Fashion and Passion in Colonial America

Professor Andrew Lear is a world-renowned expert on sexuality in art and the author of the best-known book on sexuality in Greek vase-painting.  He is the founder of Oscar Wilde Tours, the gay history tour company, and Shady Ladies Tours, the woman's history tour company.

Andrew Lear

American colonial portraits come alive with a close look at fashion that tells the story of creating a new nation

<p><em>Can't make the live event?  No problem, you can watch the event at your convenience for 2 weeks.</em></p><p>American colonial portraits reveal important clues into the values, aspirations, and daily lives of men, women, and children in the 18th century. By closely examining several works from a 50-year period, especially the clothing and accessories portrayed, we will discover how these paintings reflect the shaping of our unique American identity. This focus on portraits provides fresh ways to consider the formation of a nation.</p><p></p><p>Along the way, we will understand how art and artists came to the colonies, not a given in a world with no art supplies. Essentially self-taught, artists were wily in making this new profession work. One became the first American art superstar--John Singleton Copley. We will take a close look at Copley, with his smart marketing eye, who was in-demand for his forthright, yet charming portraits during the late colonial period. His work guides us through the formation of the American identity.</p><p></p><p>In this image-rich talk, we will learn about:</p><ul><li>how art-making came to the American colonies</li><li>the various ways artists developed their skills and practiced the business of art</li><li>conventions of European portraiture that were absorbed into early American art</li><li>individual artists who were instrumental in establishing art making in America, including John Smibert, John Wollaston, and John Singleton Copley</li><li>how essential conveying clothing in all its glorious detail was for  celebrating the sitter's wealth and sophistication</li><li>the ways portraiture showed politics, power, and gender relations, as well as daily grooming and personal identity</li><li>the pleasures of 'reading' portraits that you can use on your next museum visit</li></ul><p>And so much more...</p><p></p><p>Join us for this compelling look at the fashion of Colonial America and all the ways portraits show us everyday life while also exploding with passion for a new country.</p>

<p>Rena Tobey, American Art Historian</p><p>Rena’s greatest passion is making art accessible, invigorating, insightful, and fun. She has taught art history at NYU's School for Professional Studies and Southern Connecticut State University. Rena provides talks for many community organizations and conducts lively, interactive tours of museum collections, now online. Just for fun, she has created Artventures!® Game--a cheeky party game on the adventures of art and art history.</p>

<h2>FAQs</h2><h3>When will the Zoom invite come?</h3><p>The Zoom invite will be in the CONFIRMATION EMAIL from your order—IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE IT IN YOUR CONFIRMATION EMAIL PLEASE MESSAGE US IMMEDIATELY. Subsequent to this, the Zoom invite will be sent to your email address at 48hrs, 2hrs, and 10mins before the event. PLEASE CHECK YOUR SPAM AND SOCIAL FOLDERS IF YOU DO NOT SEE THE ZOOM INVITE IN YOUR INBOX.</p><h3>If I can't make the live recording, can I watch the event at another time?</h3><p>The event will be recorded, and all ticket holders will receive a link to the recording by email the evening after the presentation, with a password to access it.  It will be available to view for 2 weeks after the live event. If you do not receive the link to the recording a couple of hours after the live event please email us—sometimes Eventbrite emails can get lost in spam/social folders.</p><h3>What time zone is the event scheduled in?</h3><p>The event is scheduled for 2pm EST (i.e. New York time). You can watch it in any time zone but please adjust to the time zone you are in.</p><h3>Refund policy?</h3><p>Refunds are available up to the start time of the event. After the start time, refunds are only available if you have been unable to access the event.</p>

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Fashion and Passion in Colonial America

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Fashion and Passion in Colonial America

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