Something Coming

Something Coming:

Apocalyptic Expectation and Mid-Nineteenth-Century American Painting

(University Press of New England, 2000)

“Husch shows how artists, patrons and ordinary citizens actively engaged contemporary questions of peace and war, freedom and slavery, and the equality of human beings before God in their visual arts. “

“This major contribution to the study of antebellum religious art examines American postmillennialism and its many visual expressions. Treating paintings as ‘intersections of cultural expression,’ Gail E. Husch begins with a single painting to spin out an interpretation in many directions, from the specific aesthetic and social concerns of artist and patron to the wider political and cultural concerns of Americans in the mid-19th century. Arguing that ‘genuine apocalyptic faith’ was fundamental to American Protestants, Husch shows how artists, patrons and ordinary citizens actively engaged contemporary questions of peace and war, freedom and slavery, and the equality of human beings before God in their visual arts. Weaving images drawn from high and low culture, politics, and religion, she develops a complex cultural narrative of the times, thus showing the truth of one picture being worth a thousand words.”

“This important book adds greatly to the small but growing field of interdisciplinary studies in art and religion. Although featuring works of art, Husch offers a tremendously rich, multidisciplinary view of American life at that time that will benefit scholars of material culture, American history, American studies, and even American literature.”

~ Gretchen T. Buggeln, Winterthur Museum

 

“[…] brilliantly illuminates the complex visual geography of apocalyptic expectation in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century.”

“Impressive in contextual and analytic range, Something Coming brilliantly illuminates the complex visual geography of apocalyptic expectation in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. For the substance of its theme and the sharpness of its focus, readers in many fields of American history and culture will find Gail Husch’s book richly rewarding.”

~ Sally M. Promey, University of Maryland

 

“An electrifying reading of the subtext of some of the most unnerving and little-known works in America’s art history . . .

“An electrifying reading of the subtext of some of the most unnerving and little-known works in America’s art history . . . . Husch presents rich historical detail and complex, interconnected ideas in a concise and lively style . . . . We are treated to a series of fascinating vignettes that reinforce a larger story line.”

~ College Art Association Reviews