Episode 12 focuses on the life and career of a woman inspired by deep spiritual convictions. Violet Oakley (1874–1961) rose to become one of America’s most important twentieth-century artists. Breaking down barriers to women in her field, she received a commission to create many of the murals that decorate the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. A devoted Christian Scientist, Oakley was also a committed humanitarian and activist for global peace. This conversation features leading Oakley scholar Dr. Patricia Likos Ricci, Associate Professor of the History of Art and Director of the Fine Arts Division at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.
To learn more about Christian Science and 20th-century art listen to our audiocast Evolutions of Christian Science in Great Britain or Episode 2 of Seekers and Scholars: Christian Science and British Modern Art
Podcast guests
Patricia Likos Ricci, Ph.D, is the Director of the Fine Arts Division, Associate Professor of the History of Art, and a member of the Women and Gender Studies faculty at Elizabethtown College. She received her doctorate in the History of Art from Bryn Mawr College. Dr. Ricci’s research focuses on late nineteenth-century American art and architecture, with particular attention to women artists. She recently curated the retrospective exhibition “A Grand Vision: Violet Oakley and the American Renaissance” at the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia.
Pam Winstead is Curator at The Mary Baker Eddy Library, where she has worked for the past twelve years. Before coming to the Library, Pam held a variety of positions in the museum field, including Costume Curator and Textile Conservator at the Indiana State Museum; Assistant Curator at the Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection at Indiana University; Assistant Textile Conservator at the Textile Conservation Workshop in S. Salem, NY; and Museum Technician at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
