Megan King (Benjamin Franklin House, London) and Paul Staiti (Mount Holyoke College) engage in a spirited conversation sparked by a Robert Smirke painting of the murder of Jane McCrea. The killing, perpetrated by two Native Americans in 1777, was used in two propaganda campaigns: one was meant to increase support for the American cause on both sides of the Atlantic, the other was to demonize Indians during an era of westward expansion.
Paul J. Staiti, Alumnae Foundation Professor of Fine Arts at Mount Holyoke College, is the author of books and essays on John Singleton Copley, Gilbert Stuart, Samuel F. B. Morse, William Michael Harnett, and Winslow Homer. He has lectured at the Louvre, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and has been the recipient of senior fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities three times. He teaches courses on American art and architecture, as well as American cinema. In 2009 he was honored with Mount Holyoke’s Distinguished Teacher award.
Megan King is the Public Engagement Manager at Benjamin Franklin House. Drawing on her research, which focuses on practices of nonviolent resistance in pre-Revolutionary America, and her experience as an educator and a youth advocate, Megan aims to develop innovative, inclusive programming for visitors of all ages and interests. Megan also serves as the project coordinator for the Age of Revolution project, which provides free educational resources to school students across the UK.