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In the Library: Life in the Impressionists’ Paris

Upcoming Exhibition

September 9, 2024 – January 20, 2025
Library Atrium

Late 19th-century Paris witnessed profound social, cultural, and physical change. Political and military clashes led to widespread destruction in the city. At the same time, industrialization and new technologies like the railway altered residents’ experience of urban space. Women were increasingly present in public life, and tourism was expanding. The city where the impressionists lived and worked was in flux. Artists reacted to this moment in multiple ways: some sought refuge in tradition, while others embraced new ways of seeing.

This selection of approximately 40 photographs and prints from the National Gallery of Art Library shows us the world of the artists and artworks on view in Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment. These archival objects provide glimpses of a city and an art market on the cusp of modernity.

Explore Selected Works

In the Library: Life in the Impressionists’ Paris

C. L. C., Pont Alexandre III, Paris, 19th century, colorized collotype postcard, National Gallery of Art Library
In the Library: Life in the Impressionists’ Paris

Franck, Paris-incendié, 1871, albumen photograph, National Gallery of Art Library
In the Library: Life in the Impressionists’ Paris

E. L. D., Hôtel de Ville, Paris, 19th century, colorized collotype postcard, National Gallery of Art Library
In the Library: Life in the Impressionists’ Paris

Galerie de la Paix at the Palace of the Tuileries, before 1871, albumen stereograph, National Gallery of Art Library
In the Library: Life in the Impressionists’ Paris

Paul Nadar, Portrait of Claude Monet, 1899, collodion silver print, National Gallery of Art Library, René Huyghe Archive
In the Library: Life in the Impressionists’ Paris

Fernand Desmoulin after Louise Abbéma, La Parisienne, after 1886, etching, National Gallery of Art Library
In the Library: Life in the Impressionists’ Paris

Louis Paul Pierre Dumont, Salon de 1874: Le Vernissage des tableaux au Palais de l’Industrie, published 1874, end-grain woodblock engraving, National Gallery of Art Library
In the Library: Life in the Impressionists’ Paris

Edmond Bénard, Jean-Léon Gérôme in his studio, c. 1884–1894, albumen print, National Gallery of Art Library
In the Library: Life in the Impressionists’ Paris

Unknown photographer, Carolus-Duran’s “Au bord de la mer, Mademoiselle Croizette”, after 1873, hand-colored, over-painted salted paper print, National Gallery of Art Library

Organization
Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

Passes
Admission is always free and passes are not required

Banner detail: C. L. C., Pont Alexandre III, Paris, 19th century, colorized collotype postcard, National Gallery of Art Library