As the premiere illustrator for the Saturday Evening Post for nearly half a century, no other American artist was more popular with the public than Norman Rockwell. Americans saw in Rockwell’s art a reflection of their values, their strengths and their foibles. Despite his easy-going, pipe-smoking facade, he was a lonely man who suffered from … Read more
The art of leading American artists and photographers of the American Civil War era provides unique and compelling images of the experiences of soldiers, civilians and slaves. From the battlefield to the home front, this art includes insights into the viewpoints that motivated both sides of the conflict and eloquent depictions of the human face … Read more
The Hudson River School artists were a group of 19th Century American Artists who painted primarily in the Hudson River Valley of New York in the Catskills and Adirondack mountains. Their work transformed American landscape art by depicting nature realistically, while endowing it with spiritual meaning. This introduction to the Hudson River School artists includes … Read more
The history of the Silk Road in Central Asia covers a vast panorama of history, art, religion and commerce over the past 2,500 years. A major trade route linking Mediterranean and Far East cultures, its story includes exotic ancient cities like the legendary Samarkand. Explorers of the Silk Road are highlighted in this presentation as … Read more
John James Audubon’s Birds of America ranks as one of the greatest achievements in American art. Its groundbreaking format depicting 435 of North America’s known bird species life-size and in habitat captured the imagination of the public and catapulted him into international fame. This presentation provides audiences with insight into Audubon’s ambitious, self-styled role as adventurer, artist … Read more
The battlefield monuments at the Gettysburg National Military Park that were sculpted and dedicated in the decades following the Civil War include some of the most powerful and expressive works of 19th and 20th Century American sculpture. The work of some of America’s leading sculptors is represented on the battlefield including Augustus St. Gaudens and … Read more
Hear how a mule kick killed eight people, how to murder with voodoo, why we used to sit up with the dead, and learn of a haunted French Huguenot Cemetery.
Tom wrote Save The Last Dance For Me (USC Press), the story of how the blues evolved into beach music and how the shag evolved to become the state dance of North and South Carolina. What surprised him most while writing the history of the shag and the Society of Stranders was a revealing glimpse into his … Read more
In “Abandonment Vs. Preservation,” Tom uses 33 photographs from the back roads that showcase places meriting preservation, places falling into beautiful wreckage as they crumble, and places other have had the foresight to preserve. Especially revealing are “roadside museums” where self-appointed curators have established memorials to earlier times. The message is simple: Architecture is a record of man’s activities … Read more
