Fall 2013 Community Lecture Series examines aestheticism and the Hotel Ponce de Leon

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Catherine McFarland

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (08/26/2013)(readMedia)-- The Fall 2013 Flagler College Community Lecture Series will kick off on Sept. 17 with an examination of the art inherent in the Hotel Ponce de Leon.

Flagler College Art Professor Catherine McFarland will discuss the Aesthetic Movement of the 19th century, placing the National Historic Landmark in the historical context of the movement.

The Aesthetic Movement is an art movement supporting the emphasis of aesthetic values more than social-political themes.

"John Ruskin, the art historian, critic and philosopher, was the inspiration for this hugely important movement," said McFarland. "We teach Ruskin at Flagler College, partly because of his influence on the aesthetics of the old hotel."

McFarland's lecture, "The Aesthetic Movement in America," will feature approximately 60 images, including some pre-Raphaelite paintings, and will include anecdotes about the artists and writers.

Professor McFarland earned an M.A. in Art History from Emory University and a B.A. in Art History from Smith College. She received studio instruction in painting, sculpture, printmaking, design and photography from Atlanta College of Art and has completed post-graduate work at Emory University.

In honor of the 125th anniversary of the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, the 2013 Community Lecture Series is focused on "The Hotel Ponce de Leon Deconstructed: Building the Future for Modern America."

The series features a lineup of historians and scholars discussing Henry Flagler's vision for St. Augustine, social classes and American politics during the late 19th century, and the influence of art, music and literature during the Gilded Age.

Tickets to the lecture are $5 per person. Active military personnel may attend at no charge. Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Flagler Room at Flagler College, 74 King St. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception.

This year, thanks to VISIT FLORIDA's Cultural Heritage and Nature Tourism Grant Program, Flagler College is offering complimentary admission to the fall 2013 Flagler College Community Lecture Series for any St. Johns County tourism employee. Tourism employees interested in attending the lecture will need to present their employee name tag or ID at the lecture series registration table.

Reservations for the lecture series are required due to limited space. Call (904) 819-6282 for reservations or more information. To watch a live stream of these lectures, visit ustream.tv/channel/community-lecture-series.

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Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 29 majors, 34 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review regularly feature Flagler as a college that offers quality education at a relatively low cost. A Flagler education is less than half the cost of similar private colleges, and competitive with many state universities. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for its historic beauty. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a grand resort built in 1888 by Henry M. Flagler, industrialist, railroad pioneer and co-founder of Standard Oil. The Ponce has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. For more on Flagler College, visit www.flagler.edu.