Exhibition Opening with Talk by the Director of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Thursday, April 20, marked the opening of the student-curated exhibition, "A Short History of Prints." The exhibition has been curated by students enrolled in Dr. Darius Spieth's class on the "History of Prints" working in collaboration with Special Collections staff. It features a cross-section of outstanding examples of historical prints from the Renaissance to the present day, ranging from Albrecht Durer to Jim Dine.

Prior to the exhibition opening, Dr. James Cuno, Director of the Art Institute of Chicago, presented a lecture entitled "Whose Patrimony? Encyclopedic Museums in an Age of Resurgent Nationalism" from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in room 103 of the Design Building. The lecture was followed by a reception at Hill Memorial Library, where "A Short History of Prints" was on view.

A distinguished scholar, Cuno is President and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute of Chicago. Previously, he served as Professor and Director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London from 2002-2004, and as Professor and Director of the Harvard University Art Museums from 1991-2002. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cuno has written and lectured widely on topics ranging from French caricature of the 18th and 19th centuries to contemporary American art, as well as on the role of art museums in contemporary American cultural policy. Dr. Cuno recently edited and co-authored Whose Muse? Art Museums and the Public Trust (Princeton University Press, 2004).

The lecture at LSU focused on Dr. Cuno’s concern with ethical issues involving the mission and governance of art museums at the turn of the twenty-first century. Hosted by the Art History program in the School of Art and the College of Art and Design, Dr. Cuno’s visit is part of the Edwin N. Weisl, Jr. Lectureship in Art History, supported by a grant from Robert Lehman Foundation in New York.