WHEN the idea of an exhibition surveying genre painting, or pictures of everyday
life, first came to mind, we thought of the entire span of Western art, including
Europe and America. However, the awkward size of such a review, to-
gether with considerations of budget, corrected this flight of fancy. Another deterrent
lay in the fact that although a survey of European genre had never before been offered,
exhibitions of American material have not been uncommon and have included one pre-
sented by the Carnegie Institute in 1936.

We also came to realize that with a necessary limit of eighty to ninety pictures, it
would be extremely difficult to illuminate even so brief an historic span of time as the four
hundred years from Carpaccio and Bosch to Cézanne and Picasso, using late European
material alone. This has proven to be the case.

We therefore offer this exploratory account of the subject, commencing just before the
Reformation and ending with the first years of the twentieth century, with fullest apolo-
gies for the brevity of its treatment. Some obvious omissions are evident, due to our hav-
ing sought to draw the material from only American collections; others because it has not
always been possible to obtain key pictures of our choice, their precarious physical con-
ditions or other restrictions making them unavailable. Thus no Rubens, Rembrandt,
Vermeer, or Hogarth graces our walls, to mention but four serious deficiencies in the dis-
play. Inasmuch as certain early and notable painters of genre are not represented in Ameri-
can collections in this particular phase of their work, we have reproduced outstanding
examples of it in the Introduction.

Perhaps it should also be mentioned that we have intentionally excluded most nine-
teenth-century genre painting of the sort that took prizes in the Salons of that age, be-
lieving that one or two examples of those clever divertissements would suffice for compari-
son with works of the major painters. Sleight of art, as someone has aptly remarked, is
not unassociated with sleight of hand.

In beginning this enterprise, we took the liberty of writing to a number of distinguished
scholars in the field of art history, to ask for their advice and suggestions. Their infinitely
kind letters of response have led us into many obscure corners of the subject and have often
supplied us with points of reference that have been investigated and are mentioned in
the text. Particular gratitude is felt for the generous contributions and assistance of
Charles Sterling, Curator of Paintings, Musée du Louvre, Paris, and Foreign Advisor to
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; William R. Valentiner, Museum Director-
Consultant of the Los Angeles County Museum; E. P. Richardson, Director of The Detroit
Institute of Arts; Julius S. Held, Professor of Fine Arts at Barnard College, Columbia Uni-
versity; and Charles de Tolnay, art historian. These not only have spared no pains in
offering guidance in this little-explored field of study, but have also helped us to discover
pictures which might otherwise have been overlooked. Our thanks are likewise warmly
tendered to Sydney Friedberg, Walter Friedlaender, Creighton Gilbert, Nikolaus Pevsner,