In the Library: Life in the Impressionists’ Paris

Galerie de la Paix at the Palace of the Tuileries, before 1871, albumen stereograph, National Gallery of Art Library

Late 19th-century Paris witnessed profound social, cultural, and physical change. Political and military clashes led to widespread destruction in the city. At the same time, industrialization and new technologies like the railway altered residents’ experience of urban space. Women were increasingly present in public life, and tourism was expanding. The city where the impressionists lived and worked was in flux. Artists reacted to this moment in multiple ways: some sought refuge in tradition, while others embraced new ways of seeing.

This selection of approximately 40 photographs and prints from the National Gallery of Art Library shows us the world of the artists and artworks on view in Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment. These archival objects provide glimpses of a city and an art market on the cusp of modernity.