American paintings galleries

The paintings selected here give you several ways into the American Wing. Thomas Cole’s The Oxbow opens a view across a river valley in Gallery 759. In Gallery 760, Frederic Church’s Heart of the Andes draws you into a dense mountain landscape, while Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware sets a crowded boat against ice and sky. These pictures were made for viewers with expectations of their own. Church’s first exhibition visitors used opera glasses. Sargent repainted a shoulder strap after criticism at the Salon. The American images tour follows how these works were shown and received. It ends with John Singer Sargent’s Madame X in Gallery 771, where a pale profile, a dark dress and an emphatic pose make a very different claim on your attention. You can also choose one landscape and use How to give a painting five minutes for a slower visit.