Impressionism: A Legacy of Light

by Carol Strickland

Masterpieces of Art
A visual tour through major art movements, artists and their works


Masterpieces of Art is a series of eBook guides featuring multimedia content and interactive functionality to reveal the story behind major periods in art history. Each eBook provides an engaging and visual account of the development and accomplishments of a significant aesthetic period -- whether you’re a novice sticking a toe in the waters of art history or a veteran museum-goer wanting a full-body immersion in the topic.


Impressionism: A Legacy of Light
Discover how a group of protagonists combined individual talent and creative collaboration to overcome obstacles and create works of art which were initially met with revulsion but ultimately kicked off an aesthetic revolution, becoming some of the most beloved of Western art.


About the author
Carol Strickland is an author and cultural journalist for publications including Art in America, The Christian Science Monitor and New York Times. She is the author of the acclaimed art history book The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in the History of Art from Prehistoric to Post-Modern and The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History of Architecture. Having sold more than 400,000 copies, The Annotated Mona Lisa is frequently listed as one of Amazon’s best-selling art books. Strickland has also written The Illustrated Timeline of Art History, The Illustrated Timeline of Western Literature, and The Eagle and the Swan, a historical novel. Strickland has a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and has taught at Stony Brook University. She has a home on Long Island in New York State. Links to her most recent feature stories can be found on her website: WWW.CAROLCSTRICKLAND.COM. She records reflections on cultural topics on Twitter (@CAROLARTBEAT).

323 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 16, 2014

About the author

Carol Strickland's interactive eBook is "Masterpieces of Art: Impressionism, A Legacy of Light (available from Erudition Digital). She is author of a historical novel "The Eagle and the Swan," an eBook available from amazon for kindle and in print from Echo Point Books and Media (See the book's website: http://www.theeagleandtheswan.com.) She has written many non-fiction books and is an art critic/journalist.
Her two books on the history of art and architecture (The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in the History of Art from Prehistoric to the Present, 3rd, updated edition, and The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History of Architecture) have sold more than 400,000 copies in multiple editions and translations. Strickland has also published The Illustrated Timeline of Art History: A Crash Course in Words and Pictures and The Illustrated Timeline of Western Literature: A Crash Course in Words and Pictures. Her essays have appeared in monographs on the artists Paul Waldman and Aris Kalaizis.
As a writer on cultural topics, she has contributed to publications like The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Art in America, The Nation, Commonweal, Civilization, American Theater, Garden Design, and Art & Antiques. She has a homes in Massachusetts and New York.
Strickland has a Ph.D. in American literature from the University of Michigan and has taught at Stony Brook University, Rutgers University, Southampton College, Stevens Institute of Technology, and La Guardia Community College. She’s won accolades for her screenplays in prestigious competitions.
Links to some of her feature stories are under “Events” on her website: http://www.carolcstrickland.com. She contributes reflections on current culture to Bluesky @carolartbeat.bsky.social.
Her new historical novel, "Sparks Fly Up: The Lost Story of Margaret Fuller," will be published January 22, 2026. Set in 1850 Concord, the novel shows how Fuller's famous friends like Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Whitman, and Melville squabble over how to remember her life and legacy.