Artistic Liberties: Southern Paintings & American Identity

September 18-19, 2026 Winston-Salem, NC

September 18-19, 2026
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Early American artists navigated rapidly changing political and social landscapes, while holding a unique responsibility: documenting a nation in flux. As we commemorate America’s semiquincentennial, this seminar will explore the ways that artists in the colonial and early American periods utilized subjects, color, and technique to reflect on an emerging nation and create a burgeoning American identity.

Please plan to join us in Winston-Salem or online for this two day seminar. Participants will engage in two days of lectures, including a keynote address by Laura Barry, Juli Grainger Senior Curator of Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture at Colonial Williamsburg, as well as opportunities to participate in pre-conference workshops and an open house of paintings in MESDA’s study galleries.

SPEAKERS

Laura Barry, Juli Grainger Senior Curator of Paintings, Drawings, & Sculpture, Colonial Williamsburg

Johanna Brown, Chief Curator, Old Salem Museums & Gardens

Dr. Katherine Gregory, Visiting Assistant Professor of American Art, Wake Forest University

Lea Lane, Curator of the MESDA Collection, Old Salem Museums & Gardens

Nick Powers, Curator of Collections, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

Elle Shushan, Owner and Independent Scholar, Elle Shushan Fine Portrait Miniatures

Matthew Skic, Director of Collections & Exhibitions, Museum of the American Revolution

William Strollo, Curator of Old Salem and Historic Building Interiors, Old Salem Museums & Gardens

Chris Swan, Senior Conservator of Wooden Artifacts, Colonial Williamsburg

SCHEDULE

Friday, September 18

1:00-3:00 pm	Watercolor Sketching Workshop with Haley Elliott
2:30-3:15 pm	Tour of MESDA’s newest portraits with Lea Lane
3:30-4:30 pm	Guilford Limner Lecture with Sally Gant
5:15 pm	Opening Reception
6:30 pm	Keynote: Laura Barry

Saturday, September 19

8:45 am	Breakfast
9:30 am	Johanna Brown, Welcome & New to the Collection
9:45 am	Matthew Skic, Picturing Washington’s Army: Discovering a Sketch of the North Carolina Brigade
10:35 am	Break
11:00 am	Nick Powers, Painter, Surgeon, Soldier, Spry: The German and American Identities of Federick Kemmelmeyer
11:35 am	Chris Swan, Gilded surfaces & frames
12:00 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm	William Strollo, Elias Vogler’s miniatures and paintings
2:05 pm	Johanna Brown, Welfare vs. Wright: Daniel Welfare
2:30 pm	Lea Lane, Welfare vs. Wright: Thomas Jefferson Wright
2:55 pm	Break
3:15 pm	Elle Shushan, Mary Roberts: America’s First Miniature Painter Sponsored by Leland Little Auctions
3:40 pm	Dr. Katherine Gregory, A Free Black Artist in the Antebellum South: Robert Duncanson’s Travels through North Carolina
4:00 pm	MESDA Open House

NOTE: This program and schedule is subject to amendment.

PROGRAM GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY:

TRAVEL DETAILS

The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts is one of the museums at Old Salem Museums & Gardens. MESDA is located in the Frank L. Horton Museum Center at 924 S. Main Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Seminar lectures will take place in the James A. Gray Auditorium at the Old Salem Visitor Center at 900 Old Salem Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.

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Seminar Hotels:

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Fairfield Inn & Suites Winston-Salem Downtown
125 South Main St Winston-Salem, NC 27101 1-336-714-2800
Group Name: MESDA Paintings Seminar
Last day to book: August 25
– Other recommended hotels:
The Zevely Inn Bed and Breakfast 803 South Main Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 1-336-748-9299

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CANCELLATION POLICY

Registrants who cancel at least two weeks prior to a program will receive a full refund minus a $50 handling fee. No refunds will be given for cancellations that occur less than two weeks prior to the event.

INCLEMENT WEATHER

The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts follows the inclement weather policies of Old Salem Museums & Gardens. When OSMG is closed, the museum is closed as well. Should this occur, the seminar will be cancelled and refunds will be issued. For your own protection, please consider travel insurance to cover fees involved with cancelling hotel reservations.