Thursday, May 2, 5:30 p.m.
“Heroes for Hard Times: American Art During the 1930s and 1940s”
Talk by Lara Kuykendall
The global crises of the 1930s and 1940s compelled American artists to make art that fulfilled both personal and national needs for pride and hope. This talk will explore the ways in which artists used heroic characters to symbolize national ideals and aspirations during trying times. Lara Kuykendall is an associate professor of art history at Ball State University.
This talk is in conjunction with the exhibition Celebrating Heroes: American Mural Studies of the 1930s and 1940s from the Steven and Susan Hirsch Collection, on view March 5 – June 15, 2019.
Anton Refregier in the 1940s painting The Waterfront, one of twenty-seven mural panels for San Francisco’s Rincon Annex Post Office. Photograph courtesy Brigit Refregier