into the twentieth with the construction of large public buildings. During the Depression in the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration funded the Federal Arts Project in order to increase public support for the arts and employ visual artists. Part of this effort involved the creation of murals <javascript:OpenBrWindow(«images/h10.htm»,«h10»,«resizable=yes,width=220,height=350»)> for post offices, city halls, and other government buildings. As government commissions for public spaces, these works are the modern heirs to the tradition of history painting.the late twentieth century artists did not completely abandon historical events. Some are composite interpretations that refer to events, such as Robert Rauschenberg «s For Dante» s 700 Birthday, No. 1 <javascript:OpenBrWindow(«images/h11.htm»,«h11»,«resizable=yes,width=210,height=210»)>. However, photography, film, and video have largely transformed history painting into history documentation [5, p. 75-77].
2.5 Marine painting
early as colonial times, Atlantic ports such as Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Charleston were established hubs of American commerce. It was common for wealthy ship owners, mariners, and merchants to commission pictures of the boats and activities by which they made their living. Following British and Dutch models, many artists specialized in marine paintings.first American marine paintings centered on the ports themselves, which were often viewed across the water <javascript:OpenBrWindow(«images/m1.htm»,«m1»,«width=210,height=240»)> as if from the deck of a ship. These harbor scenes frequently included ship traffic and illustrated mercantile activities along the wharves, suggesting the prosperity of America «s flourishing maritime industry. In ship paintings, a harbor view might indicate the vessel »s home port, as in Thomas Chambers« New York Harbor with Pilot Boat «George Washington» <javascript:OpenBrWindow(»images/m2.htm«,»m2«,»width=210,height=270«)>.the nineteenth century, proud ship owners commissioned individual portraits of their commercial vessels <javascript:OpenBrWindow(»images/m3.htm«,»m3«,»width=210,height=260«)> and racing yachts. Marine painters became skilled not only at precisely delineating the rigging of sailing ships but also at capturing effects of water and sky. The standard format showed the boat broadside <javascript:OpenBrWindow(»images/m4.htm«,»m4«,»width=210,height=225«)>, under full sail or steam, generally with other craft in the distance and perhaps a glimpse of the far shore.the mid-nineteenth century, marine painting shifted emphasis from man to nature. No longer interested in illustrations of commerce, artists like John Frederick Kensett and Fitz Henry Lane strove to capture the spiritual qualities of sea and sky <javascript:OpenBrWindow(»images/m5.htm«,»m5«,»width=210,height=220«)>. These scenes may include ships and human figures, but the true subject is the...
