Impressionist Art
Emerging in 19th-century France, Impressionist art embraced loose brushwork and plein-air painting to respond to the movement of daily life. Although the pioneers of the Impressionist movement — Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir — are now household names, their work was a radical break with an art scene led and shaped by academic traditions for around two centuries. These academies had oversight of a curriculum that emphasized formal drawing, painting and sculpting techniques and historical themes.
The French Impressionists were influenced by a group of artists known as the Barbizon School, who painted what they witnessed in nature. The rejection of pieces by these artists and the later Impressionists from the salons culminated in a watershed 1874 exhibition in Paris that was staged outside of the juried systems. After a work of Monet’s was derided by a critic as an unfinished “impression,” the term was taken as a celebration of their shared interest in capturing fleeting moments as subject matter, whether the shifting weather on rural landscapes or the frenzy of an urban crowd. Rather than the exacting realism of the academic tradition, Impressionist paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings represented how an artist saw a world in motion.
Many Impressionist painters were inspired by the perspectives in imported Japanese prints alongside these shifts in European painting — Édouard Manet drew on ukiyo-e woodblock prints and depicted Japanese design in his Portrait of Émile Zola, for example. American artists such as Mary Cassatt and William Merritt Chase, who studied abroad, were impacted by the work of the French artists, and by the late 19th century American Impressionism had its own distinct aesthetics with painters responding to the rapid modernization of cities through quickly created works that were vivid with color and light.
Find a collection of authentic Impressionist art on 1stDibs.
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Canvas, Panel, Pastel
20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
Robert CoxStill Life of a Vase of Pink Red & White Roses by 20th Century American Artist, 1975 Circa
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Gouache
20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 1900s Impressionist Art
Etching
1930s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
1950s Impressionist Art
Offset
1950s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
1970s Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1920s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
20th Century Impressionist Art
Lithograph
1940s Impressionist Art
Watercolor, Gouache
1940s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1890s Impressionist Art
Oil, Wood Panel
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1950s Impressionist Art
Linen, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Color, Satin Paper
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Board, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Art
Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Linen, Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
1940s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
1910s Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Lithograph
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
1930s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A eucalyptus tree stands sentinel along the edge of the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve, a beloved landmark on California’s central coast. Rendered in oil on a cradled wood panel, the composition invites viewers into a sunlit landscape where clouds drift above the calm Pacific Ocean. The brushwork conveys both the tranquility and vitality of this coastal haven, evoking the gentle warmth of a clear day and the timeless beauty of nature.
About the Artist
Artist Elizabeth Garat paints impressionist landscapes, seascapes, and scenes from her travels that reflect her deep connection to the natural world. “Exposure to nature early on planted the seed of landscape painting in me,†says Elizabeth. Raised between California and Colorado, she spent her formative years outdoors—exploring her grandfather’s sheep ranch, walking beaches with her grandmother, and discovering California Impressionism in the galleries of Laguna Beach. She later studied with noted photographer MacDuff Everton at UC Santa Barbara and trained in plein air painting with Maddine Insalaco and Joe Vinson in Italy. Elizabeth works from a bright studio converted from her home’s detached garage, complete with barn wood walls, a skylight, and a Dutch door...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
Late 19th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Robert Freiman"Meditation" Portrait of Seated Young Man American Oil Painting on Canvas Framed, 1962
20th Century Impressionist Art
Gouache
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Screen
Late 19th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1890s Impressionist Art
Drypoint, Etching
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
Robert CoxStill Life of a Vase of Pink Red & White Roses by 20th Century American Artist, 1975 Circa
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
1880s Impressionist Art
Oil
1980s Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Gouache
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil