Modern Art and Modernity

This two-part installation accompanies an undergraduate course that examines the defining moments in the development of modern European and American art from the 18th through the 20th century and explores the fundamental role of artistic practice in the formation of modern culture and society. Anchored by significant dates, course lectures focus on the relationship between a major artistic event and the social, political, cultural, and technological conditions of its emergence. Works by artists such as Gustave Courbet, Edgar Degas, Pablo Picasso, Alexander Rodchenko, Gino Severini, and Andy Warhol illustrate the wide range of media—from painting, and sculpture to printmaking, photography, and photomontage.

The first installation of objects is on view January 31–March 30, 2013, and the second is on view April 2–June 1, 2013. The course is taught by Maria Gough, Joseph Pulitzer, Jr. Professor of Modern Art; Benjamin Buchloh, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Modern Art; and Ewa Lajer-Burcharth, William Dorr Boardman Professor of Fine Arts, Harvard University.

The installation is made possible in part by funding from the Gurel Student Exhibition Fund. Modern and contemporary art programs are made possible in part by generous support from the Emily Rauh Pulitzer and Joseph Pulitzer Jr. Fund for Modern and Contemporary Art, Harvard Art Museums.

Teaching gallery installations are mounted in conjunction with Harvard University undergraduate and graduate courses and feature selected objects from the Harvard Art Museums collections. Coordinated by Amy Brauer, Diane Heath Beever Curator of the Collection, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art, Harvard Art Museums.