Terra Lectures in American Art: Regarding the Portrait

In this four part lecture series, Professor Amy Mooney examines the central role portraiture played in fostering social change in the United States from the 1890s through the 1950s. Drawing from her forthcoming book, Portraits of Noteworthy Character, Professor Mooney considers the strategic visual campaigns generated by individuals and social institutions that used the portrait to advance their progressive political ideologies. From the etiquette texts used at historically black colleges to the post cards produced by Hull House to the Harmon Foundation’s exhibition of “Portraits of Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin,” this series explores the ways in which the portrait was employed to build social relationships and negotiate modern subjectivity.

Monday 25 May 2020 (5th Week, Trinity Term)

Monday 1 June 2020 (6th Week, Trinity Term)

Monday 8 June 2020 (7th Week, Trinity Term)

Monday 15 June 2020 (8th Week, Trinity Term)

This series features in the following public collections: