(CAA Chicago, February 2010)

Chicago's Sculptor: The Legacy of Lorado Taft

2010 College Art Association (CAA)
Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth, this session
reexamines the art, career and legacy of Lorado Taft (1860-1936), the
foremost sculptor in the Midwest during the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. An influential instructor at the Art Institute of
Chicago for over four decades, Taft inspired generations of young
artists through his teaching, through his championing of women sculptors
(including the infamous "White Rabbits"), through his founding of the
Eagle's Nest Art Colony, through his nationwide promotion of sculpture
via the lecture circuit, and through his numerous publications,
including his pioneering and indispensible History of American Sculpture
(first published in 1903), the first survey text on the subject. For
this session-appropriately being held in Chicago, not far from Taft's
former Midway Studios and his monumental Fountain of Time
(1909-1922)-papers of twenty minutes in length are sought that examine
and reassess Taft's various roles as artist, art historian, public
lecturer, museum designer, and educator, as well as his influence on,
and inspiration from, his students. Papers that discuss Taft's
contributions to the City Beautiful Movement and to American Symbolism
are also encouraged. *

Co-Chairs: Brian E. Hack, Ph.D. and Caterina Y. Pierre. Ph.D.

Please send two (2) copies of abstract and c.v. via regular mail
and/or email to the Co-Chairs by May 11, 2009:

Dr. Brian Edward Hack
Art Department
Kingsborough Community College, CUNY
2001 Oriental Boulevard
Brooklyn, NY 11235
bhackkingsborough.edu
cpierrekingsborough.edu