The听American Pre-Raphaelites launched the earliest reform movement in the history of American art.听Founded in 1863,听in the midst of the American Civil War, the movement comprised politically radical, abolitionist artists, joined by like-minded architects, critics, and scientists.听In the decade that followed, the American Pre-Raphaelites听executed paintings, designed buildings, and published criticism听that听married听principles of social equity, civic听engagement, and beauty.听Such work, they听believed,听could听foster听lasting听cultural听and political reform.听听
This lecture explores how the American Pre-Raphaelites听dismantled听national traditions of painting, embracing听models of landscape theory and artistic praxis drawn from across the Atlantic. In contrast to their more prominent colleagues, 迟丑别听artists听now known as the 鈥淗udson River School,鈥 the American Pre-Raphaelites established themselves as eloquent critics of slavery and听antebellum American society.听听
Dr.听Sophie听Lynford听is the Rousseau Curatorial Fellow in European Art at the Harvard Art Museums.听She specializes听in American听and British听art of 迟丑别听nineteenth听century,听with a focus on transregional exchange within the Atlantic World. Her current book project,听Egalitarian Optics: Art, Ethics, and the American Pre-Raphaelites, examines the Pre-Raphaelite movement in the United States, its interdisciplinary priorities, and its听passionate commitment to abolition听and radical reform.听Prior to joining the Harvard Art Museums,听she听was the Douglass Foundation Fellow in American Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and worked in the curatorial departments of the New-York Historical Society and the Yale Center for British Art.听She was co-curator of the 2018 exhibition,听Picturesque and Sublime: Thomas Cole鈥檚 Trans-Atlantic Inheritance听at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, and co-author of the accompanying publication.听She听received her doctorate in art history from Yale University.听
Organised by Professor David Peters Corbett (The 天美传媒)听
