Impressionism was a style of painting that was very popular in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. Some notable artists of the decade were Mary Cassatt, James Whistler, and William Harnett. These painters were all American born artists but had different nationalities. Many different artists lived during the 1880's. Some were Mary Cassatt, James Whistler and William Harnett. Each of them had different and unique styles of painting. They also had a similar thing; the artists' styles were similar in that they were based in impressionism.
Mary Cassatt was born May 22 of 1884. She was born in Alleghency City, Pennsylvania. Her style of painting was based in impressionism. She studied with Camille Pissarro, which helped her by getting her first painting in the Paris Salon. After she made it with impressionism she moved back to take her of her mother, she quit painti
ng after her success and resumed her work in the mid 1880's. Some of her pieces are "TEA", "THE BOATING PARTY", and "THE CHILD'S BATH", just to name a few. She passed away on June 14 of 1926 in Paris.
Another artist was James Whistler. He was born July 11 of 1834 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Whistler would claim that Russia was his birthplace instead of Lowell. His style of painting impressionism but it was more realistic. James attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He married a woman named Beatrix. Some of his paintings are "NOCTURE IN BLACK AND GOLD:THE FALLING ROCKET", AND "THE WHITE GIRL". James passed away on July 17 of 1903.
William Harnett was another artist around that era. He was born August 10 of 1848, in Clonakitly, County Cork, Ireland. His family immigrated to America and settled in Philadelphia. He style of painting was a trompe l'oeil or a "fool the Eye" type of style. His style was also more of a realistic type. William started out by engraving designs on silver. Some of his pieces are "VIOLIN", and "COLT". William passed away in New York City on October 29 of 1892.
Art in the 1880's was a good period for art, the start of the impressionism movement and realism also rose up. Many famous paintings were painted this time and the artists are well known after so many years.
Mary Cassatt, James Whistler, William Harnett, pages.drexel.edu
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~tjb25/harnett2.jpg