For the most part I agree with you, but as a HUGE fan of the Pre-Raphaelites, I'd contend that movement only could have started in Europe under the protective wing of Ruskin.
My Senior Thesis for my Art History BA was on Cole's Voyage of Life. I spent many hours in the National Gallery, completely engrossed in those paintings, and indeed, they are amazing.
I am also a huge fan of the Pre-Raphaelites. They would or might be the only exceptions to my claim. However, if women were really as beautiful as they represented I would be in deeep trouble since I love nothing more than a beautiful woman.
I just had a flash-back of writing about Frederic Edwin Church and the Hudson River School...