Senior Katherine Finnegan's independent study unexpectedly exploded from a small student gallery display to a headlining exhibition.
"Third-Party Politics: Britain, France, and America in an Age of Revolution" opened at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art on April 9 and is the culminating project of an independent study in history.
Under the guidance of Visiting Professor of History Aaron Windel and with the help of Mellon Curatorial Fellow Diana Tuite, Finnegan investigated prints that were created during the early decades of King George III's 60-year reign over Great Britain and Ireland in the 18th century.
"I always wanted to do an independent study. Initially it was only supposed to be one semester long, and the project was reading-heavy with a very small student gallery exhibit," Finnegan said. "Then an opportunity arose and a main gallery opened up, so we extended the project into a year-long study."
The prints touch on a number of conflicts, mainly the French Revolution, the American Revolution, and the Seven Years' War, as well as a number of economic, social, and political issues related to these clashes.
Finnegan was careful to pick prints with similar allegories from those available to her at the museum.
"I narrowed down the prints based upon classic symbols," she said. "For example, a common theme was that of the liberty cap. Its symbolism originated in Roman times...when a slave was freed, the cap was placed upon their heads. Later in history the cap came to represent foreign captives."
According to Finnegan, the cap signified freedom from slavery for Americans fighting for independence, and for Jacobins during the French Revolution.
The cap plays a prominent role in many prints.
"There is one where an American and a Brit are both struggling for a pole with the cap on it, symbolizing the fight for independence," Finnegan said.
Prominent printers in the exhibit include William Hogarth, William Humphrey, and James Gillray.
"Hogarth was very pro-Royalist," Finnegan said. "He was employed by the Crown and therefore his prints mock dissidents. Not all printers were against the U.S. though, like Gillray. However, he always depicted America as a 'savage' American Indian in a very stereotyped way."
This was Finnegan's first experience in curating. Having taken only one course in art history while abroad in Rome, Finnegan credited curatorial intern Tuite as "extremely helpful."
"It was through her knowledge and assistance that this exhibit is possible," she said.
"I always had appreciation for exhibits, but I ever knew what went into it," Finnegan said. "I couldn't have done it without the help of a professor and a curator. I'm so lucky that I had the chance to work with people who are so knowledgeable. There's no way I would have had this experience at a larger school. Windel and Tuite are brilliant and I look up to them as mentors."
"Third-Party Politics: Britain, France, and America in an Age of Revolution" is on display in the Center Gallery at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art until July 12. Additionally, Finnegan will deliver a gallery talk titled "Representing the Revolutionary Atlantic" in conjunction with the exhibition on Thursday, May 7, at 4:30 p.m.