Hillary Harkness, Reimagining Civil War Paintings, Revels in Uncomfortable Contradictions

She tweaks history with witty and often disturbing panache.

Gallery PPOW
Hilary Harkness: 'Prisoners From the Front (1866), Commissioned by Arabella Freeman,' 2019. Gallery PPOW

In Hilary Harkness’ application interview for the Yale Master of Fine Arts program, the artist recounts that the interviewer, who was an older man, told her that her work was boring. “Well, it isn’t for you,” she recalls saying. The interviewer reddened, but she got into the program. 

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