ARH 2013: AMERICAN ART I

Gillian Greenhill Hannum

Fall Semester 2005

ORGANIZATION OF COURSE:

The class will consist of slide lectures and discussion. More than four (4) unexcused absences will result in failure of the course.

CONTENT:

The course will survey American art from the time of European contact up to the Civil War. Special emphasis will be placed on its European roots and on the gradual evolution of indigenous characteristics.

EXAMS:

There will be two major exams, each covering half of the course material. Exams will include slide identification, terms and names, and essay questions dealing in greater depth with issues discussed in class. A small number of “unknown” slides will be included to test students’ abilities in identifying major artists or styles.

*Absence from an exam must be excused by a note from the Advising Office before a make-up can be scheduled.

PAPER:

One short (8-10 page) research paper is required for this course. It should be footnoted and include a bibliography with at least five (5) sources other than the course textbook. Each student will choose a single work of architecture, painting or sculpture from the period under study as the focus of his or her research. The purpose of the paper will be to place that specific work within the context of the artist’s development and/or the cultural development of the age. YOU ARE ASKED TO SELECT A WORK OF ART YOU CAN VISIT IN PERSON. There are many fine examples in the New York area. The American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum has a rich collection. The New-York Historical Society (on Central Park West) is also an excellent resource. For those in Connecticut, the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven has many fine paintings, especially from the Colonial period, and an outstanding collection of decorative arts. Many examples of architecture from the period (before 1860) can be found in Westchester and Fairfield counties and in the Hudson River Valley.

READINGS:

The course text is American Art by Wayne Craven (Brown and Benchmark, 1994). We will be using Parts I, II and III for this course; if you choose to take American Art II in the spring, we will use the rest of the book.

GRADES:

Your course grade will be determined by averaging the two test grades and your paper grade. Class attendance will also be taken into consideration.

SCHEDULE OF LECTURES

M 8/29 First contact; early Colonial architecture

R 9/1 17^th c. painting and sculpture

R 9/8 18^th c. architecture: public buildings

M 9/12 18^th c. architecture: Georgian churches and homes

R 9/15 18^th c. painting: Smibert and Feke

M 9/19 18^th c. painting: Copley and West

R 9/22 Video: New World Visions, The American Wing at the Met

M 9/26 Federal style architecture

R 9/29 Monumental Classicism and the birth of the Greek Revival

M 10/3 Post-Revolutionary portraiture

R 10/6 Images of George Washington

R 10/13 The rise of American history painting

M 10/17 Landscape, still life and genre painting in the young republic

R 10/20 MIDTERM EXAM

M 10/24 The emergence of American sculpture

R 10/27 The Greek Revival

M 10/31 The Gothic Revival

R 11/3 Eclecticism at mid-century

M 11/7 The Hudson River School

R 11/10 Luminism and the epic landscape

M 11/14 Video: The Hudson River Painters

R 11/17 19^th c. genre painting and scenes of the American west

M 11/21 Heroic narrative and portraiture/PAPERS DUE IN CLASS

M 11/28 The advent of photography

R 12/1 The evolution of sculpture in the 19^th century

M 12/5 The decorative arts

FINAL EXAM AS SCHEDULED DURING EXAM WEEK