American Stories, Paintings of Everyday Life at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

Another one of the newer exhibits I viewed at The Met on Friday was called American Stories, Paintings of Everyday Life 1765-1915.   (Be sure to click on the link because they have a great online sample of the paintings and narrations of the show.)

This show is so well put together. It's a series of rooms, small collections that each make a point and lead us through American Art. It's not preachy, it's enjoyable. So many old favorites are there, but there were quite a few surprises for me. 

One of the first paintings made me laugh. It's called Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam, ca 1752-58. The scene looks right from one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The painter has poked fun of himself and painted himself vomiting in the hallway.

Another surprise, Why didn't I ever know about Lilly Martin Spencer (American, 1822–1902)? Her paintings are delightful. I am going to look into more about her. Painting from a women's point of view in the mid-nineteenth-century, with wit. We can't get enough of that.

Some of my favorite American painters had multiple works in the show - Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, William Merrit Chase and John Singer Sargent. But walking into one of the rooms, I was drawn to a huge yellow canvas. I was surprised it was Frederick Remington's Fight for the Water Hole.It looked so different outside of the Western themes that I'd expect it in. In this room it more than held it's own, it dominated the room. It looked to me like a brand new painting, because of the fresh perspective. 

It's a lovely exhibit. If you can't go to see it, the online exhibit is worth browsing through.