1900 Rediscovered - art exhibition

Art in America, Sept, 2000 by Michael Duncan

While the precise features of a uniquely "American" quality remained--and remain--elusive, the selections for the Exposition clearly helped garner attention for the United States as a viable breeding ground for art. European critics were generally enthusiastic. Strong selections by Thomas Eakins, Edwin Austin Abbey, Gari Melchers and Augustus Saint-Gaudens demonstrated the solid quality of American work, as well as the era's broad range of accepted styles.

The catalogue accompanying the Montclair exhibition, edited by curator Diane P. Fischer, features detailed essays tracing the organization of the American section and tracking its legacy into the 20th century. State Department involvement in art in 1900 marks a fascinating precedent for the United States Information Agency's postwar promotion of Abstract Expressionism as a uniquely American style. As this exhibition and its catalogue seem to confirm, "national" cultural distinctions have long been shaped by political strategies and social goals. --M.D.

"Paris 1900: The `American School' at the Universal The Exposition," was shown at the Montclair (N.J.) Art Museum [Sept. 18, 1999-Jan. 16, 2000], the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia [Feb. 11-Apr. 16], and the Columbus (Ohio) Museum of Art [May 18-Aug. 13], It will be seen at the Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison [Sept. 16-Dec. 3], and the Musee Camavalet, Paris [Feb. 2-May 15, 2001],

"1900: Art at the Crossroads" was organized by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, where it appeared Jan. 16-Apr. 3, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, where it is on view May 18-Sept. 13. The exhibition is accompanied by a 445-page, full-color catalogue published by Harry N. Abrams Inc., featuring essays by Robert Rosenblum and MaryAnne Stevens.

Michael Duncan is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.