IN PERSON: How does the history of American art reveal the changing character of this country? In this lecture course, we will look at how American artists tried to define the American character through our relationships with each other and with the country’s land. We will explore the tensions and fault lines of these characterizations and the eventual rupture of the Civil War. Finally, we will see how the war changed our self-image, shifting our view of America as a rural, agrarian idyll to one of an urban, industrial and increasingly cosmopolitan society. Along the way we will also see how, in response to a changing America, our art transformed from being narrowly focused on portraiture to incorporating an expansive array of new subjects and styles, complicated by socioeconomic factors that altered the role of art in this country. While this course is part of a series on American art, it stands alone; the other courses in the series are not prerequisites. | Lecture + Q&A.
Max enrollment: 30.
Location: Judea Reform Congregation, 1933 W. Cornwallis Rd, Durham NC 27705
