Nov 8
Art and the American Experience: Philadelphia welcomes Professor Fred Hagstrom
Carleton alumni are invited to a special event
Art and the American Experience:
Philadelphia welcomes Professor Fred Hagstrom
Saturday, November 8, 2025
with optional add-on tours on Sunday, November 9
Join fellow Carls and Fred Hagstrom, the Carleton Rae Schupack Nathan Professor of Art, emeritus, for this special opportunity to experience some of the most iconic museums in Philadelphia: the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Barnes, and more. Events at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts will include a guided tour of the Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo exhibit.
The prolific careers of Hayakawa, Hibi, and Okubo are remarkable considering that they lived through the Exclusion Era (1882–1965), a period characterized by U.S. laws that restricted immigration, prevented Asians from becoming naturalized American citizens, and contributed to the mass displacement and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.— Smithsonian American Art Museum
Carleton has an important history in connection with the incarceration of people of Japanese descent during the Second World War. Carleton joined with other colleges in the East and Midwest to offer scholarships to students that allowed them to leave the camps. These students left the camps for a kind of educational experience that they would never have considered before the war. The artists in this exhibition were each affected by their experience of facing relocation to camps.
Professor Hagstrom will discuss the artists in the exhibit, along with his book, Deeply Honored, the story of Nisei student Masao “Frank” Shigemura ’45, who attended Carleton for one year (1942-43). After being relocated from his home to an internment camp and then granted a scholarship to Carleton, Shigemura enlisted in the United States Army, where he met his untimely death in France. Frank Shigemura’s story is one of loyalty to the United States as well as to Carleton. Hagstrom’s artist’s book honors Shigemura’s memory, the close relationship that developed between the College and his family, and the legacies of both.
Saturday schedule:
- 12:30–1:30 p.m. Welcome and catered lunch at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA)
- 1:30–2:15 p.m. Presentation by Professor Hagstrom
- 2:30–3:30 p.m. Guided tour with PAFA docent of the exhibit Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo
- 3:30–5:00 p.m. Explore additional art on your own
Optional Sunday add-on schedule:
- 3:00 p.m. Guided tour with docent of the Barnes
- 5:15 p.m. Post-museum happy hour gathering (location tbd)
Spend either morning on your own at the many museums in the area: The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rodin Museum, Mütter Museum, or Eastern State Penitentiary. All open at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Spend a day or make a weekend out of discovering the culture and art of the City of Brotherly Love
Cost
Tickets are $110 per person for Saturday’s events and include catered lunch, lecture, guided tour of the exhibit, and admission to the museum.
Sunday's events can be added on individually:
- Barnes tour: $40 (includes guided tour and admission to the museum)
- Post-museum happy hour gathering (food and beverage on your own). Location TBD (near the museums). No additional cost, but please let us know if you plan on joining the group.
Register by October 15. Space is limited to 40 guests.
Fred Hagstrom is the Rae Schupack Nathan Professor of Art, emeritus. His artist’s books are in numerous national collections. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he continues to maintain an active studio art practice.
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts offers a world-class collection of American art, innovative exhibitions of historic and contemporary American art, and educational opportunities in the fine arts. Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo' reveals a broader picture of the American experience through the artworks and life stories of three trailblazing Japanese American women from the pre–World War II generation, seen together for the first time. With seventy paintings and drawings as well as four sketchbooks by Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo, this exhibition spans eight decades and reveals both the range and depth of these artists’ oeuvres and connections that have not been explored previously.
The Barnes FoundationPhiladelphia art collector Albert C. Barnes (1872–1951) chartered the Barnes in 1922 to teach people from all walks of life how to look at art. Over three decades, he collected some of the world’s most important impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern paintings. Set on four-and-a-half acres of landscaped grounds, the Barnes boasts an impressive collection that features 181 Renoirs (more than any other collection), 69 Cézannes (more than in all of France) and groundbreaking African art.
Interested in more of what Philadelphia has to offer? Check out Visit Philadelphia for the full list of Philadelphia attractions. Make a day or a weekend of it!
Questions?
Contact Alumni Relations at alumni-office@carleton.edu or 800-729-2586.