Have you ever wondered why Impressionist paintings look the way they do?   Impressionist art appears effortless and spontaneous but was it really?  Many aspects of Impressionist technique that we value today – expressive brushwork, bright color, working directly from nature - were considered radical in their day.  What prompted this completely new method of painting?  Led by associate conservator of paintings, Charlotte Ameringer, this gallery talk will look at Impressionist painting through the lens of technical art history to illustrate how developments in artist’s materials and the concepts of “plein-air” painting helped alter the artist’s approach to painting in new and exciting ways.