Talk:Lilla Cabot Perry

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While I very much admire the work of Lilla Cabot Perry, I disagree with the statements that she is "responsible for introducing impressionism to her native United States" and (in the entry on American Impressionism) that "she introduced impressionism to the United States". These statements to not seem to accord with historical facts. For reference I use the book "American Impressonism, 2nd edition" by William Gerdts, who is generally acknowledged as the leading historian on American Impressionist art.

Lilla Cabot Perry first visited Giverny and Claude Monet in 1889.

Six years earlier, however, the first significant exhibition of French impressionism took place in Boston (Gerdts, pp. 50-52), with works by Manet, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, and Monet. Gerdts writes, "Thus for the first time the American public had an opportunity to view a full representation of the new aesthetic".

In 1886 a second, even larger exhibition of 290 French impressionist works from the famed dealer Durand-Ruel took place in New York. Gerdts writes that the exhibition had "an enormous impact".

While Perry may have attended one or both of these exhibitions, I haven't read any evidence that she had a role in their organization.

Neither was Perry the first American artist to visit Giverny and Monet, nor the first American artist to paint in an impressionist style. She was preceded in Giverny by Theodore Robinson, who moved in next door to Monet in 1888 and may have been there as early as 1886, and by John Leslie Breck and Dennis Miller Bunker. "Bunker's impressionist pictures and those sent from France by John Leslie Breck were among the earlist native Impressionist works seen in Boston in the late 1880s" (Gerdts, p. 85).

I cordially invite contributors familiar with the work of Lilla Cabot Perry and American Impressionism to provide evidence in support of the statements referenced above.

--Worldofdew 14:38, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Having elicited no discussion I edited the entry to reflect Perry's historical role on Nov. 15 logged in as 12.77.93.98.

--Worldofdew 02:29, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

Source

I am unable to find a source for:

• Much of Perry’s oeuvre was influenced by the time she spent with Stevens. The Letter [Alice Perry] (1893) clearly reveals Stevens' influence with Perry's elegant handling of the turned details of the chair, the careful attention paid to the coloration of the wood, and the tactile reality she imbued her daughter's garment with – every pleat of the dress evokes its three-dimensional fullness. All of this combined with Perry's careful handling of Alice’s face creates an emotional, introspective composition.

It may be in Martindale, but I cannot view the book and searches don't come up with something that ties Stevens with "The Letter". Is there a source for this?--CaroleHenson (talk) 17:26, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

• Another solo exhibition followed in 1911 at the Copley Gallery featuring her Lady with a Bowl of Violets (1910).--CaroleHenson (talk) 18:07, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

• Her translation of such dynamic styles into her intimate, everyday world created an oeuvre of art that provides intensely personal reflections on this Boston native's life.--CaroleHenson (talk) 18:33, 13 October 2014 (UTC)