Franklin Kelly, curator of American and British painting at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., will discuss noted American artist Winslow Homer at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 30, at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

Kelly's visit will launch the production of a documentary on Homer by University of Memphis communication professor Steven Ross.

In 1995 Kelly co-curated the largest exhibition of Homer's work ever assembled; he also co-authored the 420-page catalog for the exhibit. An associate professor of art history at the University of Maryland, Kelly holds a doctorate from the University of Delaware. He has written extensively on American art.

Ross began researching Homer in 1981, but had to put the project aside to work on other films and to teach full time. The Homer documentary will be Ross' first film since Oh Freedom After While, his award-winning production about a 1939 roadside strike by Missouri sharecroppers. Ross also directed At The River I Stand, a documentary about the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike, and Black Diamonds, Blues City: Stories of the Memphis Red Sox.

Homer (1836-1910) is recognized as a dominant figure in 19th century American art, and one of its foremost realists. Born in Boston, he worked as a lithographer and illustrator. In 1861 he served as a battlefield correspondent for Harper's Weekly, winning international acclaim for his Civil War sketches. He became a popular magazine illustrator, then devoted himself to painting. Homer drew much of his inspiration from nature, especially the sea, which he conveyed with potent images in which light, shadow and composition played powerful, expressive roles.

The talk is free and open to the public. In cooperation with the Brooks Museum, University of Memphis sponsors are the Marcus W. Orr Center for the Humanities, the Office of Academic Affairs, and the College of Communication and Fine Arts. For more information, call 678-4372.

More News Releases