{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Rollins Museum of Art","provider_url":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/rma","author_name":"Grant Hamming, American Art Research Fellow, CFAM","author_url":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/rma\/author\/ghamming\/","title":"In the Spirit of Conversation, a Confession\u00a0by Dr. Grant Hamming","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"dm2Vthm99s\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/rma\/2022\/12\/19\/in-the-spirit-of-conversation-a-confession\/\">Work of the Week: William Williams&#8217; &#8220;The (William) Denning Family&#8221; | In the Spirit of Conversation, a Confession\u00a0by Dr. Grant Hamming<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/rma\/2022\/12\/19\/in-the-spirit-of-conversation-a-confession\/embed\/#?secret=dm2Vthm99s\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Work of the Week: William Williams&#8217; &#8220;The (William) Denning Family&#8221; | In the Spirit of Conversation, a Confession\u00a0by Dr. Grant Hamming&#8221; &#8212; Rollins Museum of Art\" data-secret=\"dm2Vthm99s\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/rma\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"http:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/rma\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/williams-denning-family-L-10-1995-lme-w-out-frame-scaled.jpg","thumbnail_width":2560,"thumbnail_height":1749,"description":"A term one sometimes hears used when discussing eighteenth-century Anglosphere (basically, Britain and its various colonies) art is \u201cconversation piece.\u201d When I started in my Ph.D. program in 2010, I do not believe I had heard it before; if I had, I certainly didn\u2019t give it much thought. Conversation pieces\u2014the precise definition of which I\u2019ll get to in a minute\u2014are a type of portraiture, and I am moderately ashamed to admit that I didn\u2019t much care about portraiture earlier in my career. I fancied myself a budding expert in printmaking and other arts aimed at popular audiences (my master\u2019s thesis was on the lithography firm Currier and Ives), and self-indulgent depictions of wealthy elites failed to move the needle for me. As I have written before in this space, my work as the American Art Research Fellow has given me the opportunity to reevaluate my preconceived notions and to challenge what I think I know about American art."}