Brenda Edgar: Art Historian

Bosch’s inventive landscapes startle and amuse, populated as they are with fantastical and grotesque hybrid figures . His art is truly exceptional; his ability to generate alternate universes through his painting was unmatched until the 20th century. In this enchantingly illustrated talk, we'll take a close look at Bosch’s painted visions of Earth, Heaven and Hell, and consider his influence on artists of future decades, and even future centuries, especially the Surrealists of the 1930s and 40s.

 Let’s get better acquainted with one of the most important African-American artists working today! Kehinde Wiley, perhaps best known for his portrait of Barack Obama, has produced a sumptuous body of work in which he casts Black and Brown men in grand contexts inspired by the canon of European art. Art historian Brenda Edgar will guide you through an investigation of Wiley’s astute juxtapositions of traditional styles with contemporary iconography. 

IMPORTANT: THIS MONTH'S AHI IS ON 2ND THURSDA

 You may think you know her intimately, but think again. O’Keeffe’s fame has eclipsed that of her husband, the photographer Alfred Stieglitz, but he deeply influenced the public’s reception of her work. Let’s explore her long life and her essential place in the history of American art, as art historian Brenda Edgar takes us on a visual tour of her most important works, and sorts out fact from fiction.  

 From Gothic cathedrals in Europe, to the Chrysler Building in New York and beyond, spend an evening learning about the history and symbolism of these fantastic sculpted creatures with art historian Brenda Edgar. True gargoyles were created to spit out rainwater through their mouths; along with their purely decorative relatives, grotesques, they were designed to terrify the very forces of Evil.  

[SECOND THURSDAY] Step into 15th-century Bruges with Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait. We'll explore the artist's life, the rise of oil painting, and the possible identities of the couple, before unpacking the dense symbolism of the interior-- from dog to mirror to chandelier. We'll also trace the painting's rich historiography. The evening will conclude with a fresh interpretation of this famously elusive masterpiece.

Franz Marc's vividly expressive paintings of animals have become icons of modern art. This lecture offers an introduction to Marc's tragically short life and career, his role in Der Blaue Reiter movement of German Expressionism, and his deeply spiritual approach to iconography and color. Spend an evening with bright and beautiful works produced by one of early modernism's most distinctive minds.

The White House is more than a seat of power-- it is also a carefully curated museum of American history and identity. This lecture explores the evolution of the presidential residence, from its early years to the present, through the lens of its art, furnishings, and decorative programs. We'll consider how different administrations have shaped its interiors to project political ideals, cultural values, and national narratives.

This chronologically arranged lecture will begin with the monumental traditions of pre-Columbian societies like the Olmecs and Aztecs, before turning to the transformations of Spanish colonization-- Catholic imagery, the cult of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the complex visual language of casta painting. Later, we'll encounter Modern artists such as Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Step across the border and discover the rich diversity of Mexican art!