It closes at the end of the weekend. This show is smaller than the PMA's. In the late 19th century, artists of any ambition were expected to study in Paris. America wanted to depict itself as the culmination of the march of civilization. Of course, it had to master the artistic tradition of Europe to do so.
Portraits are a high point.
William Merritt Chase can do my portrait any day. Eakins, Whistler and Cecilia Beaux are also represented with strong work. And, of course, Sargent, who, like Whistler, was practically a foreigner, painted Miss Carey Thomas, President of Bryn Mawr College as the prototype of the dedicated, educated American woman. On the other hand, Catherine Vlasto, with her tiny waist and boneless fingers on the piano, is the image of cosmopolitan elegance. The sappy champ is Charles Courtney Curran.