U.S. to 1870

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The United States has always been a nation of diverse people, and the growth and development of its arts have been shaped by the exchanges it fostered. This course will explore how the artistic traditions of northern and southern Europe, Native America, Asia and Africa converged in the United States and how circumstances of the country’s environment, culture, politics, and materials shaped artistic production from the colonial era through 1876. We will examine work by artists such as John Singleton Copley, Sarah Miriam Peale, Thomas Cole, David Drake, Robert Scott Duncanson, Albert Bierstadt, Winslow Homer, and Thomas Eakins—as well as distinctly American art forms such as pipe tomahawks, ledger book paintings, chinoiserie, New Mexican santos, and middle class vernacular art. Students will be expected to develop an understanding of the major artists, art movements, and art historical issues related to the visual arts produced in the United States. The course will include one Friday site visit to the National Gallery of Art. For more information about this and other courses in the Department of Art and Art History, please visit https://art.georgetown.edu