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This exhibition examines depictions of the American flag over the course of the last century, ranging from those that treat it as a straightforward symbol of patriotism to those that interrogate just who the American flag represents, and whether justice is really available to all. Spanning a chronological range from Childe Hassam’s Italian Day, May 1918 to a brand-new textile work by Maria de Los Angeles commissioned for the exhibition, the exhibition will include paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, and sculpture, as well as a digitally-animated piece, by artists from a wide swathe of backgrounds and political viewpoints.
For Which it Stands… joins a campus-wide series of cultural and visual and performing arts events being presented as part of the national celebrations surrounding the semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of the founding of the United States of America on July 4, 1776.
Curator: Carey Mack Weber, Executive Director, Fairfield University Art Museum
Faculty Liaison: Aaron Weinstein, PhD, Assistant Professor of Politics
Image: Childe Hassam (1859-1935), Italian Day, May 1918, 1918, oil on canvas, 36 x 26 in. Art Bridges
Browse Selected Images
Events listed below with a location are live, in-person programs. When possible, those events will also be streamed and the recordings posted to our YouTube channel.
More events will be listed as the exhibition approaches - please check our Eventbrite site to register
Opening Night Lecture: For Which It Stands…A Semiquincentennial Exhibition
Thursday, January 22, 5:30 p.m.
Aaron Weinstein, PhD, Assistant Professor, Politics, Fairfield University, and Exhibition Faculty Liaison
Quick Center for the Arts, Kelley Theatre, and streaming
Dr. Weinstein’s talk explores the complex role of the U.S. flag in America’s “civil religion,” examining how its meaning shifts based on context, political use, and personal interpretation.
Opening Reception: For Which It Stands…A Semiquincentennial Exhibition
Thursday, January 22, 6:30 p.m.
Quick Center for the Arts Lobby and Walsh Gallery (the Bellarmine Hall Galleries will also be open for exhibition viewing)
Art in Focus: Childe Hassam, Italian Day, May 1918, 1918, oil on canvas
Thursday, February 12, 12 noon and 1 p.m.
Bellarmine Hall Galleries and streaming
Join Curator of Education Michelle DiMarzo for an information conversation about this painting, on loan from the Art Bridges Foundation.
Lecture: American Art at the Crossroads: Between WPA Realism and Post-War Abstraction
Thursday, February 26, 5 p.m.
Viviana Bucarelli, PhD (Independent Scholar)
Bellarmine Hall, Diffley Board Room and streaming
Part of the Edwin L. Weisl, Jr. Lectureships in Art History, funded by the Robert Lehman Foundation
Art historian Viviana Bucarelli explores the legacy of the Museum of Modern Art’s wartime exhibition Americans 1943: American Realists and Magic Realists in the broader context of a shift in American art from the realism of the pre-war years toward the abstraction that came popular afterward.
Lecture: The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America
Thursday, March 19, 5:30 p.m.
Louis P. Masur, PhD, Rutgers University, Distinguished Professor of American Studies and History
Dolan Event Space and streaming
Historian Louis Masur examines Stanley Forman’s iconic 1976 photograph The Soiling of Old Glory (a print of which will be on view in the exhibition), which provides a compelling window into racial tensions in 1970s America. The photograph was the subject of his 2008 book of the same title.
Lecture: Florine Stettheimer and Americana
Thursday, April 16, 5:30 p.m.
Barbara Bloemink, PhD
Bellarmine Hall, Diffley Board Room and streaming
Part of the Edwin L. Weisl, Jr. Lectureships in Art History, funded by the Robert Lehman Foundation
Art historian Barbara Bloemink, one of the foremost experts on Florine Stettheimer – a quintessential New York modernist – will give a talk exploring the artist’s passion for Americana, represented in the exhibition by the painting George Washington in New York, ca. 1939, on loan from Art Properties, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University
Lecture: The Material Evolution of the American Flag
Tuesday, June 9, 5:30 p.m.
Bill DeMaida
Barone Campus Center, Dogwood Room
Noted collector of historical American flags Bill DeMaida will present artifacts from his collection of historic American flags as he explores the evolution of our nation’s most enduring symbol.
Bellarmine Hall Galleries and Walsh Gallery Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Thursday until 8 p.m.) - We are closed for national and university holidays and during inclement weather.
Location:
For GPS please use the following address: 200 Barlow Road, Fairfield, CT, 06824, or click on the map image at right for directions.
Parking:
Free parking available at the lot in front of the Quick Center, including handicap parking.
Admission:
The museum is open to the public and admission is free.
Tours:
Private tours with a curator are available for a fee; please contact museum@fairfield.edu or 203-254-4046.
Reach Us By train:
Take Metro-North, New Haven Line, to Fairfield Station (approximately 70 minutes from Grand Central Station).
www.mta.info/mnr
800-638-7646
For further information or to schedule a visit or tour, please contact
Fairfield University Art Museum
1073 North Benson Road
Fairfield, CT 06824
(203) 254-4046
museum@fairfield.edu
