Ancient Nubia Now: How Egyptologists Removed Ancient Egypt from Africa Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2019-10-30 | Egyptologist and author Vanessa Davies discusses how archaeologists’ views of the relationship between ancient Nubia and Egypt have evolved since the early 20th century.For more information on the exhibition "Ancient Nubia Now" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), visit: mfa.org/exhibitions/nubia
Getting Ready for Georgia OKeeffe and Henry Moore with MFA Conservation Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-10-01 | Take a behind-the-scenes look into how conservators, curators, and beyond prepare works for display in “Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore.” Rhona MacBeth, director of Conservation and Scientific Research, and Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo Conservator of Paintings, Head of Paintings Conservation, explains how slowing down to look carefully at the art is key to her work—and reminds all viewers the rewards of looking closely.Learn more about the exhibition: mfa.org/exhibition/georgia-okeeffe-and-henry-moore
Spain in the 20th Century Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-09-27 | Learn about the political and social developments that gave shape to Spanish history in the 20th century—from the country’s definitive loss of imperial status in 1898 through the establishment of its current democratic system in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Focus closely on the causes and aftermath of the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), one of the most devastating armed conflicts in European history, which resulted in the 36-year dictatorship of Francisco Franco.Wan Tang, assistant professor, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, and director of Asian American Studies, Boston CollegeWednesday, September 18, 2024
Essence of Nō Theater Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-09-23 | "Essence of Nō" introduces the classical Japanese dramatic art which originated from street performances and agricultural festivities. Transformed and formalized in the 14th century, Nō became a highly elegant theatrical form that appealed to aristocratic tastes. The plays focus on interactions with the gods; ghosts of medieval warriors and lovelorn women; and demons. Both male and female characters traditionally have been played by men. The staging for the theater is minimal and the actors’ movements understated, but the performances provide powerful distillations of emotions. This video outlines the basic components of a Nō performance and takes us backstage, where the principal actor (shite) Mikata Shizuka prepares himself to assume the role of the 11th-century female poet Izumi Shikibu in the play "Seiganji."See Nō masks and robes in the Arts of Japan gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA): mfa.org/gallery/arts-of-japan
Jewelry and Fashion at Play Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-09-11 | From Elsa Peretti and Halston to Gripoix and Coco Chanel to Coppola e Toppo and Emilio Pucci, this lavishly illustrated lecture looks at the rich history of American and European designers in collaboration. Dive into the world of costume and fashion jewelry, learn about the key events that made jewelry available to wider audiences, explore the genre’s most famous names, and discover the role manufacturers in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island played in defining 20th-century style.Emily Stoehrer, Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator of JewelryWednesday, May 22, 2024
A Queer Eye on Dressing Up Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-09-11 | RuPaul famously quipped, “We’re all born naked. The rest is drag.” Fashion and jewelry have always had the ability to transform and inform a full spectrum of identities. Dressing up allows individuals to explore, express, and challenge ideas of race, class, gender, and sexuality beyond a binary. From Donna Summer, the queen of disco, to shoe designer Thom Solo, this lecture highlights the influences and inspirations that mainstream fashion trends have derived from queer culture and theory.theo tyson, curator of Fashion ArtsWednesday, May 29, 2024
All That Glitters Isnt Gold: Dressing Up Dress Up Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-09-11 | How do textile conservators and curators prepare costumes for exhibitions? What role does science play in preparing jewelry for presentation? How are mannequins are chosen for display, and what goes on under dresses to make them sparkle? Find out the answers to all these questions and more as you hear from conservators who worked with scientists and curators alike to bring “Dress Up” to life.Mei-An Tsu, Objects Conservator Joel Stephenson, Textile and Fashion Arts ConservatorWednesday, June 5, 2024
