Weeknights at the Wagner—A Flood of Pictures—Photography Deepens the Waters

At this Weeknights at the Wagner talk, Dr. Michael Leja will take us back to the formative period of this cultural transformation in the U.S.—three decades before the Civil War—when pictures began to permeate everyday life. This flood of images included illustrations in books, pamphlets, and newspapers; photographs on cards; prints of various kinds; posters and broadsheets; and large scale paintings for theatrical displays. In a short span of time pictures assumed important functions by supplementing, and in some cases overshadowing, verbal texts in conveying news and information.