Civil War Art

Tuesday, March 8, 2011
10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m. (EST)

Leader

Kirk Savage

Associate Professor of Art History
University of Pittsburgh
National Humanities Center Fellow

About the Seminar

The Civil War destroyed the institution of slavery and transformed the United States socially, politically, economically, and artistically. Not only did the subject inspire some of the nation’s best painters, sculptors, photographers, and illustrators, it also changed the face of town and countryside as monuments to soldiers and statesmen of the Civil War era spread across the landscape. This workshop will pay close attention not only to the imagery of battle but also to the social and political issues which shaped the image of the war and which in many respects continue to shape us today. How did artists come to grips with the new realities of warfare and the unprecedented scale of death it caused? How did the new media of that era (especially photography) change the way that war was represented and understood? What insights did artists offer into the social and political changes happening both on the homefront and battlefront? Did the memorialization of the war in public art create new understandings of the conflict or perpetuate old myths?

Enter Moodle Forum

Assigned Readings

1. New York Evening Post, October 16, 1862 (excerpt). (PDF)
2. “Brady’s Photographs: Pictures of the Dead at Antietam,” New York Times, October 20, 1862. (PDF)
3. “The Camilla Riot,” Harper’s Weekly, October 10, 1868. (PDF)

Presentation

Online Evaluation

Seminar Recording

Streaming Recording

Download Recording (You will need to install the WebEx ARF player, available at download, to play back the recording.)