M I C H A E L. C. F I T Z G E R A L D

The following feature story appeared in the campus publication MOSAIC in November, 1998.

CREATING PATHWAYS TO MODERN ART THROUGH REAL–WORLD EXPERIENCE

When Associate Professor of Fine Arts Michael C. FitzGerald teaches a seminar on the art market, he often invites alumni who work in museums or auction houses to share their real-world experiences with his students. In his "Contemporary Art" course, the tests and class work build up to a final assignment that requires students to view (and then write a critique about) a major exhibit, often in New York City. "The course," FitzGerald explains, "is organized to get students out into the world." Whether he is importing experts or exporting students, FitzGerald creates pathways that give students not only detailed knowledge about modern art, but also the context of today’s art world.

A faculty member since the fall of 1988, FitzGerald specializes in 20th century art, particularly Picasso, about whom he has written and lectured extensively. FitzGerald also teaches courses in the history of the very modern media of photography and film. Associate Professor of Fine Arts and Director of the Art History Program Kathleen A. Curran calls FitzGerald a "very popular teacher" and a "very good lecturer." With his informed and lively style, she says, "he has the ability to make art popular."

While heavily enrolled classes tend to lend themselves to the lecture format, FitzGerald likes to find ways to generate discussion even in his largest classes. In his film history course, which is held in Seabury Chapel, he assigns a handful of students the job of acting as discussion leaders, while he walks up and down the central aisles — like a talk-show host in the middle of the audience — seeking participation. (He refers to this teaching technique as "doing my Geraldo.")

Holly F. Snyder ’99, an art history major and a FitzGerald advisee, says, FitzGerald is "readily available" and encourages students to seek him out for one-on-one conversation after class. "He wants to talk to us," she says. Alumna Christina Kaczmarski Sears ’96, who has recently left a job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to relocate to Los Angeles, says that as a renowned expert who is also very accessible to undergraduates, FitzGerald is "the kind of teacher you go to a small liberal arts college for." She notes that FitzGerald, who was her senior essay adviser, has expansive knowledge, but a light touch: "He points you in the right direction almost invisibly so that you feel you come to all the discoveries on your own."

A popular writer and critic

The flip side of FitzGerald, the Trinity-based scholar and popular teacher, is FitzGerald, the New York City-based popular writer and critic. A regular contributor to Vogue magazine, he has appeared on the Charlie Rose television show and has recently been interviewed for an A&E network biography of Picasso. FitzGerald, who has both a Ph.D. from Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and an M.B.A. from Columbia’s Graduate School of Business, also has connections to Christie’s auction house, where he worked for two years prior to joining Trinity’s faculty. That experience, he says, provided him with information about "the practical side of things," that is, the way an artist builds a career and the roles that museums, critics, and auction houses play in the system as a whole. Many students point out that FitzGerald’s background and continued involvement in the art world make him a tremendous resource for those who want to learn about career possibilities or who are seeking specific internships or job opportunities. Kaczmarski Sears says FitzGerald is "very supportive outside of class in terms of his students’ goals."

A Picasso exhibit in Hartford

A seminar course this spring will give FitzGerald an ideal opportunity to share some of his practical knowledge with students. The seminar "Picasso and the Artist’s Studio" is based on an exhibition FitzGerald is preparing for the Wadsworth Atheneum (it will also travel to Ft. Worth and Cleveland), to open in the spring of 2000. As one would expect, students in the seminar will do a great deal of independent work and in-depth study on an important tradition in Western art. What’s more, through FitzGerald’s concurrent work in putting together the exhibit, his seminar students will learn first-hand about the processes of arriving at a topic for an exhibition, negotiating to obtain objects, raising money for an exhibit, and other behind-the-scenes elements as this exhibit goes through various stages before completion. FitzGerald says the Atheneum has two Picasso pieces that were "the germ" for the exhibit, which he says is an example of developing a theme by "starting with what’s available locally and going out from there."

For the seminar and for all of his classes, FitzGerald says he wants students to understand more than an academic field: "I want them to have knowledge that is integrated into broader society."

-Leslie Virostek