Tonalism

A mood in American landscape painting from about 1880 to 1915, when artists turned from the grand panoramas of the Hudson River School to quiet, misty scenes at dawn, dusk or night. George Inness in his later years, James McNeill Whistler with his Nocturnes, Dwight Tryon, Thomas Dewing and Ralph Blakelock painted veiled fields, trees and figures in a narrow range of soft greys, greens, blues or browns, so that colour and mood mattered more than detail. Influenced by the Barbizon painters and by Japanese art, Tonalism has a spiritual, contemplative feeling. Whistler's portraits, arranged like music in a few tones, belong to the same idea.

How to tell it apart: a single dominant tone and soft, hazy atmosphere; Impressionism uses bright, broken colour and full daylight.

303 works in the quiz. Play a round on Tonalism.

Artists

James McNeill Whistler · George Inness · Ralph Albert Blakelock · George Caleb Bingham · Martin Johnson Heade · Albert Pinkham Ryder · Clarice Beckett · Sanford Robinson Gifford · John Frederick Kensett · L. Birge Harrison · Leon Dabo · William Stanley Haseltine

Best-known works

“Whistler's Mother” — James McNeill Whistler, 1871
“Nocturne in Black and Gold – The Falling Rocket” — James McNeill Whistler, 1875
“Nocturne: Blue and Gold – Old Battersea Bridge” — James McNeill Whistler, 1872
“The Peacock Room” — James McNeill Whistler, 1876–1877
“Symphony in White, No. 3” — James McNeill Whistler, 1866
“Nocturne: Blue and Silver – Chelsea” — James McNeill Whistler, 1871
“Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2: Portrait of Thomas Carlyle” — James McNeill Whistler, 1873
“Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian” — James McNeill Whistler, 1888–1900
“King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid” — Albert Pinkham Ryder, 1907
“Lake George” — John Frederick Kensett, 1869
“The Rainbow” — George Inness, 1878
“Autumn Oaks” — George Inness, 1876
“Valparaiso Harbor” — James McNeill Whistler, 1866
“Spring Blossoms, Montclair, New Jersey” — George Inness, 1889
“Harmony in Grey and Green: Miss Cicely Alexander” — James McNeill Whistler, 1873
“The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse)” — Albert Pinkham Ryder, 1902
“Arrangement in Brown and Black: Portrait of Miss Rosa Corder” — James McNeill Whistler, 1876–1878
“Harmony in Blue and Pearl: The Sands, Dieppe” — James McNeill Whistler, 1885
“Miss Florence Leyland” — James McNeill Whistler, 1873
“Nocturne in Blue and Silver” — James McNeill Whistler, 1871
“Nocturne: Grey and Silver – Chelsea Embankment, Winter” — James McNeill Whistler, 1879
“The Verdict of the People” — George Caleb Bingham, 1854
“John Quincy Adams” — George Caleb Bingham, 1850
“Boatmen on the Missouri” — George Caleb Bingham, 1846
“Homeward Bound” — Albert Pinkham Ryder, 1893
“Arrangement in Yellow and Gray: Effie Deans” — James McNeill Whistler, 1876
“Arrangement in Gray: Portrait of the Painter” — James McNeill Whistler, 1872
“Evening at Medfield, Massachusetts” — George Inness, 1875
“Note in Rose and Silver - Dordrecht” — James McNeill Whistler, 1884
“Symphony in Flesh Colour and Pink: Portrait of Mrs Frances Leyland” — James McNeill Whistler, 1872