Book Description

John Henry Twachtman (1853-1902) reached artistic maturity while living in Greenwich, Connecticut. There he created the paintings of his home and property that would earn him the reputation as the most original of the leading American Impressionists. This volume, accompanying an exhibition held at the Greenwich Historical Society, presents a new approach to Twachtman's Greenwich oeuvre, treating it as a unified project encompassing both the modifications the artist made to his home and the land surrounding it, and the images he derived from this subject matter.Incorporating insights gleaned from architectural study of Twachtman's house -- still extant -- Life and Art establishes a new detailed chronology of Twachtman's Greenwich paintings, revealing a progression in the artist's relationship to his subject. Following early attempts to harmonize his home with the surrounding landscape through painting, gradually Twachtman wielded control over the land and architecture itself. In this self-created world, the artist blended his painting life and home life into a beautiful whole. Illustrated with artworks from the exhibition and other examples from Twachtman's Greenwich years, Life and Art sets forth a new paradigm for considering the artist's relationship to home and work.