Arts Council of Moore County
presents

FINE ARTS LECTURE SERIES
FALL, 2020

Sponsored by
Representative Jamie Boles
Gwen C. Murray

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DATES:  Tue., October 6, 2020 at 5:30 PM and Wed, October 7, 2020 at 10:00 AM
LECTURER: Molly Gwinn, Ph.D.

PHYSICIANS & HEROES

Two Portraits of Philadelphia Surgeons
by Thomas Eakins

Physicians in late 19th century America were recognized in their communities for exemplifying the middle class values of discipline, expertise, rational thinking, and compassion—much as doctors and other medical professionals have been celebrated for their service during the pandemic. Two portraits of surgeons by Philadelphia artist, Thomas Eakins, describe in sober detail their particular accomplishments and the reasons for their preeminence in medical circles and the wider community.

The portrait of Dr. Samuel Gross (right), painted for the Centennial in 1876 as Eakins’s salute to medical progress in his city, shows the surgeon at work, as a hands-on practitioner, teacher to an assembly of medical students, and researcher who performs a surgery that he developed and wrote about extensively.

Over 10 years later, Eakins was commissioned by another class of medical students to celebrate the retirement of Dr. Hayes Agnew (above). In this case, the doctor directs his team in a newly discovered treatment for breast cancer, a mastectomy, and both the nature of the surgery and the details of the operating theater demonstrate the advances in medical research and technique achieved in a single decade. The larger message of Philadelphia’s growing reputation as a center of medical training is conveyed through the stature of the central figures and the teamwork of assistants who complete their teachers’ work, and in time will become the next generation of medical heroes.

ABOUT THE LECTURER:  Molly Gwinn is an art historian who has presented the spring lecture series in the past and has offered a number of classes with the Center for Creative Living at Sandhills Community College. She earned her doctorate from Rutgers University and has taught at Rutgers, the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at New York University, and at the Dallas Museum of Art.

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DATES: Tue., October 27, 2020 at 5:30 PM and Wed., October 28, 2020 at 10:00 AM
LECTURER: Ellen Burke

NATURE & THE
PURSUIT OF BEAUTY:

The paintings & decorative arts
of Louis Comfort Tiffany

When we hear the name Tiffany, we most often imagine a small robin’s egg blue box with an ivory satin ribbon or the leaded stained glass of a Tiffany style lamp. Louis Comfort Tiffany could have easily enjoyed a life of privilege pursuing the family business at Tiffany & Co., the well-known jewelry and luxury goods retailer, but instead, he chose the life of an artist studying with George Inness and Samuel Colman, both influenced by the Hudson River School of painting, celebrating America’s unspoiled landscape.

An introduction to stained glass in the 1870’s led Tiffany to pursue interior design and leaded glass projects. Influenced by nature and Japanese design he explored all decorative mediums including painting, architecture and enamelware. L.L.C. Tiffany became a leader in the American Art Nouveau Movement and the “tastemaker” of the Gilded Age. His works and innovation in the art of stained glass continue to influence and inspire.

ABOUT THE LECTURER:  Ellen Burke is an art educator with 37 years of experience as a studio instructor and fine and performing arts administrator. In addition to teaching in Massachusetts, she was an adjunct instructor in art education at the New Hampshire Art Institute. One of her great passions is engaging students in careful observation, reflection and discussion of works of art. Since moving to Pinehurst three years ago she has presented art appreciation discussions at Hollyhocks Gallery in Pinehurst and teaches small group art lessons to children and adults.

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COST (per lecture): $25 per ACMC Member ($30 per nonmembers)

These Lectures to be presented in
Campbell House Galleries (482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines)

Space is limited to 10 per lecture.
Please reserve your space now with full payment at the Arts Council’s offices (Campbell House, 482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines) or by calling 910-692-ARTS (2787).