| |
|
|---|
Published in the United States by Overlook Press, Lewis Hollow Road, Woodstock, NY 12498
ISBN 0-87951-906-1
Published in the Netherlands by De Olifant Pers, Postbus 3547, 1001 AH Amsterdam
ISBN 90 414 0340 X
Holland Mania describes a curious era in American cultural history. During this period, 1880-1920, old Dutch master paintings and Dutch antiques moved into American collections in unprecedented numbers. American artists occupied six art colonies in the Netherlands, sending hundreds of pictures back to the United States for exhibition and sale. Historians revised their understanding of colonial history to account for a much larger Dutch influence in the formation of American institutions and ideals, even going so far as to designate the Netherlands, "the Mother of America." Tourists traveled to this new motherland to see where the exiled Pilgrims lived before embarking for America on the Mayflower and to visit scenes of seventeenth-century Dutch history. The love of Dutch culture and its association with American history affected architecture, interior design, advertising, children's literature, social entertainments, and even, briefly, women's fashion. This book traces the Dutch influence in turn-of-the-century American culture and offers explanations for the mania that developed for all things Dutch. It is illustrated with 100 black and white, and 49 color illustrations.