I agree, even the best lithographs of the Impressionists are worthless. Other than the true Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism is probably my favorite. Any time I’m in a new city with a decent art museum I find time to go. For whatever the reason, Europeans at the time saw little value in Impressionism, so many of the greatest works are in the US.
I noticed that a lot of well-known Impressionist stuff is in the National Gallery, which is where I noticed the discrepancy between live and repro. But as I said, not my favorite genre. Van Gogh was a nut, and I’m also not a big fan, but his work looks spectacular in person; I doubt he’s considered an Impressionist. J.S. Sargent is best known for portraits, but also painted impressionist works which I’ve never seen “live”.
Chicago is the place to see Impressionists. New York City turned their nose up to this new French “art” and Chicago bought it (1890s I think).