Framing America: A Social History of American Art

by Frances K. Pohl

For more than a generation, critics and scholars have been revising and expanding the customary definition of American art. A tradition once assumed to be mainly European and oriented towards painting and sculpture has been enriched by the inclusion of other media such as ceramics, needlework, and illustration, and the work of previously marginalized groups such as Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans. Now, in a brilliant combination of original scholarship and synthesis, Frances Pohl's Framing America provides the first comprehensive survey of this new, enlarged vision of American art. Here are the many strands of North America's history and visual the first contacts of the Spanish with the Aztecs and other Native Americans; the post-Revolutionary definition of nationhood; the visionary feeling for landscape and nature; the images of social and military conflict of the nineteenth century; and the tempering of the twentieth century's heady plunge into modernism by the Depression, World War II, the Cold War, and the culture wars. Framing America 's consistent presentation of the resonance between art and history offers a coherent sense of the evolution of a new, generously defined conception of American art. Pohl's account is an adroitly inclusive fusion of many themes. Her discussion of the early definition of nationhood includes the traditional painters of the grand manner, West, Copley, Trumbell, and Stuart. But Stuart's portraits of George Washington, for instance, are also viewed in relation to portrayals of Washington in wood carvings, embroidery, and the vogue for "mourning pictures" after Washington's death, which create a domestic counterpoint to the more institutional portrayals. Pohl's description of the great landscape tradition of Cole, Durand, and Church shows how the optimistic assertion of a sublime sense of the American nation was accompanied by a sense of loss as the nation expanded westward. As our appreciation of the rich cultural diversity of American life has grown, our sense of American artits sources, its motives, its possibilitieshas become more varied too. Fresh and contemporary, Framing America embraces what our history can tell us about our art and what our art can tell us about our past and present. 665 illustrations, 337 in color.

Genres: Art, History, Art History, American History, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Shurrn · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most enjoyable textbooks I have ever known.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 to 4 stars; read specifically the passage on indigenous people ("Old World, New World: The Encounter of Cultures on the American Frontier") for a class on indigenous Americans in popular culture and thought it was extremely enlightening despite the fact I do not care about art or art history at all. Hopefully I will be able to get back around to reading the rest of this book soon enough, as I imagine Pohl does a similarly good job at highlighting the historical and continuing injustices of the portrayal of the discriminated throughout the rest of this work.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was assigned reading for a docent training course I'm taking. It followed on reading another text on American Art by Robert Hughes. This was a MUCH better book, in my opinion - a more even-handed look at artists and art movements, greater inclusion of art by indigenous peoples and artists of color, women artists, etc. Pohl includes a helpful timeline of historical events of note as well as artistic developments at th beginning of each chapter. Long but well worth having as a reference in your art library.

[Craig Lawver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read with a broad sweep

[Emberly]

As far as text books go, I was not at all mad at this one.

[Tina Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this book as a teacher of art history but I think the language and amount of reading would be too much for most high school students. I like reading about each topic myself for more knowledge before I teach the lesson. I recommend this book for the American Art History teacher in high school or anyone who wants a fairly intense general overview of the subject.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

for the size of the scope it touches on a lot that often gets looked over