Hamilton parents, students and art enthusiasts crowded the Emerson Gallery Saturday to hear co-curators Susanna White, Associate Director and Curator of the Emerson Gallery and Bill Salzillo, Professor of Art, and Kym Giacoppe '09 gave a gallery talk on the exhibition Edward W. Root: Teacher, Collector and Naturalist, and the sophomore seminar that was taught in conjunction with the exhibition. The sophomore seminar was designed to introduce students to formal and theoretical analysis of works of art through the study of the life and work of Edward Root, the pioneering collector of American modernist art and Hamilton College educator. Focused student-produced podcasts are available online at Emerson Gallery.
Along with works of art both collected and painted by Root himself, the show includes an important group of historical photographs and documents, some never before published, presenting an intimate portrait of Root and his time. As such, it is a compelling introduction to the powerful national and international forces that shaped American art culture during this period.
