Pontiac, Michigan (February 19, 2004) -- The Office of Arts, Culture & Film presents a lecture and slide presentation by Kay Duncan, of the Detroit Institute of Arts Speakers Bureau, entitled American Attitude: Whistler and His Followers. The presentation will take place on Thursday, February 19, 2004, from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Oakland County Lecture Hall.

Don't miss Kay Duncan's slide presentation commemorating the work of the influential artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler and his impact on American painting. The lecture and slideshow will preview the DIA's upcoming Whistler exhibition, called "American Attitude: Whistler & His Followers," which will be on view from March 14, 2004 to June 6, 2004.

Included among nearly 70 paintings is his most famous work, Arrangement in Gray and Black: Portrait of the Painter's Mother, commonly referred to as "Whistler's Mother." Other signature works by Whistler such as Symphony in White No. 1: The White Girl from the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., as well as the DIA's own Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket. Other Whistler paintings are on view, along with works by American artists who were influenced by his innovative ideas. The exhibition is organized in a way that shows Whistler's unique handling of compositional and tonal arrangements and their impact.

The presentation will take place on Thursday, February 19, 2004 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Oakland County Lecture Hall, Building 49 West on the County campus at 1200 N. Telegraph Road, in Pontiac.