Art History1907-1960

American resilience and the Great Depression

Millard Sheets, Tenement Flats, oil on canvas, 102.1 x 127.6 cm (Smithsonian American Art Museum). A conversation with Dr. Virginia Mecklenburg, Chief Curator,...

The City at night, Joseph Stella’s The Voice of the City of New York Interpreted

Joseph Stella, The Voice of the City of New York Interpreted, 1920-22, oil and tempera on canvas (five panels), 99.75 x 270 inches overall...

Sheltered by the sea, Barbara Hepworth’s Pelagos

Dame Barbara Hepworth, Pelagos, 1946, elm and string on oak base, 43 x 46 x 38.5 cm (Tate Britain). © estate of the artist....

Going out to the cinema in 1913, John Sloan’s Movies

John Sloan, Movies, 1913, oil on canvas, 50.3 x 61 cm (Toledo Museum of Art) speakers: Dr. Lawrence W. Nichols, William Hutton Senior Curator of...

Describing what you see: Sculpture (Henry Moore, Reclining Figure)

Describing what you see: Sculpture Henry Moore, Reclining Figure, 1951, plaster and string, 105.4 x 227.3 x 89.2 cm (Tate Britain). © The Henry Moore...

A beacon of hope, Aaron Douglas’s Aspiration

Aaron Douglas, Aspiration, 1936, oil on canvas, 152.4 x 152.4 cm (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco), a Seeing America video A conversation with Timothy...

Horace Pippin’s Mr. Prejudice

Horace Pippin, Mr. Prejudice, 1943, oil on canvas, 46 x 35.9 cm (Philadelphia Museum of Art) A conversation with Dr. Jessica T. Smith, Susan Gray...

A mine disaster and those left behind: Ben Shahn’s Miner’s Wives

Ben Shahn, Miners' Wives, c. 1948, tempera on panel, 121.9 x 91.4 cm (The Philadelphia Museum of Art) © Estate of Ben Shahn A conversation...

A brutal history told for a modern city, Diego Rivera’s Sugar Cane

José Diego María Rivera, Sugar Cane, 1931, fresco, 145.1 × 239.1 cm © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico,...