7 June 2008 – 31 August 2008

High Society. American Portraits of the Gilded Age

Mark Twain called the period following the American Civil War the “Gilded Age”. This term conveys the immense wealth of the newly established American moneyed aristocracy, which includes such famous families as that of railway baron Cornelius Vanderbilt. The urge of these industrial magnets to display their wealth was not only exhibited in their palatial dwellings in New York City and their spectacular country homes along the nearby eastern seaboard. This exhibition will demonstrate the influence that these members of the plutocracy exerted on portrait painting and its market at the end of the 19th century. The commissioned works reflect the fine social nuances which the winners of the explosive economic boom used to illustrate their position in society. The exhibition includes around fifty prestigious works, including paintings by John Singer Sargent and James Whistler, which offer European audiences a coherent introduction to late 19th century American portrait painting.

Address

Bucerius Kunstforum
Rathausmarkt 2
20095 Hamburg
phone +49 40 360 99 60
http://www.buceriuskunstforum.de

Opening Hours

Daily 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

The Bucerius Kunst Forum is situated in the building of the ancient Reichsbank, built 1914-1917. Remodelling of the cash hall into an exhibition space by the architect Jan Störmer

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