Open-Air Painting in Europe 1780–1870

Join curator Mary Morton on a tour of highlights from the exhibition True to Nature: Open-Air Painting in Europe, 1780–1870. Young artists of the late 18th and 19th centuries developed their skills at capturing the effects of light and atmosphere by painting outdoors, working quickly in oils on paper or small canvases. The exhibition presents more than 100 of these oil sketches with views ranging from the Swiss Alps to the ruins of Rome. The exhibition is on view at the National Gallery of Art from February 2 to May 3, 2020.