Professor John Klein’s Spring 2023 seminar, “More than Eye Candy: The Decorative Aesthetic
in Modernism, 1860-1960,” traveled to Chicago March 3-4 to study decorations and works of
decorative art at the Art Institute of Chicago, supported by the parents of former undergraduate art history major (Class of 2022).
Students in the seminar—undergraduates Taylor Anderson and Alan Yang and graduate
students Madi Hester, Claire Lyman, June Scalia, and Ela Sutcu—identified objects in the
museum’s collection that they believed warranted a close look by the class, generating much
discussion about what qualities in an artwork make it decorative. To these stimulating
conversations was added healthy amounts of Chicago deep-dish pizza.
in the news:
Prof. Childs Awarded Faculty Fellowship in the Humanities Center for Fall 2025
WashU Students will lead Live Audio Description Tours of Van Gogh Paintings at SLAM this December
The New York Times Publishes Article on Fourth-Century Church at Amheida