Eden Cinemas will this month be releasing The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism. Exclusively at Eden Cinemas, the film tells the intertwining stories of American Impressionism and The Garden Movement, which flourished between 1887 and 1920.

Crimson Rambler by Philip Leslie Hale.

Both movements responded to rapid social change brought about by America’s industrialisation. With increasing urbanisation prompting the emerging middle class to seek refuge in the suburbs, they began to spend their free time and wealth cultivating impressive private gardens.

When French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel brought a selection of impressionist paintings to New York in 1886, he entirely changed the course of art in America. Many American artists, inspired by what they saw, made the pilgrimage to study in Monet’s Giverny. They were keen to employ their experience to capture America’s own unique landscapes.

In doing so, they captured a unique moment in America’s history – a snapshot of a nation transitioning from a land of agriculture to a land of industry.

The Artist’s Garden follows the sell-out exhibition of The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement (1887-1920) on its journey from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts to the ‘home’ of the movement – Florence Griswold’s colony at Old Lyme.

Famed as a ‘place for high thinking and low living’, the colony attracted a host of influential painters, including Henry Ward Ranger and Willard Metcalf.

Audiences will also be transported to Appledore Island, run by poet Celia Thaxter, where preeminent impressionist Childe Hassam produced 300 works over three decades.

The film reveals how Celia Thaxter and other American women saw the garden not only as a beautiful oasis but an important political space for women. As gardening’s popularity rose, women began to take on new professionalised roles, from garden design to horticultural writing, and lead activist movements to protect native species.

Clark Voorhees House by Matilda Browne - Florence Griswold Museum.

The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism is directed by Phil Grabsky (Seventh Art Productions). It is part of the pioneering series Exhibition on Screen. Working with top international museums and galleries, their films offer a cinematic immersion into the world’s best loved art combined with detailed artist biographies.

Watching The Artist’s Garden on Eden Cinemas’ multipurpose theatre will be a truly immersive experience, offering a unique opportunity to get up close to the greatest examples of American Impressionism and to understand the unique cultural moment in which they were produced.

The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism will be screened on March 21 at 8.45pm. Tickets are available at €12 for adults and €7 for children under 16.

For more information and for ticket purchasing visit http://edencinemas.com.mt or call 2371 0400.