This transatlantic study analyses a missing chapter in the history of
art collecting, the first art market bubble in the United States. In the
decades following the Civil War, French art monopolized art collections
across the United States. During this "Gilded Age picture rush," the
commercial art system-art dealers, galleries, auction houses,
exhibitions, museums, art journals, press coverage, art histories, and
collection catalogues-established a strong foothold it has not
relinquished to this day. In addition, a pervasive concern for improving
aesthetics and providing the best contemporary art to educate the masses
led to the formation not only of private art collections, but also of
institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and to the
publication of art histories.
Richly informed by collectors' and art dealers' diaries, letters, stock
books, journals, and hitherto neglected art histories, The New York
Market for French Art in the Gilded Age, 1867-1893 offers a fresh
perspective on this trailblazing era.