For Immediate Release

Press contacts:

Sherrill Ingalls, 408.271.6872 or singalls@sjmusart.org

Frederick Liang, 408.291.5374 or fliang@sjmusart.org

CALIFORNIAN HISTORIAN AND SCHOLAR TO SPEAK ON NEW DEAL PROJECTS AT SJMA DECEMBER 6

SAN JOSÉ, California (November 28, 2017) —Gray Brechin, project scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and founder of The Living New Deal Project, will present “The Lost Ethical Language of New Deal Public Works —And Art” at the San José Museum of Art on Wednesday, December 6, 2017, at 12 PM. Brechin’s talk is inspired by SJMA’s current exhibition Crossroads: American Scene Prints from Thomas Hart Benton to Grant Wood. The lecture is part of the Museum’s ongoing Lunchtime Lecture series. Tickets to Lunchtime Lectures are free with Museum admission.

Brechin’s talk replaces the previously announced Lunchtime Lecture by Robert W. Cherny, originally announced for the same date.

“The New Deal left behind an enormous legacy of essential but invisible public works including a continent-spanning art gallery,” says Brechin, “Believing that the arts were fundamental to any civilization worthy of the name, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt predicted that his administration would be remembered for his art patronage after all else was forgotten.”

Gray Brechin is a historical geographer and author whose chief interests are the state of California, the environmental impacts of cities upon their hinterlands, and the invisible landscape of New Deal public works. He received a BA in history and geography, an MA in art history, and a Ph.D. in geography from the University of California at Berkeley, where he is the project scholar in the department of geography and has been closely associated with for nearly fifty years.

SAN JOSÉ MUSEUM OF ART

The San José Museum of Art celebrates new ideas, stimulates creativity, and inspires connection with every visit. Welcoming and thought-provoking, the Museum rejects stuffiness and delights visitors with its surprising and playful perspective on the art and artists of our time. SJMA is located at 110 South Market Street in downtown San José, California. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 5 PM and until 8 PM or later on the third Thursday of each month. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students, and $5 for youth ages 7 – 18. Members and children ages 6 and under are admitted free. For more information, call 408-271-6840 or visit www.SanJoseMuseumofArt.org.

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Programs at the San José Museum of Art are made possible by generous operating support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Yvonne and Mike Nevens, a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San José, and the Richard A. Karp Charitable Foundation.