Looking askance: skepticism and American art from Eakins to Duchamp

Abstract

"Looking Askance offers a new paradigm for understanding American visual culture, from the art of Thomas Eakins, William Harnett, and Marcel Duchamp to such fascinating historical episodes as the trial of spirit photographer William Mumler, scientist Helen Abbott's interpretation of Monet's Impressionism, the myriad illusions featured at the Buffalo World's Fair of 1901, and William James's analysis of automatic drawing. Leja traces the roots of skeptical seeing in the culture of modernity and in national values of entrepreneurship, invention, competition, and unregulated marketing." "This original book shows how "looking askance" has shaped American visual culture from the mid-nineteenth century to our own time."--Jacket.

Contents

Introduction: looking askance -- Mumler's fraudulent photographs -- Eakins's reality effects -- Impressionism and nature's deceptions -- Touching pictures by William Harnett -- Buffalo's illusions -- The self's deceptions -- Humbugs for highbrows: Duchamp's readymades in New York.