Summer Greenlaw Lecture Series: The English Conversation Piece; Thursday PM

The English Conversation Piece

Paintings for a Summer’s Day (OR a Winter’s Night)

Lecturer: Barry A. Greenlaw

Of all the genre of British Painting in the 18th century, the Conversation Piece stands out as perhaps the most peculiarly English; an innovative mode of small-scale, informal portraiture, depicting groups of individuals posed in domestic or landscape settings. Pioneered by William Hogarth, and brought to its peak by Johann Zoffany, these fascinating group pictures reflect the joy and sparkling life of Georgian England.

This 4-week short course will first consider the roots of the English Conversation Piece in the Dutch genre pictures of the 17th century, followed by the important innovations of William Hogarth and his lesser-known contemporaries. We will then examine the development of these splendid and fascinating depictions of the lifestyles of the “not quite rich” and “only occasionally famous” and conclude with a few American interpretations.

I. Beginning Conversations – the Dutch Way

II. Hogarth’s “Family Pieces of Lively Invention”

III. Indoor Conversations

IV. Conversations in the Garden

The English Conversation Piece is a 4-week course, offered three times each week on Thursday and Friday mornings from 9:30-11:30 a.m., and on Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The course will begin July 11-12, and end on August 1-2, 2019

Course Fee: $80.

If you have questions or need further information, please call Barry Greenlaw at 713-781-9028 or email bagreenlaw@aol.com

Confirmation of Registration will be sent out a week before the first session.

To register click here to download and print registration form.

Make checks payable to Barry A. Greenlaw and enroll by returning this form and fee to Barry A. Greenlaw, P.O. Box 870, Columbus, TX 78934