Invoking the Classical Past in the Gilded Age: The Greek Myth of Penelope and Women’s Craft

Name: Invoking the Classical Past in the Gilded Age: The Greek Myth of Penelope and Women’s Craft
Start: 2025-10-16T18:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-10-16T19:00:00-05:00
Location: 20 West Gate, Winnipeg, MB R3C 2E1, Canada

Schedule

Thu Oct 16 2025 at 06:00 pm to 07:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

20 West Gate, Winnipeg, MB R3C 2E1, Canada | Winnipeg, MB

In the 1800s, neoclassical themes were popular in art and design. Penelope, the idealized faithful wife of Greek myth, appeared across a variety of media, from painting to upholstery fabric. Building from a discussion of an 1886 tapestry depicting Penelope (pictured above) by Dora Wheeler Keith, this talk examines the use of women’s craft and the invocation of the classical past in supporting colonial enterprise in late 1800s America.
Speaker: Melissa Funke, department of Classics, University of Winnipeg
This presentation is part of the 2025-2026 UW Community Lecture Series.