Instructor: Bob Potter
Dates: Oct. 19, Oct. 26, Nov. 2, Nov. 9 & Nov. 16 (Tuesdays from 10 AM – 12 PM)
Held virtually on Zoom
Fee: $125 members / $150 non- members
Course Overview
From Thomas Gainsborough to Andy Warhol, the portrait has remained one of the most compelling and revealing of artistic expressions. For centuries, artists have painted important figures of their times, from political and social leaders to fascinating characters in everyday life. Through the art of the portrait, artists have given the viewer a unique expression of and visual insight into not only the personalities of their subjects, but also the worlds in which both the artist and their subjects live.
Through a wide range of visual images, profiles of the artists, and historical context, this course will explore the artists, the people they painted and photographed, and the changing historical events and artistic movements that influenced society and the art of portraiture over the past 300 years. The program will also include recommended reading lists, relevant films, and online sources of information for class discussion. Attendees of Potter’s 2017 portraiture series will have the opportunity to learn more and revisit images from the past.
Registration
Advanced reservations are required. Please contact the Department of Learning & Engagement at 860.443.2545 x 2128 or email Eileen Donovan.
Unable to attend the live classes? Email Eileen Donovan to enquire about a recorded course package.
About Bob Potter
Bob Potter is a graduate of Syracuse University’s School of Visual and Performing Arts. He spent his early career as an art director and creative director for leading media companies including Scholastic Magazines, Time Warner, and National Geographic. He helped create an innovative art therapy program for Save The Children, was a corporate development officer for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and headed all marketing and communications for the Mystic Seaport Museum. Most recently, he launched a professional development program for art students at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and is a docent at the Yale Center For British Art.
Abigail Van Slyck is the Dayton Professor Emerita of Art History and Architectural Studies at Connecticut College, where she taught a range of courses on American architecture. She is the author of books on Carnegie libraries and children’s summer camps and is currently studying elite playhouses and architecture’s role in the reproduction of privilege. In 2006, Van Slyck spearheaded the exhibition “Commerce and Culture: Architecture and Society on New London’s State Street” at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum. The exhibition documented the architectural and social development of New London’s major commercial avenue.