Mondays, November 3 – November 24, 6 – 8pm
Yatika Starr Fields (Osage, Mvskoke, Cherokee). Diving Birds of Green Lake (detail), 2016. Courtesy of the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York
$220; members $198
(4 classes)
About the Class
This course explores Native American art across time, from ancestral pottery to contemporary digital media. Participants will learn how regional styles, community histories, and generational knowledge shape the aesthetics of Native art. We’ll examine how these works carry stories of resistance, continuity, and adaptation while challenging the stereotypes and simplifications often found in mainstream art narratives. Led by art historian Dakota Stevens, the course emphasizes Native voices through interpretation and close looking. It’s an invitation to see Native art not as static, but as a living, changing cultural expression.
The class is online-only. More about online classes.
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Barnes classes will:
- Sharpen your observational and critical thinking skills.
- Improve your ability to communicate about art.
- Deepen your appreciation for cultures and histories outside your own.
Instructor
Dakota H. Stevens
Stevens is a PhD candidate at the University of Delaware, where he studies Indigenous graffiti. Over the past decade, he has worked with Native American communities independently and on staff at various museums. His approach is collaborative, ensuring Native voices are the focus of his work while providing spaces and contexts for them to be accessible to all.
What Our Students Say
“The instructor was superb. Her level of expertise, along with enthusiasm for the subject, made the class what it was.” Close-Looking Immersion: Picasso’s “Violin, Sheet Music, and Bottle” with Naina Saligram
“Dr. Boyd’s knowledge, passion, and openness made her an excellent instructor for this course. It was well structured and beautifully taught!” Horace Pippin’s Modernism with Alison Boyd
“Dr. Galvez is a wonderful teacher—knowledgeable, knows how to teach the concepts, gives examples, explains concepts and ways of considering them while looking at a painting. He is open to questions and receives them with patience.” Chromophilia: Modern Art and the Re-Invention of Color with Paul Galvez
“Kaelin Jewell is amazing. She is engaging and super knowledgeable, and she clearly enjoys teaching.” Heaven on Earth: The Art of the Byzantine Empire with Kaelin Jewell
“The best class to understand the elements of art. The instructor’s expertise and warmth, along with the excellent discussions with my classmates, made it a truly wonderful experience.” The Elements of Art with Bill Perthes
Go Further
Impressionism and the Music of Claude Debussy and His Contemporaries
Explore the connections between impressionism in painting and music. Instructor: Mimi Stillman
Primitivism and Modern Art
Learn about the concept of primitivism and its enormous role in modern European and American art. Instructor: Alison Boyd
Close-Looking Immersion: Persian Manuscript Rustam Lifts Qanun from His Horse
Immerse yourself in a tiny 16th-century Persian manuscript from the Barnes collection. Instructor: Naina Saligram