Impressionism and The Ten

The Ten American Painters

National Park Service, Weir Farm National Historic Site

 

1893 to 1911

 

John Singer Sargent and Julian Alden Weir at the pond.

National Park Service, Weir Farm National Historic Site

Weir's reputation as a landscape painter and leader of the American Impressionists grew through the 1890s. During the winter of 1897-98, Weir joined his friends Childe Hassam, John Twachtman, and seven other like-minded artists in forming a new artists' group known as the "Ten American Painters," or "The Ten." This group provided an alternative to the staid exhibitions of the National Academy of Design and the now stagnant Society of American Artists, from which Weir had resigned. This new art group had a better energy and vowed to move towards a "greater quality of art." There were many exhibitions in the following years.

Back at Branchville, Weir continued to use the landscape for inspiration and made improvements to the farm. He constructed a pond for fishing in 1896 with money he had won from a first-prize painting he entered in an art show. In 1907 he acquired a neighboring farm, bringing his land total to 238 acres. He also expanded the original farmhouse twice. This provided Weir with a space to accomodate friends and guests at his beloved retreat. Many artists spent weekends with Weir-fishing, hunting, drinking homemade cider, discussing philosophy and of course, painting. Hassam, Twachtman, Albert Pinkham Ryder and John Singer Sergeant were among the artists who visited Weir's farm and were inspired by the landscape.

 

A Thing Done
1911 to 1919