A Voice from the American Vernacular: The Life and Legacy of John Bucknell Russell John Bucknell Russell, born in 1819 and passing in 1893, remains a fascinating, if often overlooked, figure in the landscape of 19th-century American intellectual life. He wasn’t a painter himself, but his pen wielded an influence that profoundly shaped how art was perceived – and *should* be perceived – within the burgeoning United States. Russell emerged as a pivotal critic at a time when America was striving to define its own cultural identity, separate from the established traditions of Europe. His writing…