To Collect and Conquer: American Collections in the Gilded Age
Abstract
During the second half of the nineteenth century, commissioning and collecting art became an essential feature of displaying power. This article thus looks at the American art market as a lens to study the changing dynamics between the newly affluent businessmen and politicians. Considering both the aesthetic and economic aspects of buying art, and the ascendency of French painting at the time, it analyzes how art became the vehicle for changing representations of power and status, and revealed a new balance between successful businessmen and the representatives of popular sovereignty.
Keywords
