Gallery Talk: Feline Felicity as Early American Modernism

In the early 20th century, as increasingly tall buildings introduced new perspectives onto the world, photographers sought ways to capture this way of seeing. Many of Charles Sheeler’s compositions for his celebrated drawings and paintings began as photographs and were indebted to the contemporaneous technological advancements in architecture and photography. Join curator Mitra Abbaspour for a conversation about the avant-garde underpinnings of Sheeler’s delightfully endearing drawing of a cat lying on a chair basking in sunlight.

This talk is offered in conjunction with the special exhibition Sketch, Shade, Smudge: Drawing from Gray to Black, on view from September 12, 2025 to January 18, 2026.