The Female Gaze: Women Artists & the Reclining Nude

Join art historian Bernadine Franco as she explores the reclining nude female figure in Western Art through the lens of classical male artists such as Titian and Manet, and the contemporary response from 19th- and 20th-century female artists. She will examine how women’s expression of the female form differed from that of their male predecessors, and how they forged new ways of representing themselves through art. Celebrated painters include Henrietta Rae, Suzanne Valadon, Alice Neel, Mickalene Thomas, and the creators of female nude figures drawn from the New Britain Museum of Art collection.

A free walking tour will be offered at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 24 at the New Britain Museum of American Art; participants will have the opportunity to see works featured in or related to the lecture for themselves and discuss them with each other afterwards. Patrons may sign up for the museum tour the evening of this program. If you are unable to attend the event but would like to take part in the tour, you may contact Ms. Franco at bernadinefranco@yahoo.com. Please register for this one-of-a-kind art history talk below!