WILLIAMSTOWN, MA.- Art historians, curators, and professors of American studies will gather at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute on December 14 and 15 to discuss critical issues related to the practice of current American art history. The public is invited to hear the participants' findings on this topic during "Practicing American Art History" on Saturday, December 15 at 5:30 pm. Admission is free. Refreshments will be served.

How do people define "American" art? The conversation will explore the field's boundary lines chronologically and geographically, and how categories such as race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and science change the way people think about American art. What kinds of American art are taught today, and what does American art now mean? Participants include Holly Clayson of Northwestern University, Michael Leja of the University of Pennsylvania, Jennifer Roberts of Harvard University, and Darby English of the University of Chicago.

The Clark is one of the country's foremost art museums, as well as a dynamic center for research and higher education in art history and criticism. The institute is one of only a few art museums in the U.S. that is also a major research and academic center, with an international fellowship program and regular conferences, symposia, and colloquia, and an important art research library. The Clark, together with Williams College, jointly sponsors one of the nation's leading M.A. programs in art history, which has been part of the professional development of a significant number of directors of art museums, curators, and scholars.