Facing facts : realism in American thought and culture, 1851920
In Facing Facts, David Shi provides the most comprehensive history to date of the rise of realism in American culture. He vividly captures the character and sweep of this all-encompassing movement - ranging from Winslow Homer to the rise of the Ash Can school, from Whitman to Henry James to Theodore Dreiser. He begins with a look at the antebellum years, when idealistic themes were considered the only fit subject for art (Hawthorne wrote that "the grosser life is a dream, and the spiritual life is a reality"). Whitman's assault on these otherworldly standards coincided with sweeping changes in American society: the bloody Civil War, the aggressive advance of a modern scientific spirit, the emergence of photography and penny newspapers, the expansion of cities, capitalism, and the middle class - all worked to shake the foundations of genteel idealism and sentimental romanticism
x, 394 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
9780195038927, 0195038924
1004792167
Pt. I. Setting the Stage. 1. Antebellum Idealism. 2. New Paths
pt. II. The Generative Forces. 3. Touched with Fire. 4. A Mania for Facts. 5. Goods and Surfaces
pt. III. Realism Triumphant. 6. Truth in Fiction. 7. Realism on Canvas. 8. Form Follows Function
pt. IV. Extraordinary Realities. 9. Realism and the Social Question. 10. Savage Realism. 11. A World Full of Fists. 12. Ash Can Realism
pt. V. An Epoch of Confusion. 13. The Modernist Revolt
"Autographed copy."
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