Horace Pippin’s Modernism
Tuesdays, February 4 – February 25, 6 – 8pm
Horace Pippin. Supper Time (detail), c. 1940. The Barnes Foundation, BF985. Public Domain.
$220; members $198
(4 classes)
About the Class
Horace Pippin (1888–1946) took classes at the Barnes in the late 1930s, participated in its intellectual and cultural community, and is the only African American artist whose work is exhibited in the collection. For Dr. Barnes, Pippin’s status as a “self-taught artist” fit within his modernist framework, in that the collector wanted to support and display art that he believed to be uniquely local, authentic, and American. He also believed that Pippin’s art could inspire future American modern artists, describing it as possessing “the charm, simplicity, sincerity and naive characteristic of all authentic folk art.”
This course will return to the galleries where Pippin studied, and where his art now hangs, to explore some of the complexities and contradictions in his works that often went unseen in his own time. Through art historical research and careful looking, we will examine a broader range of modernist issues that Pippin engaged with. We will study how the artist handled a variety of formal and conceptual concerns; from processing the traumas of World War I and II, to using pop-culture source materials, to subverting dominant visual tropes of American slavery, to anticipating the new audiovisual language of television, to the impact of his own study of modern art in the Barnes galleries.
The class is online-only. More about online classes.
Already registered? Log in to Barnes Learning.
Barnes classes will:
- Sharpen your observational and critical thinking skills.
- Improve your ability to communicate about art.
- Deepen your appreciation for cultures and histories outside your own.
Instructor
Alison Boyd
Boyd is director of research and interpretation at the Barnes. She studies the intersection of multiple modernisms in American and European art in the first half of the 20th century, with a focus on the arts of the African diaspora and the politics of museum display. She taught art history at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and has held research positions at the Phillips Collection’s Center for Art and Knowledge, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence.
Recent Barnes Class Testimonials
“Naina Saligram is the professor everyone hopes to have. She is knowledgeable and open to listening to her students.” The Classical Tradition in Modern Art with Naina Saligram
“Joe Tokumasu Field was a wonderful instructor—very patient, caring, and skilled at interacting with students’ questions and comments.” The Japanese American Century with Joseph Tokumasu Field
“Kaelin got us involved in the conversation in a way that made it engaging and fun. I learned so much and didn’t feel like I was just being lectured at the whole time. The class was well paced and covered the basics without oversimplification.” The Language of Painting with Kaelin Jewell
“I love these close-looking classes; [it’s great] to see the details of each painting and to have an instructor lead our eyes in how best to look at a work of art.” Close-Looking Immersion: Glackens’s The Raft with William Perthes
“The instructor was amazing! She was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and open to questions. She brought in outside resources and made herself available via email for questions between classes. I would take anything she teaches.” The Impressionists: Friends and Family with Caterina Pierre
Go Further
Close-Looking Immersion: Gauguin’s Haere Pape
This new series of single-session immersions provides opportunities to study and discuss individual works. Instructor: Naina Saligram
Bosch and Bruegel
Explore works by the Netherlandish painters and the connections between their art. Instructor: Larry Silver
Paul Gauguin: His Art and Legacy
The course delves into Gauguin’s style, subject matter, and problematic legacy. Instructor: Christa DiMarco