UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

Patriot Spotlight: University Art Thesis Presentation Examines Artist’s Work During Napoleonic Era

November 10, 2017

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

University of Texas at Tyler graduate degree candidate Morgan Ward of Athens will present her graduate thesis defense at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16 in the Vaughn Art Lecture Hall located in the Fine Arts Complex. A public reception will follow.

She will present "Caspar David Friedrich, the Romantic Hero and Early German Nationalism." Her thesis defense is in partial fulfillment of the master of arts degree at The University of Texas at Tyler.

"During the 19th century the German Romantics, writers and artists alike, would issue a call for a distinctly German tradition, something that they felt was missing in a world in which a sense of alienation from the rest of Europe and a lack of unity among the German people reigned," Ward said. "Among the men who would issue this call was Caspar David Friedrich, a painter who expressed a longing for a national identity through images that depicted a sense of loneliness, a desire for rebirth and the commemoration of the romantic hero. This paper examines Friedrich's use of the conception of the romantic hero to express his sense of early nationalism during the Napoleonic era."

Ward holds a bachelor of arts in art history from The University of Texas at Tyler, and she has served as a teaching assistant during her time as a graduate student.

For more information, contact gallery coordinator Michelle Taff, 903.566.7237 or mtaff@uttyler.edu.

The University of Texas at Tyler Department of Art and Art History offers programs of study to prepare students for success as a professional studio artist, art historian or art educator.

The department's curriculum and mode of operation resemble a professional art school, with a broad-based liberal arts education. Students may select an emphasis in studio art, art education or art history. The University of Texas at Tyler also offers minors in art, studio art and art history to complement other areas of study with expanded knowledge and ability in visual art.

Contact: 903.566.7250 or art@uttyler.edu.