Korean Americans Connect to “Hallyu!” Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-07-01 | “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” features a family-centered work by Boston-based artist Timothy Hyunsoo Lee and family photos lent by MFA staff member Julia Kim. Take a few minutes to listen to Timothy and Julia speak about their Korean roots, their compelling family histories, and what it means not only to connect to an exhibition highlighting Korean and Korean American culture, but to see their work and families represented in “Hallyu!”See "Hallyu! The Korean Wave" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: mfa.org/exhibition/hallyu-the-korean-wave
New Discourses on Folk and Self-Taught Art Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-07-01 | Join us for a symposium bringing together leading art experts to explore new definitions for folk and self-taught art in the 21st century. Explore how the equitable integration of art into museums promotes cultural competency by deepening appreciation for art and people from diverse backgrounds.This program is part of Lunder Institute@, copresented by the Lunder Institute for American Art, an initiative of the Colby Museum of Art. Lunder Institute@ brings together artists and leaders of prominent American art museums to look critically at American art, its history, its future, and its evolution, and to engage publicly with a single question: What is the state of American art?SpeakersDr. Gabrielle A. Berlinger, folklorist and associate professor of American Studies and Folklore, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillKinshasha Holman Conwill, deputy director emerita, Smithsonian National Museum of American History and CultureJori Finkel, New York Times writer and American art criticLonnie B. Holley, American artistModerated by Michael J. Bramwell, Joyce Linde Curator of Folk and Self-taught ArtThursday, May 23, 2024
MFA Member Lectures: Tender Loving Care: Contemporary Art from the Collection Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-06-13 | “Tender Loving Care: Contemporary Art from the Collection” is an exhibition that invites visitors to explore how contemporary artists trace and address concepts of care through their materials, subjects, ideas, and processes. Join Michelle Fisher, Ronald C. and Anita L. Wornick Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts, as she explores how the works in the exhibition define, depict, and demonstrate many forms of care through five thematic groupings: threads, thresholds, rest, vibrant matter, and adoration.For a look at upcoming member events, check out: mfa.org/membership/member-eventsBecome an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membershipWednesday, June 5, 2024
Spotlight on Asian American Art: Toshiko Takaezu Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-06-11 | Join a curator and an educator from the MFA in a conversation about Toshiko Takaezu, a multimedia artist who created ceramics, bronzes, textiles, and paintings that combine American and East Asian traditions. Students will learn about the artist’s unique perspective on the relationship between art, craft, and daily life and then consider how Takaezu’s work engages with her multicultural identity as an Asian American.Teaching Resources: streamablelearning.com/app/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/MFA-Teaching-Resources_Asian-American-Art_Toshiko-Takaezu__2023-24.pdf Wednesday, May 1, 2024Recommended for Grades 6–16
Dreams and Aspirations in Korean Art and Popular Culture Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-05-28 | How do Korean art and media communicate individual and social aspirations, ideals, and desires? Search for possible answers to this question by discussing a wide range of artworks and popular images from the late Joseon period to the present day, including court-style screens, religious objects, photographs, and contemporary mixed-media works. Consider and reexamine the concept of hallyu in this context.Jiyeon Kim, curator of Korean Art, Peabody Essex MuseumWednesday, May 8, 2024See "Hallyu! The Korean Wave" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: mfa.org/exhibition/hallyu-the-korean-wave
Hallyu and Korean Fashion Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-05-28 | With today’s global cultural eye landing frequently on South Korea, the traditional hanbok dress (as seen worldwide in popular TV costume dramas) is no longer the only clothing reference one may associate with the country and its culture. Today, Korean fashion is so much more—influenced by everything from international street style to couture, and in turn influencing the rest of the world with its take on those two points of view. Delve into how contemporary designers contextualize their experience through their creative lens and how the world of Korean fashion extends beyond clothing.Yoon Chang, fashion designer; part-time assistant professor, Parsons School of Design (School of Fashion); and adjunct associate professor, Pratt Institute (School of Design)Wednesday, May 1, 2024See "Hallyu! The Korean Wave" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: mfa.org/exhibition/hallyu-the-korean-wave
