Art and Authority in Antebellum New York City: The Rise and Fall of the American Art-Union

Abstract

When an art enthusiast declared, in 1845, that "pictures are more powerful than speeches," he captured a widespread conviction that paintings held the power to moralize or demoralize viewers,' That belief gave urgency to antebellum struggles over patronage, exhibition, and aesthetic authority. How were artists to be supported in a society that lacked traditions of aristocratic or state patronage, and how might support be structured to foster artistic excellence? What wasthe most appropriate site for the exhibition of art works, and how broad a popular appeal was it possible or desirable for such exhibitions to command? Finally, which social group wasmost capable of judging artistic quality, and should such aesthetic authority be confined to men? These questions lay at the heart of a heated debate in the antebellum North. At stake for the disputants was the location of cultural authority in the nation and the relation of art to an expanding world of commercial entertainment.

Understanding the (Sub)Baccalaureate Origins of Latina/o Doctorates in Education, Humanities, and Social Science Fields

“…For example, Leah Gordon's (2015) intellectual history explains how psychological and survey research defined racism as an individual problem and proposed education as a solution to reducing prejudice. Similarly, Rachel Klein's (1995) cultural history demonstrates the ways that elites have used art and culture as a way to unify-or conversely stratify-American society. 4.…”