Between Palette and Pen: Images of Venice in the Work of F. Hopkinson Smith

Author: 

De Marchi, Agnese, Ph.D., Ca' Foscari University, Venice

Credentials: 

Department of Humanities, University of Trieste; Ph.D., Ca' Foscari University, Venice

This book explores images of Venice in the written and visual art of the multitalented American writer, painter, lecturer, and engineer Francis Hopkinson Smith (1838-1915). A successful artist and intrepid traveler, F. Hopkinson Smith spent every summer in Venice for almost twenty years: his stays in the Italian city resulted in a large output of watercolors and writings, including his popular travelogue Venice of To-Day(1895), which featured over 200 illustrations by Smith himself.

Despite Smith’s popularity during his lifetime, his reputation as a writer and painter faded after his death and has occupied only a modest place in the American canon. This is the first scholarly work to examine the life and work of this unique American artist, whose legacy spans two centuries and was grounded in the enduringly popular fin-de-siècle. This book examines Smith’s literary and visual perception of Venice while illuminating the life and works of this multifaceted artist, whose works are highly illustrative of the era's mainstream American culture and its perception of foreign spaces.

Market: 
American Studies, American Art, Art History, American History, Cultural Studies, Travel Literature, Italy, Italian Studies, Venice, Venetian Art History, Fin-de-Siècle Culture, F. Hopkinson Smith, American Painting
Release Date: 
December 15, 2017
ISBN: 
Hardcover: 978-1680530537
Price: 
$99.95
Trim Size: 
6 x 9
Pages: 
252
Illustrations: 
Yes
Publisher: 

ACADEMICA PRESS
1727 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 507
Washington, DC 20036
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