From Regionalism to Abstract Expressionism

During the years of the Great Depression and the New Deal, American art was largely dominated by representational styles of American Scene and Regionalist painting and sculpture. After World War II, Abstract Expressionism was celebrated as the “triumph” of American art. Considering their stylistic connections and contrasts, this talk looks at how and why this significant transition in modern American styles occurred, and how it dramatically reshaped the American art market.

Professor Erika Doss will present this lecture as part of our spring Muscarelle Explorations series, focusing on the artists highlighted in the special exhibition Abstract Expressionists: The Women — the remarkable and, until recently, under-appreciated women who shaped one of America’s great art movements.

Abstract Expressionists: The Women features nearly 50 works by 32 women artists and is on view at the Muscarelle January 23 – April 26 as its only East Coast showing. The exhibition was organized by the American Federation of Arts from the Christian Levett Collection and the Female Artists of the Mougins Museum (FAMM) in Mougins, France.

This talk will take place in the Event Hall at the Muscarelle Museum of Art. Free and open to all. Registration is encouraged but not required.

About the Speaker
Erika Doss is the Edith O’Donnell Distinguished Chair at The Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at The University of Texas at Dallas. She is a noted historian of American art and culture who primarily studies American art history, popular culture and public culture of the 20th and 21st centuries. Her wide-ranging interests in American art are reflected in numerous publications and public lectures, which typically address the complexities of modern and contemporary American visual and material cultures. Learn more.

Artwork featured: Grace Hartigan, Cedar Bar, 1951. Oil on canvas, 39 x 31 ¾ in. Courtesy of Grace Hartigan Estate, the Levett Collection, and FAMM. Photo: Fraser Marr.