On the painting, “The Iceberg by Frederic Church: A Beautiful Representation of the Arctic”. I need an essay on this prompt:
In your first assignment, you described and analyzed the design of your chosen object (The Iceberg by Frederic Church: A Beautiful Representation of the Arctic). In this assignment, you will begin to place this object in its historical context by answering three key questions:
Who made this object and what was their role in society?
This is an opportunity to discuss the artist or maker responsible for your object. Some students may be able to identify the specific person, workshop, or company that produced their object, but all should be able to discuss the ways in which their object can be traced to a particular kind of maker (professional artist, skilled craftsman, amateur artisan, etc.) and the role they imagined for their art in early American society.
How and by whom was this object viewed and/or used?
This is an opportunity to discuss the audience for your object, whether that object is a silver pitcher or an oil on canvas painting. Some students may be able to identify the specific person or family for whom the object was made, but all should be able to discuss the ways in which their object addresses an audience of a particular culture, social class, gender, political persuasion, etc.
What traits does it share with similar objects produced in the same place and time?
This is an opportunity to discuss the ways in which your object was part of a broader visual and material culture in early America. Using your research to identify 2 or 3 objects that are of a similar type, function, or style, you should use visual comparisons help explain the broader visual or material context in which your object was produced.
To answer these questions, you will need to conduct research using primary and secondary sources. Primary sources include newspaper articles, novels, diaries, letters produced in the same time period as your object. Acceptable secondary sources include books, journals articles, and exhibition catalogues. They do not include Wikipedia or other online encyclopedias, websites or textbooks. Using proper methods of citation, your paper should incorporate research from no fewer than five distinct sources. In some cases, there will be no information about your object, in particular, so you will need to do some detective work and base your discussion on what we know of similar objects produced by the same artist and/or culture. Your goal is to communicate a clear sense of the context in which your chosen work of art was produced.
Any material quoted, paraphrased, or otherwise referenced from both primary and secondary sources should be properly cited using footnotes in the text. Images of any objects referenced in the paper (whether your original object or objects used for comparison) should be included, each accompanied by a caption that lists the object’s maker (if known), the title, date, material, dimensions (if known), and collection where the object is now housed.
Word count: 1500 words
Format: Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, citations according to Chicago Manual of Style
There is a previous essay pdf file I wrote on this object below “The Iceberg by Frederic Church: A Beautiful Representation of the Arctic”, Which you should refer to for some aid on researching this painting.
