Nightingale-Bamford Lectures at Saint David's

The winning Lecture on Liberty Leading the People

This past Friday was the Eighth Grade's final Nightingale-Bamford Lectures on Art. In this culminating humanities class project, taught by Nancy Iannicelli, our eighth grade finalists present an analysis of a work of art by a master to eighth grade visitors from Nightingale-Bamford School, and before a panel of judges that include heads of other schools, and Saint David's administrators and trustees. The seventh graders also attend in order to obtain a sense of the project they will be responsible for next year.

The finalists for the 2014 NBS Lectures

The boys are required to prepare a lecture and PowerPoint presentation that addresses several components including, historical setting, gesture, shape, color, iconography, and balance, among others. The boys are judged on the quality and depth of their research and analysis, and also on their oral presentation skills and the design of their slides. This year's winner, James H., delivered his lecture on Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People.

Each year I am impressed by the variety of choices in the artwork analyzed, the depth of the boys' analyses, and their command of public speaking. It is not easy for a young man to face an audience of judges and peers, and ours do so magnificently--clearly expressing the ideas and ideals behind their work of art.

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