Philadelphia Cultural Landscapes: The Sartain Family Legacy

"Exploring the connection of past, present, and future can remind us of our own interconnections with the community around us... I am amazed at the talent that surrounds me every day and thankful for the strength and vision of my predecessors in the Sartain family." --From the Foreword by Happy Craven Fernandez, President, Moore College of Art and Design "Behind the rise of every great city are great families whose vision, passion, and achievements in the arts expanded the cultural landscape. The Philadelphia Sartains were just such a family. Until the publication of this book, their saga, which is central to the maturity of art in America, was known only to a privileged few. Now shared, it provides scaffolding for a truer understanding of Philadelphia between the time it was called the Athens of America and the time it earned the title of Workshop of the World." --Kenneth Finkel, former Curator of Prints at the Library Company of Philadelphia and author of several books on Philadelphia culture and history "This volume of wide-ranging essays is thoughtfully conceived, informative, and quite often fun. The authors explore a fast-changing 19th century art world: the market place, graphic reproduction, education, fairs, parks, patronage, gender politics, and shifting tastes. Fascinating lives and new discoveries reward the reader in every chapter." --Wendy Wick Reaves, Curator of Prints and Drawings, The National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, author of Celebrity Caricature in America "This highly unified collection of illustrated essays, organized chronologically and thematically, reclaims the history of a family of artists and tastemakers. The authors put the Sartain family in context as they explore functions of the visual arts in 19th and early 20th century Philadelphia. A model for studies of artistic families in other American cities, this book should be read by art historians, art educators, local historians, Americanists, and many others." --Mary Ann Stankiewicz, Associate Professor, Art Education, The Pennsylvania State University "This is a Philadelphia story, fascinating reading that sheds light on art history, art criticism, and art education in America while bringing to life a family with vision and passion who, like the Peales, expanded the cultural landscape." --Maine Antique Digest "...the Sartains of Philadelphia and their accomplishments are recounted in a fascinating new book, Philadelphia's Cultural Landscape." --Antiques and the Arts Weekly "[A] fascinating look at a century in which the production and promulgation of art was seen as everybody's business, and at a family that represented that spirit." --Pennsylvania Heritage