Korean Popular Arts and Culture: K-Pop and Beyond Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-05-28 | Calling all fans of BTS, aespa, ATEEZ, and more! Dive into the rich history of K-pop, from its humble beginnings to its current status as a global sensation. Learn what distinguishes K-pop from other musical genres and why it captivates a global audience from diverse backgrounds.Dr. Ray Seol, assistant professor of Professional Music, Berklee College of MusicWednesday, April 10, 2024See "Hallyu! The Korean Wave" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: mfa.org/exhibition/hallyu-the-korean-wave
The MFA’s Korean Art Collection and Hallyu! Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-05-28 | “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” features several works from the MFA’s permanent collection of Korean art—a lesser-known area of the Museum’s holdings, but among the largest and finest in America, with strengths in Buddhist paintings, metalwork, and ceramics. Take a sweeping look at the MFA’s collection of Korean art and discover how Korean history and tradition has inspired the country’s creative industries today.Christina Yu Yu, Matsutaro Shoriki Chair, Art of AsiaWednesday, April 3, 2024See "Hallyu! The Korean Wave" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: mfa.org/exhibition/hallyu-the-korean-wave
Ashes to Powerhouse: South Korea from the 1950s to the 2020s Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-05-28 | In 2021 the UN Conference on Trade and Development upgraded South Korea’s economy from “developing” to “developed.” Some call it the miracle on the Han River. But what really happened to cause such a transformation? Learn about the immense political, social, and economic turmoil Korea experienced throughout the 20th century—from the fall of its last dynasty 1910 and the 35 years of Japanese rule that followed to the division into North and South after liberation and the breakout of the Korean War in 1950. Discover how along the way South Korea grew from one of the world’s poorest countries to an economic and cultural powerhouse.Sunglim Kim, associate professor, Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages, Dartmouth CollegeWednesday, March 27, 2024See "Hallyu! The Korean Wave" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: mfa.org/exhibition/hallyu-the-korean-wave
Craft Supernova: BUs Program in Artisanry, 1975-85 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-05-28 | Between 1975 and 1985 Boston University’s Program in Artisanry (PIA) crystalized the ambitions of the studio craft movement like nothing before it. As important to the field of craft history—and wider art histories—as sites like Black Mountain College or the Haystack Mountain School of Craft, the PIA is intertwined with the MFA’s history of collecting and exhibiting artwork, as well as generations of students across the country. In an open and dynamic conversation, grapple with PIA’s tension between breaking aesthetic, conceptual, and disciplinary boundaries while simultaneously fostering a more inclusive and diverse landscape for contemporary craft.Michelle Millar Fisher, Ronald C. and Anita L. Wornick Curator of Contemporary Decorative ArtsThursday, March 21, 2024
Community Arts Initiative: Our Family Portrait Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-05-15 | For the annual Community Arts Initiative Artist Project, Boston-based artist Timothy Hyunsoo Lee (born in Seoul, South Korea, 1990) worked with more than 150 students from 12 partner organizations around the city to make a work that represents their communities and their birth and chosen families. In addition to regular visits at each group’s community center, the students spent time with Lee in the MFA galleries looking at family portraits made by a variety of artists over the centuries. They then envisioned their own ideas of community and family life through the practice of cyanotype. One of the earliest forms of camera-less photography, the cyanotype process produces distinctive blue-toned prints through the exposure of photosensitive salts to light.Learn more: mfa.org/exhibition/community-arts-initiative-our-family-portrait
MFA Member Lectures: Dress Up Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-04-30 | Join us for a discussion on “Dress Up,” an exhibition that explores adornment and its role in the creation of a look. Hear from theo tyson, curator of Fashion, and Emily Stoehrer, Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator of Jewelry, as they discuss how our choice of dress can make a political statement, express a mood, or communicate a personal identity.For a look at upcoming member events, check out: mfa.org/membership/member-eventsBecome an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membershipWednesday, April 17, 2024
