At First Light: American Tonalism

Munger Gallery

November 12, 2024 – February 9, 2025'At First Light: American Tonalism' showcases a critical era of late 19th and early 20th century landscape painting. Responding to the trauma of the Civil War and taking aesthetic inspiration from the French Barbizon and American Hudson River Schools, artists began to depict the landscape using loose brushstrokes and subdued colors. These techniques gave the movement its name and created hazy and dreamlike compositions that captured the qualities of light at dawn and dusk. Featuring the work of 17 artists alongside historic objects and archival material from the period, this exhibition explores how artists painting in the Tonalist style uniquely perceived and depicted the American landscape.