A field of orange poppies in the foreground with trees behind them. Mountains are in the background.

Blue Grass, Green Skies: American Impressionism and Realism from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Visit gardens and galleries to experience the fleeting effects of light and atmospheric qualities of color found in both landscape and American Impressionist paintings.

June 7 – Sept. 14, 2025

Blue Grass, Green Skies presents the idyllic landscapes, urban scenes and intimate interiors of 19th century American Impressionist painting. Inspired by French artists who founded the Impressionism movement in Europe, American artists adapted their glowing colors and fluid brushstrokes to explore the fleeting effects of light, atmosphere and domestic scenes in the world around them. Featuring artwork by some of the most esteemed American Impressionists including Mary Cassatt, Childe Hassam, Ernest Lawson, John Henry Twachtman and William Wendt, this exhibit highlights how American artists embraced Impressionism to capture the beauty and emotion of countryside and city alike.

On the grounds, visitors can seek out highlighted vignettes to imagine their own landscape composition.

 

Blue Grass, Green Skies was curated by Leah Lembeck, Department Head, European Painting & Sculpture and American Art, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The exhibition is organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and generous support for this project was provided by Art Bridges.

Gallery

Orange poppy flowers in the foreground with trees behind them; mountains are in the distance.
Granville Redmond, "California Poppy Field," oil on canvas, ca. 1926. 40 ¼” H x 60 ¼” W. Museo Nacional de Arte. Gift of Raymond Griffith.
Rough waves in the water in the foreground with stormy sky.
George Bellows, "The Coming Storm," oil on canvas, 1916. 26 ½” H x 32 1/16” W. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Mr. and Mrs. William Preston Harris Collection.
A painting of a woman seated, holding a child. Their cheeks are touching. The child's right arm is wrapped around the woman's neck.
Mary Cassatt, "Woman and Child," oil on canvas, late 19th or early 20th century. 28 ¾”H x 23 5/8” W. Museo Nacional de Arte. Gift of Deborah and John.
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