F25-36 - Topics in American Art

F25-36 - Topics in American Art

Class | Registration opens 9/2/2025 9:00 AM

Woodbridge Town Library, Meeting Room 10 Newton Road Woodbridge, CT 06525 United States
Community Room
11/6/2025-11/13/2025
10:30 AM-12:00 PM on Th
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$15.00

F25-36 - Topics in American Art

Class | Registration opens 9/2/2025 9:00 AM

First, take a scenic tour—no hiking boots needed—of the Hudson River School, the 19th-century artists who
made nature look epic and patriotic. We’ll start with Thomas Cole and meet others like Asher B. Durand and
Frederic Edwin Church, who painted the American wilderness like it was ready for its close-up. Along the way,
we’ll explore Manifest Destiny, why people rarely made it into the frame, and how these sweeping views still
influence art and environmentalism today.
Then, explore the life and art of Thomas Eakins, the 19th-century realist who painted like a genius and
scandalized like a pro. Famous for his intense realism (and occasional overexposure), Eakins brought raw
honesty to works like The Gross Clinic, had a thing for anatomy and photography, and taught in ways that got
him fired. It’s part art history, part soap opera—and all very real, just like Eakins would’ve wanted.

Michael Stein

Michael Stein PhD fell in love with the art, architecture (and food) of the capital of France on his first trip to Paris in 1965. During more than 30 subsequent visits he photographed the monuments, churches, museums (and pastries) of Paris to supplement his lectures. For more than five decades, Professor Stein taught both studio art and art history at Kent State University, the Cleveland Institute of Art, Wilkes University, and Housatonic Community College.