The Suffolk Art League, in conjunction with the Suffolk Art Gallery, will offer a

lecture to be held at the Suffolk Art Gallery, 118 Bosley Ave.

“Why is that Art?” will be presented by Emily Smith on Thursday, Nov. 17, from 7 to 9 p.m. This Virginia Museum of Fine Arts program will look at modern art, which can be challenging. It always raises questions, even among the most knowledgeable viewers. What is an abstract painting “of”? How do you determine if something is “good”?

A close look at the history of modern art, dating from roughly 1870 through 1950, demonstrates the changes that occurred, chiefly that art became more abstract, were not arbitrary but rather developed along deliberate paths. Artists were not working in a vacuum but were responding to changes in technology like the development of photography, cultural moments like the industrial revolution and the world wars, as well as the artists and movements that preceded them.

Using works from VMFA’s collection, this chronological telling of important moments in modern art provides the context in which to answer questions like those above.

This program has been organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and is supported, in part, by the Paul Mellon Endowment and the Jean Stafford Camp Memorial Fund. It is free.

Call 925-0448 or 514-7284 for more information.