E-Book Overview
How did the average American learn about art in the mid-nineteenth century? With public art museums still in their infancy, and few cities and towns large enough to support art galleries or print shops, Americans relied on mass-circulated illustrated magazines. One group of magazines in particular, known collectively as the Philadelphia pictorials, circulated fine art engravings of paintings, some produced exclusively for circulation in these monthlies, to an eager middle-class reading audience. These magazines achieved print circulations far exceeding those of other print media (such as illustrated gift books, or catalogs from art-union membership organizations). Godey's, Graham's, Peterson's, Miss Leslie's, and Sartain's Union Magazine included two to three fine art engravings monthly, "tipped in" to the fronts of the magazines, and designed for pull-out and display. Featuring the work of a fledgling group of American artists who chose American rather than European themes for their paintings, these magazines were crucial to the distribution of American art beyond the purview of the East Coast elite to a widespread middle-class audience. Contributions to these magazines enabled many an American artist and engraver to earn, for the first time in the young nation's history, a modest living through art.Author Cynthia Lee Patterson examines the economics of artistic production, innovative engraving techniques, regional imitators, the textual "illustrations" accompanying engravings, and the principal artists and engravers contributing to these magazines.
E-Book Content
Art for the Middle Classes
CYNTHIA LEE PAT TERSON
Art for the Middle Classes AMERICA’S ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINES OF THE 1840S
UNIVERSIT Y PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI / JACKSON
www.upress.state.ms.us Funding for the color illustrations provided by the University of South Florida Polytechnic. The University Press of Mississippi is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Copyright © 2010 by University Press of Mississippi All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printing 2010 ∞ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Patterson, Cynthia Lee. Art for the middle classes : America’s illustrated magazines of the 1840s / Cynthia Lee Patterson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-1-60473-736-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 9781-60473-737-0 (ebook) 1. Magazine illustration—United States—19th century. 2. Art and the middle class— United States—History—19th century. 3. Periodicals— Publishing—United States—History—19th century. 4. Middle class—Books and reading—United States— History—19th century. I. Title. II. Title: America’s illustrated magazines of the 1840s. NC975.P38 2010 741.6’52097309034—dc22 2010008412 British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
Contents vii
LIST OF FIGURES
ix
LIST OF COLOR PLATES
xi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
3
1. Introduction THE PHILADELPHIA PIC TORIALS AND AMERICAN VISUAL CULTURE IN THE 1840S
18
2. “From the Burin of an American Artist” ARTISTIC PRODUC TION IN THE 1830S AND 1840S
37
3. “Superior Embellishments” INNOVATIONS TO THE GRAPHIC ARTS IN THE PHILADELPHIA PIC TORIALS
55
4. “The Fluttering Host of Many-Colored Competitors” REGIONAL IMITATORS IN THE NORTHEAST, WEST, AND SOUTH
87
5. “Illustration of a Picture” AMERICAN AUTHORS AND THE MAGAZINE EMBELLISHMENTS
119
6. “Engravings from Original Pictures” COMPE TING FOR AUDIENCES AND ORIGINAL ART
142
7. “A Mezzotint in Every Number” BAT TLING FOR EMBELLISHERS, BAT TLING OVER ART
160
8. Conclusion THE ASCENDANCY OF NEW YORK, AND MARKE T STRATIFICATION
169
NOTES
203