Exploring Jewish History and Art: Old Faith in the New World Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-04-30 | Catch an illustrated presentation on American Judaism from 1654 to the present by the acclaimed scholar who wrote "American Judaism: A History"—a best-selling book on the subject. Discover the dynamic story of people struggling to be both Americans and Jews and learn how each generation of American Jews has had to wrestle anew with the question of whether its children and grandchildren will remain connected to their Judaism. Covering this history from the colonial era to the present day, this lecture illustrates how the past can both inform and inspire.Jonathan Sarna, Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, Brandeis UniversityWednesday, February 28, 2024
Exploring Jewish History and Art: Bostons First Judaica Gallery Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-04-30 | Take a closer look at highlights from the MFA’s new Judaica gallery and learn the stories behind them. Almost every work of art in “Intentional Beauty: Jewish Ritual Art from the Collection” is a recent acquisition on display at the Museum for the very first time. Who created these objects and why? Who owned them? What do they tell us about Jewish life? From a Yemenite women’s headdress and an Indian Haggadah to a Venetian Renaissance textile and a Torah ark from Chelsea, Massachusetts, these works express the extraordinary diversity of Jewish cultures and customs.Simona Di Nepi, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Curator of JudaicaWednesday, March 6, 2024
Art As Evidence: Jewish Manuscripts and the Archeology of Jewish Life Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-04-30 | Jewish art is full of often beautiful, always interesting depictions of home interiors, clothing, and families. What can we learn about Jewish life from this work? And what should we seek to learn? Discover the answer through looking closely at Judaica highlights.Marc Michael Epstein, professor of Religion on the Mackie P. Davis and Norman H. Davis Chair and director of Jewish Studies, Vassar CollegeWednesday, March 20, 2024
Jewish Feminism: Transforming Ritual Practice 3/13/24 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-04-30 | What we know of the past has everything to do with who is holding the lantern and the direction in which they cast the light. From the reclamation of ceremonies, such as the Simchat Bat (welcoming for baby girls), to the creation of new ritual objects, like the Miriam’s Cup on the seder table; from the rediscovery of women’s holidays, like the mourning ceremony for the biblical Yiftach’s daughter, to the celebration of a hidden holiday on the New Moon festival during Hanukkah; Jewish feminism and Jewish women’s studies have had a transformative effect on Jewish practice and contributed volumes to Jewish knowledge. Hear about examples of feminist interventions in Judaism and find out how they have added to the vitality of an always dynamic tradition.Lori Lefkovitz, Ruderman Professor of Jewish Studies, Director of Jewish Studies Program, and professor of English, Northeastern UniversityWednesday, March 13, 2024
Material Intimacies: Portraiture and Photographic Experimentation Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-04-29 | From the 1970s to the early ’80s a group of young artists in Boston, several of whom were then students at the SMFA, made intimate and ephemeral self-portraits and photographs of their friends and lovers. By turning their cameras on themselves, artists including Nan Goldin, Gail Thacker, and Mark Morrisroe radically refuted the documentary traditions of a previous generation of Boston photographers as well as that of their teachers. Learn about how these artists redefined the material conditions of photography to capture fleeting instances of tenderness, intimacy, vulnerability, and loss within the cultural and political landscape of the time.Part of the course series, "Creative Networks: The Boston Art Scene in the 1970s and ’80s."Lynne Cooney, director of Exhibitions and Galleries, Monserrat College of Art
Art Meets Innovation: Spot and Riley Visit Hallyu! The Korean Wave Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-04-24 | A very special visitor stops by the MFA: Spot, the four-legged robot from Boston Dynamics! Watch Spot and its new pal Riley, the MFA's canine volunteer, as they explore the special exhibition "Hallyu! The Korean Wave" and enjoy a dance party with local K-pop dance crew OFFBRND BOSTON.See "Hallyu! The Korean Wave" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: mfa.org/exhibition/hallyu-the-korean-wave
As the World Burns: Queer Photography and Nightlife in Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-04-11 | Explore the relationship between community photographic practices, queer nightlife, and gay liberation in Boston. In the early 1970s, the Boston area became an important hub of gay culture, activism, and nightlife—and home to a flourishing scene of photography. Many queer artists and community members turned to photography to chronicle, elevate, and enrich their disparate experiences of nightlife and sex. Jack Davidow, art historian, curator, and fellow at Harvard Art MuseumsThursday, March 14, 2024
