COLUMBIA, SC.- Dr. Brad Collins, associate professor of art history at the University of South Carolina offers an eight-part lecture series called Beyond Turner to Cézanne: A History of European Painting, 1781-1910 at the Columbia Museum of Art beginning Wednesday, January 14. The one-hour lectures take place in the Lorick Auditorium on consecutive Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. through March 4. $100 or $75 for museum members. To register, visit columbiamuseum.org or call 803.343.2187.

The series offers a mini-history of European painting from the Neoclassical movement of the late 18th century through French Expressionism of the early 20th century. The subjects are: Neoclassicism to Academicism, 1784-1880: David to Gérôme, Romanticism, 1781-1863: Fuseli to Delacroix, Naturalism to Realism, 1820-1855: Constable to Courbet, Anti-Naturalism, 1862-1910: Whistler to Klimt, Realism, continued, 1859-1894: Manet to Caillebotte, Impressionism, 1867-1900: Monet to Pissarro, Post-Impressionism, 1872-1905: Cézanne to Gauguin, Expressionism, 1882-1910: van Gogh to Matisse.

The Museum’s public programs manager Leslie Pierce anticipates great learning opportunities throughout the series. "Brad Collins has a gift for making connections between the old and the new throughout art history. This series is a great way for people to learn more about the artist and time periods included in the Museum’s upcoming major exhibition, Turner to Cézanne." The exhibition will be on view beginning March 6 through June 7, 2009.

Collins holds a Ph.D in art history from Yale University and has taught modern art at the University of South Carolina for over 20 years. He is currently working on a survey textbook, Modern Art and Modern Life, 1848 to the Present.