friends talk

FREE by Jeffrey K. Smith

Wednesday 19 May | 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Jeffrey K. Smith, Professor and Dean in the College of Education at the University of Otago. Why do we like magnificent art from artists who were awful human beings? Scoundrels, Cads, and Other Great Artists examines the lives of great artists who were less than exemplary human beings.  Caravaggio, who developed the chiaroscuro style of painting, was in constant trouble with the law, even having killed a man in a duel. Frederick Remington, the great painter of the American West, was an incredible racist and bigot. Jackson Pollock? His irascibility and petulance were compounded by a lifelong battle with alcoholism, ultimately leading to a fatal automobile accident. Whistler and Courbet were philanderers and libertines.  This presentation introduces people to great art by showing the more salacious side of the personal lives of great artists over time. Everyone is welcome.

A Dunedin Public Art Gallery Society event

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