Second Impressions: Revisiting the Paintings of

Robert Vonnoh

On View: September 8 - November 25, 2020

CHICAGO, IL – Madron Gallery presents Second Impressions: Revisiting the Paintings of Robert Vonnoh, on view September 8 through November 25, 2020. One of the earliest practitioners of Impressionism in America, Robert Vonnoh was a brilliant colorist, portraitist, and influential teacher; he is also an artist often overlooked. In 2010, Madron Gallery — in partnership with the Butler Institute of American Art, along with the assistance of multiple private collections — organized the retrospective Robert Vonnoh: American Impressionist. The exhibition highlighted Vonnoh’s dual modes of painting, landscape and portraiture, as well as his evolution as an Impressionist painter.

Grez-sur-Loing, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches, after 1901 — ***Grez-sur-Loing***, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches, after 1901

American Autumn, oil on canvas, 25 x30, inches, c.1920 — ***American Autumn***, oil on canvas, 25 x30, inches, c.1920

Ten years later Madron is taking another look at Vonnoh, this time focusing on his American landscapes created in and around the artist colony of Lyme, Connecticut, while also highlighting his French landscapes and the portraits that made him famous. Vonnoh’s canvases explore the calm poetry of rural summers and New England falls with raw, brilliant colors and broad strokes of the pallet knife. Moonlight and dusk are portrayed with the signature muted violets and lavenders of Impressionism, while vibrant pinks, reds, yellows, and oranges capture the beauty of sunlight reflected on foliage in the height of autumn.

Girl with French Poppies, oil on canvas, 32 x 21 inches, c. 1888-1890 — ***Girl with French Poppies,*** oil on canvas, 32 x 21 inches, c. 1888-1890

Art historian Wendy Greenhouse, PhD discusses Vonnoh’s career and many of the paintings now on display at Madron in the 2010 catalog Robert Vonnoh: American Impressionist now available online from Madron Press and on Amazon.com. Read it to learn more about Vonnoh’s life, career, connection to Chicago, and his full exhibition history.

Mist Rising up from the River, oil on canvas, 11 1/2 x 9 inches, c. 1925 — ***Mist Rising up from the River***, oil on canvas, 11 1/2 x 9 inches, c. 1925

Moonlit Landscape, oil on canvas, 30 x 36 inches, c. 1920 — ***Moonlit Landscape***, oil on canvas, 30 x 36 inches, c. 1920

For more information on individual artworks and Robert Vonnoh, please contact Madron Gallery at info@madrongallery or 312-640-1302.