A Measure of Perfection: Phrenology and the Fine Arts in America (Cultural Studies of the United States)

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Summary: An original view on 19th century American Art
Review: Written by Charles Colbert, who teaches in the Fine Arts Department of Boston College, this work is the most recent scholarly contribution concerning the cultural influences of Phrenology. The author demonstrates the contributions of Phrenology to artistic impression, particularly in 19th century American art. Painters and sculptors such as Hiram Powers, William Sidney Mount, Harriet Hosmer, Asher B. Durand, and Thomas Cole, among others, see their works reviewed and phrenologically analysed. The work gives a good insight in the world of American art, much of which is virtually unknown in the Old World.