Curator Lecture: American Genre Painting: An Art of Encounter

Sunday, May 19, 3 to 4 pm

Peter John Brownlee, Associate Curator for the Terra Foundation for American Art, and curator of American Encounters.

Trace the evolution of American genre painting with Peter John Brownlee, associate curator for the Terra Foundation of Art, and curator of American Encounters. This lecture examines key works in light of the cultural contexts in which they were originally produced. Brownlee will explore American genre painting, or scenes of everyday life, that flourished during the middle decades of the nineteenth century. As in seventeenth-century Holland and early nineteenth-century England, genre painting in the United States rose to prominence and achieved its greatest popularity and critical acclaim during a period of rapid economic development and territorial expansion. Drawing on the artistic precedents of genre’s European progenitors, American artists adapted scenes and characters from popular literature and theater to address the new realities of life in a burgeoning democracy. Painted with a meticulous attention to detail, genre paintings expressed an emerging “American” character as they addressed the implications of transformative social and political change.

$10 for non-members, free for Members. Reserve tickets online http://crystalbridges.org/Education/public-programs/Adults/Lectures  or at Guest Services (479) 418-5700.