American Glamour: Modern Architecture, Marketing, and Popular Culture in the 1950s

Alice T. Friedman–the Grace Slack McNeil Professor of American Art at Wellesley College–will examine key examples of Mid-century Modern architecture in the United States, focusing on the ways in which buildings and interiors came to reflect the forms, narrative structures, and emotional appeal of mass-market media such as advertising, fashion photography, film and television. Driven by the tastes and habits of middle-class clients, and by the efforts of young architects to accommodate and interpret new ideas about modern life, these changes had far-reaching consequences both for architecture and design in the 20th century and for the critical categories by which they are evaluated.


About the speaker

Alice T. Friedman

In the McNeil Program for Studies in American Art, which she directs, they focus on three areas of study, including the art and architecture of New England; modern architecture and design in the United States; and the art and architecture of the Americas. They run internship programs for students that enable them to gain experience in historic preservation, museum studies, and archival research.


Additional Resources

Event Video

Dr. Friedman’s faculty page

New York Times interview