Tag Archive for American History

Exhibition Review | ‘America: Painting a Nation’. Reviewed by Diane Kirkby.

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Fig. 3 Henry Inman, No-Tin (Wind), a Chippewa Chief, 1832-3 Oil on canvas, Gift of the 2008 Collectors Committee (M.2008.58), Los Angeles County Museum of Art

America: Painting a Nation Diane Kirkby  America: Painting a Nation is at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 8th November 2013 – 9th February 2014. At a time when historians are increasingly displacing nation-building as the purpose for knowing the past, it could seem a retrograde step to make this the foundation principle through which to showcase important works of art. Nevertheless, an exhibition organised around the concept of Painting a Nation immediately provokes questions about meaning and definitions that may not have simple answers. Approaching the exhibition as a historian of the United States and its art, I was mindful of the question former Time magazine art critic Robert Hughes asked: ‘What can you learn about America by looking…

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Symposium | Art Gallery of NSW – Revolutionary ideas Perspectives on the building of an American nation

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Image: Unknown artist Portrait of a black sailor (Paul Cuffe?) 1800 (detail), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by Cecile Bartman via AGSNW website.

Symposium: Revolutionary ideas Perspectives on the building of an American nation This symposium considers the role of the visual arts and other forms of cultural expression in building an idea of nationhood in America from its foundation as a colony through the beginning of the 20th century. It addresses the aims of portraiture, the meanings of landscape, the rise of genre subjects and the significance of garden projects in the contexts of relationships with Britain, claims of independence, pivotal wars and moments of dramatic social change. Presented in conjunction with the Sydney Intellectual History Network at the University of Sydney Date: Saturday 16 November 2013, 10.30am Venue: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney Bookings: $65 non-member/ $50 member/ $30…

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