Connecting to Tradition: Crafting Hanbok in America Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-03-29 | Jessica Kim says that being in the business of crafting hanbok, the traditional Korean dress, connects her to her roots and culture. She and her mother, Jeoung, run the Philadelphia-based shop bdk | mint, a third-generation family business that began in Daegu, South Korea. Hear from Jessica in this two-minute video about modern interpretations of traditional hanbok, the value of exposing global audiences to hanbok in museums, and how hanbok are worn today.See "Hallyu! The Korean Wave" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: mfa.org/exhibition/hallyu-the-korean-wave
Korean Moon Jars: More than Meets the Eye Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-03-28 | Take two minutes to look closely at a Korean moon jar from the Joseon dynasty with Christina Yu Yu, Matsutaro Shoriki Chair, Art of Asia, and MFA curator of “Hallyu! The Korean Wave.” Exemplifying the Confucian principle of understated beauty, moon jars are prized for their subtle complexities—imperfections in the glaze that add nuance to their seeming simplicity. In “Hallyu!,” the MFA’s moon jar is paired with a patterned dress designed by Minju Kim. Although at first glance the dress appears decorated with an abstract geometric pattern, careful inspection reveals a moon jar’s refined silhouette repeated across the fabric—a subtle gesture that pays homage to these treasured ceramics while at the same time speaking to Kim’s own Korean identity.See "Hallyu! The Korean Wave" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: mfa.org/exhibition/hallyu-the-korean-wave
The Coat is The Picture: John Singer Sargent, Painting, and Fashion Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-03-14 | What happens when you turn yourself over to the hands of an artist? Who decides what you wear for your portrait, and what message will your image send when it goes out into the world? Take an in-depth look at the role of dress in John Singer Sargent’s work and see how the painter manipulated fashion—and his sitters—in the service of his art.Erica Hirshler, Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings, Art of the AmericasWednesday, November 1, 2023
Hallyu! The Korean Wave Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-03-05 | Today, South Korea is a cultural superpower—a global trendsetter producing award-winning films, riveting dramas , and chart-topping music by K-pop groups. But behind the country’s meteoric rise to the world stage—a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave, or hallyu—is the story of remarkable resilience and innovation.See the exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: mfa.org/exhibition/hallyu-the-korean-wave
Hallyu! The Korean Wave Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-03-05 | What is Hallyu?Today, South Korea is a cultural superpower—a global trendsetter producing award-winning films, riveting dramas , and chart-topping music by K-pop groups. But behind the country’s meteoric rise to the world stage—a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave, or hallyu—is the story of remarkable resilience and innovation.See the exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: mfa.org/exhibition/hallyu-the-korean-wave
MFA Member Lectures: Toshiko Takaezu: Shaping Abstraction Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-03-05 | Join us for a discussion on the exhibition “Toshiko Takaezu: Shaping Abstraction,” which highlights the work of a technically masterful and innovative artist best known for her ceramic sculptures. Hear from Nonie Gadsden, Katharine Lane Weems Senior Curator of American Decorative Arts, about Takaezu’s gestural style, distinctive palettes, and complex layering of glazes, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the exhibition.For a look at upcoming member events, check out: https://www.mfa.org/membership/member...Become an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membership
MFA Member Lectures: Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-26 | Spend an hour with Sarah Thompson, curator, Japanese Art, and Kendall DeBoer, assistant curator, Contemporary Art, to hear about the creation of “Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence,” a major exhibition that explores Katsushika Hokusai’s impact on artists across time and around the world. The curators dive into responses to Hokusai’s work throughout history—from his contemporaries and the 19th-century French Japonistes to contemporary artists.For a look at upcoming member events, check out: https://www.mfa.org/membership/member...Become an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membership
MFA Member Lectures: Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-26 | Enjoy this 40-minute video to engage deeply with the exhibition “Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina,” which brings together ceramic objects from Old Edgefield, a center of stoneware production in the decades before the Civil War, with work by contemporary artists. Join Ethan Lasser, John Moors Cabot Chair, Art of the Americas, about the collaborative process behind this landmark exhibition and contemporary artistic responses.For a look at upcoming member events, check out: mfa.org/membership/member-eventsBecome an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membership
