Eliza Pratt Greatorex & Frederic Church: Art, Travel, Faith, Home by Katherine Manthorne

March 23, 2021

Eliza Pratt Greatorex (1819-1897) and Frederic Church (1826-1900) were two near-contemporary visual artists of fierce ambition and enormous talent. They inhabited the same New York art world, traveled extensively in the service of their art, and earned critical acclaim across the United States and Europe. Putting their careers in dialogue, this presentation examines their artistic practices, globe-trotting itineraries and strategies for engaging with the public. Given that Church was a Connecticut Yankee with deep American roots while Greatorex (née Pratt) left her native Ireland for NY during the Great Famine in 1848, Professor Katherine Manthorne will probe the roles that family background, faith and gender played in their individual searches for success and home.