script:OpenBrWindow(«images/l5.htm»,«l5»,«resizable=yes,width=230,height=220»)> are imaginary scenes with symbolic meaning, rather than representations of a particular place. Sometimes inspired by literature, these large-scale works illustrated high-minded themes that were usually reserved for history painting.industrial development pushed westward, landscape artists were documenting the American wilderness just as it was disappearing. Although George Inness « The Lackawanna Valley <javascript:OpenBrWindow(»images/l6.htm«,»l6«,»resizable=yes,width=230,height=235«)> was commissioned by a railroad company, the finished work is not a direct homage to industrialization. At his patron »s request, the artist exaggerated features of the railroad, but also prominently displayed the field of tree stumps in the foreground. Ambiguous in tone, the landscape can be read as a glorification of development or as a reminder of the price of progress [3]. The mid-nineteenth century, the American public became increasingly interested in the far reaches of the continent. Adventurous artists made names for themselves by bringing images of the Rockies, the Sierra Nevadas, andSouth America <javascript:OpenBrWindow(«images/l7.htm»,«l7»,«resizable=yes,width=230,height=230»)> back to East Coast audiences. George Catlin <javascript:OpenBrWindow(«images/l8.htm»,«l8»,«resizable=yes,width=230,height=265»)> built his career on his record of the indigenous people of the Americas. Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran became known for their grandiose landscapes <javascript:OpenBrWindow(«images/l9.htm»,«l9»,«resizable=yes,width=230,height=245»)>; their huge panoramas were meant to approximate the live viewing experience. Moran «s paintings of the American West were instrumental in the establishment of Yellowstone as the first national park in 1872., These grand, monumental landscapes gave way to more intimate, interpretive views. For the new generation, landscape was less a stage for theatrical effects but rather a sounding board for the artist »s personal emotional response. At the turn of the century, Winslow Homer <javascript:OpenBrWindow(«images/l10.htm»,«l10»,«resizable=yes,width=230,height=240»)> specialized in outdoor scenes that captured American rural life. American impressionists <javascript:OpenBrWindow(«images/l11.htm»,«l11»,«resizable=yes,width=230,height=260»)> experimented with rendering the evocative effects of light and atmosphere in landscape. The new aesthetic was characterized by loose brushwork, subtle tonalities, and an interest in conveying mood.after the turn of the century, a group of New York artists rejected picturesque pastoral subjects and focused instead on gritty urban scenes. Although there are some technical similarities to the work of impressionists, theurban landscapes <javascript:OpenBrWindow(«images/l12.htm»,«l12»,«resizable=yes,width=230,height=250»)...
