Jessica Fahy Art Historian

The latter part of the reign of Queen Victorian (r.1837-1901) was a time of both exciting and controversial changes in the United Kingdom within the art world and society more generally. The growth of 'new money' middle classes as a result of the Industrial Revolution had an impact on all areas of life. Some saw it in a positive light and praised the developments in industry and science. Others lamented the loss of simpler times and despised the cutthroat capitalism and competition they witnessed all around them. This is the of consumerism with artists employed in designing advertisements and objects for mass production, but it is also the time of the Arts and Crafts Movement, a renewed appreciate of all things handmade. Other revolutions in art occur during the last forty years of the Victorian era including Realism and Impressionism and the start of Modernism. The decadence of the organic inspired Art Noveau developed in the last years of the 19^th century too. During this 10-week course we will examine these shifts and place art in the context of the world that produced it from science and technological advancements to new styles of literature and poetry to crime and punishments and entertainments. We will look at the understanding of race and gender, the public and private lives of people from all classes, those who made all kinds of art and those who viewed and commissioned art in both the public and private sphere. Artists covered include Whistler, Burne-Jones Morris, Watts and Irish artists including Lavery, Purser and O’Conor. The final class will be a visit to the National Gallery of Ireland to trace these developments and art movements in person.