Theatre Survey

Table of Contents - May 1977 - Volume 18, Issue 01  

Research Article

Scene Painters and their Work in America before 1800

John R. Wolcott*

An inquiry into eighteenth-century American scene painting must draw upon sources other than painter's renderings, since few are known to survive. The most promising source other than printed descriptions, barren at best, are the non-theatrical landscape and topographical (view) paintings of America's early scenic artists. No employment of these materials is possible, however, until the parameters of the relationship between easel and scene painting have been established.

Footnotes

* John R. Wolcott is Assistant Professor in the School of Drama, University of Washington.