period voices (notably those ofand#160;Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, and Walt Whitman) amplify the anxiety and dilemmas of wartime America.and#160;
Review
andldquo;The Civil War and American Art is a scholarly and a narrative achievement both harrowing and sublime.and#160;Eleanor Jones Harvey has written a keenly critical and often lyrical assessment of the war she calls all but andldquo;unpaintable.andrdquo;and#160;In genre painting that captured universal meanings out of local episodes in the ugly ironies of war, and especially in the new moods, metaphors, and forms that landscape painters drew from the war, Harvey demonstrates a profound, seismic influence of history on art.and#160;But she also brilliantly demonstrates that artists, even the photographers, could not so much re-make the actual history of our Armageddon as they could represent what we might indirectly see or learn from such a withering and mythic experience as modern war.andrdquo;--David W. Blight, Yale University, author of Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory
Review
andldquo;Eleanor Jones Harveyandrsquo;sand#160;The Civil War and American Artand#160;is the rare book that connects the dots between art and history so well that the reader assumes that the subject is well-worn. It is not. The bookandhellip;deserves to win awards in two disciplines: Art history and American history.andhellip;andquot;andmdash;Tyler Green,and#160;Modern Art Notesand#160;
Review
andldquo;A great art history tour and coffee-table topper.andrdquo;andmdash;Garden and Gun
Review
“Provocative and insightful.”—Stephen May, Antiques and the Arts Weekly Garden and Gun
Review
andquot;The latest from Harvey. . . provides a nuanced, sensitive, and deeply informed accounting of a major period in the history of American art. . . . The comprehensive study manages to remain engaging across its redolent academic and historical interests, creating a sincere excitement appropriate to Harvey's always insightful and vital reckoning with America's scarred past.andrdquo;andmdash;Publishers Weekly, starred reviewand#160;
Review
"Harvey's book is perfect for lovers of American art and history. It has an absorbing, engrossing power of its own akin to the power of what Ken Burns's The Civil War had for the television audience of the '90s. It gives us a profound sense of what the Civil War really was like, how people felt and reacted to it, and its enduring impact on American life. . . . Extraordinary." -- popmatters.com Publishers Weekly
Review
Winner in the Photography/Art category at the 2013 Great Southeast Book Festival.
Review
andldquo;Provocative and insightful.andrdquo;andmdash;Stephen May,and#160;Antiques and the Arts Weeklyand#160;
Review
"The Civil War and American Art is a glorious companion piece to a moving, beautifully curated, perspective-altering show. . . . Harveyand#8217;s book is perfect for lovers of American art and history.and#8221; and#8212;PopMatters
Review
and#8220;Harvey skillfully integrates literature and journalism into a thoughtful and rich narrative of this pivotal period. An important cohesive assessment for scholars that is also broadly accessible and well-illustratedand#8230;and#8221;and#8212;Library Journal,and#160;starred review
Review
and#8220;a beautiful companion volumeand#8230;and#8221;and#8212;The Nation
Review
and#8220;Harveyand#8217;s catalogue text stands as a monumental, often thrilling feat of detailed scholarshipand#8221;and#8212;Peter Schjeldahl,
The New YorkerReview
and#8220;One of the great publishing triumphs of the Civil War Sesquicentennial.and#8221;and#8212;North Carolina Historical Review
Review
Selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2013 in theand#160;Art and Architecture Category.
Synopsis
A sweeping survey of the impact of the Civil War on American painting and photography in the 19th century
Synopsis
A sweeping survey of the impact of the Civil War on American painting and photography in the 19th century
The Civil War redefined America and forever changed American art. Its grim reality, captured through the new medium of photography, was laid bare. American artists could not approach the conflict with the conventions of European history painting, which glamorized the hero on the battlefield. Instead, many artists found ways to weave the war into works of art that considered the human narrative--the daily experiences of soldiers, slaves, and families left behind. Artists and writers wrestled with the ambiguity and anxiety of the Civil War and used landscape imagery to give voice to their misgivings as well as their hopes for themselves and the nation.
This important book looks at the range of artwork created before, during, and following the war, in the years between 1852 and 1877. Author Eleanor Jones Harvey surveys paintings made by some of America's finest artists, including Frederic Church, Sanford Gifford, Winslow Homer, and Eastman Johnson, and photographs taken by George Barnard, Alexander Gardner, and Timothy H. O'Sullivan.
Harvey examines American landscape and genre painting and the new medium of photography to understand both how artists made sense of the war and how they portrayed what was a deeply painful, complex period in American history. Enriched by firsthand accounts of the war by soldiers, former slaves, abolitionists, and statesmen, Harvey's research demonstrates how these artists used painting and photography to reshape American culture. Alongside the artworks, period voices (notably those of Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, and Walt Whitman) amplify the anxiety and dilemmas of wartime America.
Synopsis
The American Civil War was arguably the first modern war. Its grim reality, captured through the new medium of photography, was laid bare. American artists could not approach the conflict with the conventions of European history painting, which glamorized the hero on the battlefield. Instead, many artists found ways to weave the war into works of art that considered the human narrative—the daily experiences of soldiers, slaves, and families left behind. Artists and writers wrestled with the ambiguity and anxiety of the Civil War and used landscape imagery to give voice to their misgivings as well as their hopes for themselves and the nation.
This important book looks at the range of artwork created before, during, and following the war, in the years between 1859 and 1876. Author Eleanor Jones Harvey examines the implications of the war on landscape and genre painting, history painting, and photography, as represented in some of the greatest masterpieces of 19th-century American art. The book features extensive quotations from men and women alive during the war years, alongside text by literary figures including Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, and Walt Whitman, among many others.
About the Author
and#8220;In landscape paintings during the Civil War years, the skies and geography told a version of the story, bringing together literary metaphor and visual imagery to create a war-inflected layer of meaning. When we consider the literature, speeches, sermons, and letters that invoked stormy weather, volcanic eruptions, and celestial portents to understand the war and all its profound consequences, that imagery gains depth and the paintingsand#8217; meaning becomes clearer. Landscape painting thus became the emotional barometer of the mood of the nation.and#8221;and#8212;Eleanor Harvey