The Dayton Art Institute offers a variety of programs for adults including discussions, gallery talks and studio classes. From learning the art of watercolor landscapes to touring the museum with a staff curator, the DAI offers programs for everyone. Registration is required unless otherwise noted.

Programs

Thursday, September 16, 6:30 p.m.

American Abstraction: Coming of Age in the 1950s

Location: NCR Renaissance Auditorium

Cost: Free for members, $8 non-members

The decades following World War II were stimulating times for American art. Working in New York, California, the South and abroad, abstract artists created compositions that addressed contemporary social concerns and personal history. Aided by a group of young dealers, prominent critics, and influential editors, they gained credibility and by the late 1950s, were celebrated for helping the United States claim cultural preeminence on the world stage. Virginia Mecklenburg will trace the rise of American abstraction in the 1950s and explore meaning in the variety of abstract styles that emerged after the war. Mecklenberg is a senior curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the curator of the special exhibition Modern Masters.