Book ID: CBB152797652

Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture (2020)

unapi

Harvey, Eleanor Jones (Author)
Sues, Hans-Dieter (Author)


Princeton University Press


Publication Date: 2020
Physical Details: 448
Language: English

The enduring influence of naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt on American art, culture, and politics. Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was one of the most influential scientists and thinkers of his age. A Prussian-born geographer, naturalist, explorer, and illustrator, he was a prolific writer whose books graced the shelves of American artists, scientists, philosophers, and politicians. Humboldt visited the United States for six weeks in 1804, engaging in a lively exchange of ideas with such figures as Thomas Jefferson and the painter Charles Willson Peale. It was perhaps the most consequential visit by a European traveler in the young nation's history, one that helped to shape an emerging American identity grounded in the natural world. In this beautifully illustrated book, Eleanor Jones Harvey examines how Humboldt left a lasting impression on American visual arts, sciences, literature, and politics. She shows how he inspired a network of like-minded individuals who would go on to embrace the spirit of exploration, decry slavery, advocate for the welfare of Native Americans, and extol America's wilderness as a signature component of the nation's sense of self. Harvey traces how Humboldt's ideas influenced the transcendentalists and the landscape painters of the Hudson River School, and laid the foundations for the Smithsonian Institution, the Sierra Club, and the National Park Service. Alexander von Humboldt and the United States looks at paintings, sculptures, maps, and artifacts, and features works by leading American artists such as Albert Bierstadt, George Catlin, Frederic Church, and Samuel F. B. Morse. Published in association with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC. Exhibition Schedule Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC September 18, 2020–January 3, 2021

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Reviewed By

Review Sandra Rebok (2022) Review of "Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture". Centaurus: International Magazine of the History of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (pp. 793-796). unapi

Review C. H. Smith (2021) Review of "Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture". Archives of Natural History (pp. 416-416). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB152797652/

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Authors & Contributors
Jorink, Eric
Vega, Jesusa
Fairman, Elisabeth R.
Art, Yale Center for British
Williams, R. B.
Weisberg-Roberts, Alicia
Concepts
Visual representation; visual communication
Science and art
Illustrations
Natural history
Naturalists
Science and culture
Time Periods
18th century
19th century
17th century
Early modern
20th century
21st century
Places
Netherlands
United States
Spain
East Indies
Australia
Chicago (Illinois, U.S.)
Institutions
Field Museum of Natural History
Natural History Museum (London, England)
Field Columbian Museum
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