Ancient Mariners to Mythic Painters: Winslow Homer & Sean Landers in Dialogue

Join us for an evening exploring the enduring power of American painting through two distinct yet connected lenses: the historical and the contemporary.

The event opens with a presentation by Dr. Philip Eliasoph, Professor of Art History at Fairfield University and a noted scholar of 19th-century American art. Dr. Eliasoph will delve into the life and legacy of Winslow Homer, examining how his bold vision, technical mastery, and thematic focus on solitude, nature, and national identity have secured his place as a cornerstone of American art history. His talk will journey through the cross currents of time, space, and the history of seafaring – exploring Homer’s art as a confluence of ancient maritime myths and legends, as well as its rich late 19th-century manifestations. Framed between the Civil War and the Gilded Age, Homer’s work reflects three millennia of maritime imagery and its profound role in shaping Western culture’s Jungian ‘collective unconscious.’

Following this, contemporary artist Sean Landers will give an artist talk exploring his own practice in relation to the traditions Homer helped establish. Landers, known for blending narrative, humor, and art historical reference in a variety of mediums including painting and sculpture, will reflect on the ways in which historical figures like Homer inform, inspire, and complicate his work today.

The evening will conclude with a free-flowing discussion between Dr. Eliasoph and Sean Landers, offering an engaging dialogue that bridges scholarship and contemporary practice, and illuminates the enduring influence of Homer across centuries of art and culture.

Together, these presentations and conversation offer a compelling journey through time, linking Homer’s legacy to the evolving landscape of contemporary art.

Philip I. Eliasoph, PhD is Professor of Art History and Visual Culture and Special Assistant to the President at Fairfield University. A leading scholar of American art, he is recognized for his expertise in 20th-century painting—particularly the Magic Realist movement—and has served as a consultant for major auction houses including Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

Since 1981, Dr. Eliasoph has led cultural tours throughout Europe and currently serves as a Viking Cruises Resident Historian. He is also the founding director of numerous academic and public programs at Fairfield, including the Open VISIONS Forum, the Thomas J. Walsh Art Gallery, and the Fairfield Florence Campus.

An award-winning educator and dynamic public speaker, Eliasoph’s lectures weave together fine art, philosophy, and cultural history with engaging storytelling and wit. His writing and curatorial work have revived interest in under-recognized American realists such as Paul Cadmus, Robert Vickrey, and Colleen Browning. He contributed the lead essay for the Georgia Museum of Art’s 2021 exhibition Extra Ordinary: Magic, Mystery, and Imagination in American Realism and will publish his latest work in a forthcoming volume celebrating the Art Students League’s 150th anniversary.

Sean Landers is a contemporary American artist known for his introspective and text-driven paintings, often infused with humor, vulnerability, and existential themes. Over his decades-long career, Landers has explored a wide range of artistic styles and media, from diaristic text-based works to intricate figurative paintings. His fascination with the sea—both as a visual motif and metaphor—has remained a constant, reflecting on perseverance, failure, and the passage of time.

Landers received his MFA from Yale University in 1986 and has exhibited widely in major institutions, including the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Le Consortium Dijon, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. His work is held in numerous public and private collections worldwide.