In this conference we explore key moments in the history of the American Academy in Rome to explore the ways in which the institution reflects cultural changes that have occurred in Europe and America during the 125 year history of the American Academy in Rome. The day is organized around a series of four keynote lectures by Antoine Picon, Denise Costanza, Corey Brennen, and Adele Chatfield Taylor, and three discussion panels with representatives of the various disciplines at AAR.

In the morning we focus on the founding of the Academy and its pre-1945 history, whereas in the afternoon we look at the post-1945 history. Topics will include the Beaux Arts context in which AAR was founded, along with its role in the broader context of the establishment of foreign institutes in Rome and their role in nation building during the late nineteenth century. We will explore the challenges faced by different constituents, such as the role of women within the institution and the tension in the arts between classicism and modernism. The post–World War II period brought radical changes to the Academy under the leadership of Laurance Roberts, when the conservative restrictions that had been established in earlier times were lifted. We will explore ways in which this was manifested through the work of particular scholars and artists and their interactions with the city and people of Rome and Italy.

The day will end with a gallery tour of the AAR exhibition Encounters, which examines the way in which AAR’s interdisciplinary environment affected the work of Fellows as they engaged monuments and urban space in Rome and elsewhere in Italy.

The conference features:

• Ingrid Edlund Berry (1984 Fellow)
• T. Corey Brennan (1988 Fellow, 2020 Resident), former AAR Mellon Professor for the Humanities)
• Martin Brody (2002 Resident), former AAR Andrew Heiskell Arts Director
• Alberta Campitelli, AAR Advisor
• Adele Chatfield-Taylor (1984 Fellow, 2020 Resident), former AAR President
• Lavinia Ciuffa, Acting Curator, AAR Photographic Archive
• Denise Costanzo (2014 Fellow)
• Valentina Follo, Curator, AAR Study Collection
• Kathy Geffcken (1955 Fellow)
• Lindsay Harris (2013 Fellow), former AAR Mellon Professor for the Humanities
• Sebastian Hierl, AAR Drue Heinz Librarian
• Lynne Lancaster (2002 Fellow), AAR Mellon Professor for the Humanities
• Peter Benson Miller, former AAR Heiskell Arts Director
• John Ochsendorf (2008 Fellow), AAR Director
• Antoine Picon (2020 Resident)
• Mark Robbins (1997 Fellow), AAR President and CEO
• Ingrid Rowland (1982 Fellow, 2000 Resident), AAR Advisor and former AAR Mellon Professor for the Humanities
• Elizabeth Rodini, AAR Andrew Heiskell Arts Director
• Ugo Rubeo
• Ilaria Schiaffini
• Jane Shepherd, AAR Advisor
• Frederick Whitling

This conference is part of a year-long series of events celebrating the 125th anniversary of the founding of the American Academy in Rome.