Events - Event View

BMAV member Flavia Favali has arranged for a docent tour of the installation, "Conversations: Kerry James Marshall and John Singleton Copley." We will meet at Flavia's home at 10:30 and carpool together (or you can drive or metro and meet there). Parking is available on the street without a permit or in her driveway. RSVP to Flavia required by March 8. Max 20 on tour. Tour starts inside the West Building’s 6th Street and Constitution Avenue entrance nearby the information desk. After touring the exhibit, we have the option of lunch at the museum before returning.
Two centuries apart, American artists John Singleton Copley and Kerry James Marshall pushed the boundaries of history painting.

A special installation brings together three monumental paintings for a thought-provoking dialogue: Copley’s 18th-century canvas Watson and the Shark and Marshall’s two 20th-century works Great America and Voyager. These paintings—all maritime-themed—address the violent history of the transatlantic slave trade and the Middle Passage, the forced journey of enslaved people across the Atlantic.

All three works are part of the National Gallery of Art collection, but this is a rare chance to experience them together in the same exhibition space, in conversation. Compare how Marshall and Copley skillfully wove historical and contemporary events together with cultural, mythological, and spiritual allusions. Take a closer look at these iconic paintings and explore a selection of Marshall's related drawings for a glimpse into his process.