About

Art History 310, “From Collecting to Curating: Modern American Art from 1900 to 1950” was a course offered at Hamilton College in Fall 2019, co-taught by Associate Professor of Art, Robert Knight, and Director Emeritus of the High Museum of Art (Atlanta), Michael Shapiro ’71.

The course presents a history of American art from 1900-1950 examined through three related areas: 1) the development of the modern American art museum; 2) the process of collecting art, with a specific focus on Edward Root and Kevin Kennedy ‘70 as examples; and 3) the theory and process of curating an exhibition. A small physical exhibition will be shown in the Wellin Museum from April to October 2020. Student-curated virtual exhibitions are accessible via this site.

Students in the course were Hillary Bisonó Ortega ’21, Jay Carhart ’21, Sunny Chen ’20, Emma Fighera ’20, Amanda Ghiloni ’22, Jesse Gross ’22, Sam Guindon ’21, Madeline Justiniano ’21, Kathryn Kearney ’21, Lydia McGinn ’22, Satchel McLaughlin ‘22, Adriana Mullin ’21, Olivia Munnelly ‘ 20, Mary Bei Prince ’20, Lila Reid ’20, and Eliana Silk ’22.

We are grateful for the support and generosity of Karen and Kevin Kennedy, Tracy Adler (Director, Wellin Museum), and Anna D’Ambrosio (President, Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute) for their assistance in making the course possible. Generous funding for various aspects of the course was provided by The Dean of Faculty Office, The Wellin Museum, The Levitt Center, The Experiential Learning Fund, and the Kirkland Endowment. Thank you!!