“‘In A Very Tastey Style:’ Lessons in Likeness” by Michael Ausbon

The Joel Lane Museum House presents a lecture on “‘In A Very Tastey Style:’ Lessons in Likeness” by Michael Ausbon.

Portraiture in Europe and Early America was historically reserved for the wealthy. It was a status symbol establishing the subject and its family in a place of hierarchical social order. The burgeoning rise of the middle class, variety of consumer goods available, and ‘tastes’ after the American Revolution challenged longstanding opinions of portraiture. Michael Ausbon will explore some of those changes and illustrate why contemporaries of the period considered this new art degenerate. It will also explore how the definition of art is constantly evolving with the times.