Paintings are not simply pictures that are drawn on a canvas or just applied colors. Paintings are more than that. Paintings express ideas, emotions and displays imagination and creativity. It speaks what a painter can't say with its colors and the way they are applied on a canvas. It shows the artist's aspirations, ideas, hopes and emotions.

Historic events and memorable times can be preserved in a piece of canvas. That is what a painting can mean to many people; a door to the past, an idea of the present and a peek to the future.

Here are some of the times when painting had flourished and how it evolved to how it is now. Let us focus on North America's painting history.

Early Years
At these early times, in North America, paintings are considered as luxuries. Not all can have paintings in their homes. Most people of these times do not engage themselves in painting. They prefer to do more the most essential things for their survival.

However, some paintings were discovered and they were made by the artists known as "limners". They were considered as one of the earliest American painters. These Puritans move from one place to another just to find new models for their artwork. They love to paint commoners, those who do simple things to their daily life. Art schools were not their ideal place to learn art.

Growth of American Art
Painting had increasingly made its way to the Americans world of art that they later would even go to England to study art. The Americans were greatly influenced by the Europeans style of art. But in time, they also developed their own unique style. In the 19th century, distinguished differences between artworks of Americans and Europeans began to show. The distinguishable differences were not only seen on the paintings but also on architecture.

America is known to have a large geographical size. Thus, in art exhibits, different regions displayed their own unique styles and unique ways to create art. Artworks done by those living in urban areas were of significant difference from those artworks created by artists on rural areas.

The National Academy of Design
The National Academy of design was founded on the year 1825. It was constructed as a venue for American artists to gather. Today, it is now known as The National Academy and it is now a museum and a fine art school.

Society of American Artists
Some artists left the academy because it failed to meet their needs as artists so they created another organization named Society of American Artists. Some of them are the American painter Robert Swain Gifford, John Henry Twatchman who was a known landscape painter, the famous landscape painter, John LaFarge, and Albert Pinkham Ryder who was famous for his seascapes.

Ten American Painters
Because the Society of American Artists had become a more commercialized organization, ten painters had resigned among them and then they were called "the ten painters". The famous ten painters were known as impressionists. Among them were the following, John Henry Twatchman, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Edmund Charles Tarbell and Frank Weston Benson.