Thursday 5th February 2026 at The Henley Rugby Club.10.00am - 3.00pm. (Booking Thursday 11th December 2025). Cost £45.00. Coffee from 10.00am. 1st lecture 10.45am - 11.45am. 2nd lecture 12.00pm - 1.00pm. Sandwich lunch 1.00pm - 2.00pm. 3rd lecture 2.00pm - 3.00pm approximately. Free parking. For more information on all Special Interest Days please contact Diana Jones on diana.jones@btinternet.com or 0118 947 8762/mobile 07799 661 459.
Dr Marie-Anne Mancio
Celebrating 250 years of American independence, we explore 25 Iconic Works of Art, tracing the history of America through paintings, sculptures, land art and photography, including Grant Wood’s ‘American Gothic,’ Dorothea Lange’s ‘Migrant Mother, and ‘Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks,’ These exemplify vital moments in American history like The Gold Rush, The Civil Rights Movement and more.
(Please click on the blue print above to continue reading.)
Lecture 1: New Territories [1776-1880s]
Looking at 8 key works, we will explore how a fine art tradition evolved
from Native American peoples, folk artists and sign painters to reflect the
Declaration of Independence. There was portraiture by C18th enslaved
African painter Prince Demah and the like to epic narrative paintings
like John Singleton Copley's Watson and the Shark, 1778. Then, as
explorers travelled westwards during and after the Gold Rush, how
landscape painters adapted European Romanticism in large-scale works
like Bierstadt's The Last of the Buffalo 1888 and how the American Civil
war and the battle for America was played out in art.
from Native American peoples, folk artists and sign painters to reflect the
Declaration of Independence. There was portraiture by C18th enslaved
African painter Prince Demah and the like to epic narrative paintings
like John Singleton Copley's Watson and the Shark, 1778. Then, as
explorers travelled westwards during and after the Gold Rush, how
landscape painters adapted European Romanticism in large-scale works
like Bierstadt's The Last of the Buffalo 1888 and how the American Civil
war and the battle for America was played out in art.
Lecture 2: Creating the USA [1890-1950]
Looking at 9 key works, we'll see how industrialisation, regionalism, the
Wall Street crash and Great Depression, the War, Red Scare and Cold
War brought challenges in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
century.
Wall Street crash and Great Depression, the War, Red Scare and Cold
War brought challenges in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
century.
Grant Wood's American Gothic
From the gritty realism of the Ash Can School to the much
parodied Grant Wood's American Gothic 1930, or Dorothea Lange's
poignant Migrant Mother photograph, see how art captured a historic
moment.
parodied Grant Wood's American Gothic 1930, or Dorothea Lange's
poignant Migrant Mother photograph, see how art captured a historic
moment.
Dorothea Lange's poignant Migrant Mother photograph
Hopper's lonely Night Hawks 1942 might have summed up
feelings of alienation in the big city, but Abstract Expressionism was
more than an avantgarde movement - it was promoted by the CIA as
part of its Cold War strategy.
feelings of alienation in the big city, but Abstract Expressionism was
more than an avantgarde movement - it was promoted by the CIA as
part of its Cold War strategy.
Hopper's Lonely Night Hawks
Lecture 3: Stars and the Stripes [1960-now]
Looking at 8 key works, we'll discover how the huge societal changes
brought about by the Civil Rights movement, the Women's Movement
and so on saw an art world look beyond the gallery space and the frame.
Warhol reflected the horror of the Kennedy assassination in his Jackie
series; Jasper Johns dared to revisit the American Flag; Jeff Koons came
to epitomise 80s consumerism; Cindy Sherman reflected the legacy of a
TV watching generation, and artist Kara Walker recast American history
from an African American perspective.
brought about by the Civil Rights movement, the Women's Movement
and so on saw an art world look beyond the gallery space and the frame.
Warhol reflected the horror of the Kennedy assassination in his Jackie
series; Jasper Johns dared to revisit the American Flag; Jeff Koons came
to epitomise 80s consumerism; Cindy Sherman reflected the legacy of a
TV watching generation, and artist Kara Walker recast American history
from an African American perspective.
Dr Marie-Anne Mancio, MPhil, DPhil, is an art historian, writer, experienced tour leader and Arts Society accredited lecturer. Marie-Anne originally trained as an artist before gaining a DPhil in Art and Critical Theory at the University of Sussex. She has written and presented courses for Tate and Dulwich Picture Gallery. She has lectured in art history for the City Lit, Tate Modern, the Course, Art in London, V&A, Dulwich Picture Gallery, HENI films, Ben Uri gallery. She also runs art history study tours abroad for ACE and is a Director of InFems art collective for whom she curates exhibitions and writes.She writes reviews, catalogue essays and historical fiction and is a frequent visitor to Italy. She is currently writing a book about Caravaggio.
Awards, Qualifications & Memberships:
BA (Hons) First class, Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University
DPhil in Art and Critical Theory, University of Sussex
MPhil Creative Writing, University of Glasgow
DPhil in Art and Critical Theory, University of Sussex
MPhil Creative Writing, University of Glasgow
