Sorollamania
Before the arrival of Sorolla and America, learn about the artist's initial success in the United States and the works that spurred this exhibition. This talk is followed by a docent-led tour and is led by Dr. Mark Roglán, The Linda P. and William A. Custard director of the Meadows Museum and Centennial Chair in the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU.
Sorolla’s astonishing success in his solo U.S. exhibitions of 1909 and 1911 marked a before and after in the artist’s career and advanced the appreciation of Spanish “modern” art in America. Rather than many of his European predecessors, who would only send work to be sold in America, Sorolla personally came along with hundreds of his sun-drenched landscapes and portraits. W
hen his works were presented in New York, Buffalo, Boston, Chicago and Saint Louis, the Valencian artist drew unprecedented crowds to see his art and produced a sort of phenomena that we could call “Sorollamania” during his lifetime and beyond. This lecture will focus on the entire American journey of the artist, from his participation in the World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893 to how he is regarded today.