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The internationally celebrated Swiss painter Angelica Kauffman was a child prodigy who trained with her father and developed her skill in Italy, where she established a reputation as an artist and was elected a member of the Roman Accademia di San Luca at the age of 23. Her popularity among the community of British visitors and expatriates there encouraged her to move to London in 1766. She spent 15 years in England, making a significant impact on the London art scene as one of only two female Founder Members of the Royal Academy. She left London in 1781 to resettle in Italy. When she died in 1807, her grand funeral in Rome was arranged by the famous sculptor Antonio Canova and a bust of the artist, sculpted by her cousin Johann Peter Kauffmann, was subsequently placed in the Pantheon, beside that of Raphael. The Royal Academy has mounted a new exhibition of her work, which depicts scenes from a wide range of mythological, literary, and historical sources. Come spend an evening with this remarkable artist who made a successful career despite the limitations imposed on women in the 18th century.
William H. Fredlund, the Director of the Institute, obtained his B.A. and M.A. from UCLA, where he specialized in European history and art history. He studied in Italy on a Fulbright Fellowship and completed a double Ph.D. in history and humanities at Stanford, specializing in Renaissance Italy. Dr. Fredlund has taught for UCLA, the University of Florence, Stanford, and UCSC Extension.
