Subversion in Stone: Understanding Harriet Hosmer and Heteropatriarchy

Harriet Hosmer has been called "the world's first successful woman sculptor", and in this lecture Temple Ph.D. student Lily F. Scott argues for the necessity of a multilayered, intersectional approach when interpreting Harriet Hosmer’s work.

Taking into account the frequently overlooked aspects of Hosmer’s life including her lesbianism, Scott asserts that the application of  feminist queer theory to an analysis of Hosmer’s Neoclassical sculptures greatly contributes to a more nuanced interpretation of her work and an understanding of how Hosmer’s art served as a mechanism to subvert the patriarchal and heterosexual norms of the world around her.