Illustration has been at the forefront of significant, defining events in America from the Civil War and Reconstruction Era to the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movements of the 1960s and today. Robyn Phillips-Pendleton, co-curator of the Norman Rockwell Museum’s upcoming exhibition, Imprinted: Illustrating Race, will discuss her thesis and preview the exhibition focusing on widely circulated published imagery, produced over the course of four centuries, which has impacted public perception about race in America.

Phillips-Pendleton’s talk will trace damaging and prolific stereotypical representations of race, commissioned by publishers and advertisers and created by illustrators, engravers, and printers—images psychologically imprinted upon us through their mass proliferation. Her comments will also highlight the work of twentieth and twenty-first century creators working to shift the cultural narrative for our times. We hope that the exhibition, which opens in June 2022, will spark dialogue and raise awareness about the role of published art in reflecting and shaping firmly held beliefs and attitudes.