Dawoud Bey
September 13 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Dawoud Bey presents photographs from his recent book, Class Pictures: Portraits of American Teenagers, and discusses his work with David Travis, chair of the Department of Photography. A booksigning follows.

Richard Misrach
September 15 at 12:00
Art Institute
Free
Richard Misrach, photographer, discusses his new exhibition On the Beach a series of pictures of beaches, the ocean, sunbathers, and swimmers, dramatically scaled and shot from above.

Helen Vendler on Wallace Stevens and Jasper Johns
October 18 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
In her lecture "Wallace Stevens: The Poet As Painter," distinguished professor at Harvard University and the nation's leading poetry critic Helen Vendler considers the poetry of Wallace Stevens in light of its relation to the work of Jasper Johns. A gallery walk and booksigning follow the event.
Cosponsored with the Poetry Foundation.

Kent Reilly on Ancient Amerindian Art
November 1 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Kent Reilly, Texas State University, discusses "Sacred Objects, Cosmic Vision in the Amerindian World."

Roberta Bernstein on Jasper Johns*
November 8 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Roberta Bernstein, a leading Johns scholar, shares her thoughts on the artist.

Marjorie Perloff on Jasper Johns, John Cage, and Frank O'Hara*
November 9 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
In her lecture "Avoid a Polar Situation: Johns, Cage, and O'Hara in the Sixties," Marjorie Perloff, renowned literary critic and professor of humanities at Stanford University, examines the interrelationship among the works of these modern masters. Cosponsored with the Poetry Foundation.

Sarah Burns on Mayhem and Monsters*
November 29 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Sarah Burns, Indiana University, discusses her pivotal book Painting the Dark Side: Art and the Gothic Imagination in 19th-century America.

Philip Fisher on Museums and Jasper Johns*
December 6 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Philip Fisher, Harvard University, discusses institutional collecting of the work of Jasper Johns.

Langdon Hammer on Hart Crane and Jasper Johns*
December 13 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Yale University professor Langdon Hammer highlights aspects of Hart Crane's life and work that have served as inspiration for artist Jasper Johns. A booksigning follows. Cosponsored with the Poetry Foundation.

Arnold Rampersad on Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes
February 7 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Distinguished literary scholar and Stanford professor Arnold Rampersad explores the relationship between jazz and the work of Langston Hughes and Ralph Ellison. His acclaimed study Ralph Ellison: A Biography has been recently published.

Franklin Kelly on Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper
February 14 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Franklin Kelly, National Gallery of Art, presents "Transforming Reality: The Artistic Visions of Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper."

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Judith Walsh on Winslow Homer and Color Theory
February 21 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
In her lecture "Winslow Homer and the Color Theories of M. E. Chevreul," conservator Judith Walsh, Buffalo State, SUNY, considers Homer's approach to painting.

Judith Barter on Hopper and Film
February 28 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Judith Barter, the Art Institute's Field-McCormick Chair of American Art, discusses the influence of literature and film on Edward Hopper.

Peter Sacks on Edward Hopper
March 13 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
In his lecture "Beautiful Estrangements: Reading in the Light of Edward Hopper," noted Harvard essayist, poet, social critic, and painter Peter Sacks comments on Edward Hopper's urban and rural settings and the sense of isolation that we perceive in them. Cosponsored with the Poetry Foundation.

Virginia Mecklenburg on Hopper's Watercolors
March 20 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Virginia Mecklenburg, Smithsonian American Art Museum, discusses Edward Hopper's innovative watercolor techniques.

Patricia Junker on Winslow Homer
March 27 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
In her lecture "Winslow Homer, Artist and Angler," Patricia Junker, Seattle Art Museum, considers the connection between Homer's watercolors and his passion for fishing.

Thomas Hines on Modern Architecture and Film
April 3 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Thomas Hines, UCLA, examines the impact modern architecture has had on the Los Angeles film community. A booksigning follows.

Michael Leja on Winslow Homer
April 10 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Michael Leja, University of Pennsylvania, discusses the artist's creative process in "Winslow Homer and the Composite Image."

Richard Townsend on American Indian Culture and History
April 17 at 1:00
Art Institute
Free
In his lecture "Ritual Caves and Painted Hides," Richard Townsend, the Art Institute's chair of African and Amerindian art, presents his recent studies of little-known cave paintings in the central United States.

Alice Friedman on Women and Architecture
April 17 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Alice Friedman, Wellesley College, author of Women and the Making of the Modern House, explores the role of women in American architecture.

Mardges Bacon on Le Corbusier in Chicago
April 18 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Mardges Bacon, Northeastern University, traces architect Le Corbusier's experiences within the culture of Chicago in the 1930s.

Erica Hirshler on Winslow Homer and French Painting
May 8 at 6:00
Art Institute
Free
Erica Hirshler, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, traces the impact of French Painting, especially the Barbizon School, on Homer's work.

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Air transportation for American Perspectives lectures and performances is provided by American Airlines.

*These lectures are made possible by the Terra Foundation for American Art as a part of American Art American City, a Chicago celebration of historical American Art.