Curating Class 1: Dr Rebecca Starr on Working Class Art Histories

Dr Rebecca Starr, Lecturer in History of Art in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds, gives an overview of art history’s relationship with class, which she traces back to the discipline's origins in Enlightenment philosophy.    The idea of the autonomous art object, set apart from everyday life, was still being endorsed in the mid-20th-century by critics like Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg. It was challenged in the 1960s and 70s by figures including Nicos Hadjinicolaou and Griselda Pollock.  Introduced by Dr Laura Claveria, University of Leeds Library Galleries Exhibitions Curator (Art), this was the opening paper in Curating Class: Rethinking Art Exhibitions Methodologies.   Hosted by the University of Leeds Cultural Collections & Galleries, this day of talks and discussions coincided with the 2025-26 exhibition ‘[uz], [uz], [uz]: Artists from Working-Class Backgrounds’ at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery. Watch the referenced excerpt from the Netflix documentary ‘Beckham’:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E4s0RqCBzU  Co-produced by University of Leeds Cultural Collections & Galleries and the Working Class British Art Network.