American Barbizon school

The American Barbizon School was a group of painters and style partly influenced by the French Barbizon school, who were noted for their simple, pastoral scenes painted directly from nature. American Barbizon artists concentrated on painting rural landscapes often including peasants or farm animals.

William Morris Hunt was the first American to work in the Barbizon style as he directly trained with Jean-François Millet in 1851-1853. When he left France, Hunt established a studio in Boston and worked in the Barbizon manner, bringing the style to the United States of America.

The Barbizon approach was generally not accepted until the 1880s and reached its pinnacle of popularity in the 1890s.