MFA Member Lectures: Touching Roots: Black Ancestral Legacies in the Americas Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-26 | “Touching Roots: Black Ancestral Legacies in the Americas” traces narratives of Blackness across the Atlantic world by bringing together work from artists who absorbed and reinterpreted African artistic practices, sacred customs, and cultural expressions. In this hourlong discussion, hear from curator Martina Tanga and professor Reiland Rabaka as they reflect on topics in the exhibition by looking at work by various artists, writers, and thinkers.For a look at upcoming member events, check out: mfa.org/membership/member-eventsBecome an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membership
MFA Member Lectures: Translating American Stories Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-26 | This talk goes deep into the development of “Translating American Stories,” the first initiative to bring multiple languages into the MFA’s permanent collection galleries. Led by Layla Bermeo, Kristin and Roger Servison Curator of Paintings, Art of the Americas, the presentation explores the project’s collaborative process, outreach to community members from diverse backgrounds, and fresh interpretations of historical art in the collection.For a look at upcoming member events, check out: mfa.org/membership/member-eventsBecome an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membership
MFA Member Lectures: Up Close with a Jewelry Curator Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-26 | This talk offers an in-depth look at a few highlights of the MFA’s extensive jewelry collection that are currently on view. Emily Stoehrer, Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator of Jewelry, shares the story behind the Museum’s dazzling starfish brooch, once owned by actress Claudette Colbert, and previews works by Winifred Mason, Joyce Scott, and Art Smith on view in the new “Art and Jazz” gallery.For a look at upcoming member events, check out: mfa.org/membership/member-eventsBecome an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membership
MFA Member Lectures: Tiny Treasures: The Magic of Miniatures Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-26 | For a look at upcoming member events, check out: https://www.mfa.org/membership/member...Become an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membership
MFA Member Lectures: Matthew Wong: The Realm of Appearances Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-26 | Go deep into “Matthew Wong: The Realm of Appearances,” an exhibition that explores the full scope of works Wong created in a short period of time, reflecting on his pursuit to capture humanity’s relationship to the world beyond the physical realm. This 60-minute discussion with Vivian Li, Lupe Murchison Curator of Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art, offers a look at the creation of exhibition and the self-taught artist’s unique visual language.For a look at upcoming member events, check out: mfa.org/membership/member-eventsBecome an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membership
MFA Member Lectures: Fashioned by Sargent Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-26 | Erica Hirshler, Croll Senior Curator of American Painting, explores “Fashioned by Sargent,” an exhibition that reveals the liberties the painter took with his sitters’ clothing to express personalities, power, professions, gender identities, and nationalities—and to fulfill his own artistic agenda. Hirshler considers Sargent’s complex relationship with his often-affluent sitters and their clothes, and discusses the creation of the exhibition.For a look at upcoming member events, check out: mfa.org/membership/member-eventsBecome an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membership
MFA Member Lectures: Marking Resilience: Indigenous North American Prints Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-26 | Hear from Edward Saywell, Chair of Prints and Drawings, and Marina Tyquiengco, Ellyn McColgan Assistant Curator of Native American Art, in this recorded member lecture. Together they explore how the prints in this exhibition combat Indigenous erasure and demonstrate the creativity and experimentation of diverse contemporary artists.For a look at upcoming member events, check out: mfa.org/membership/member-eventsBecome an MFA member and help support the art and culture you believe in: mfa.org/membership
London Art Scene in the Age of John Singer Sargent Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-16 | Discover the visual pleasures of the London art scene in the years around John Singer Sargent’s 1886 move from Paris to Thames-side Chelsea. From the tonal nuance of James Abbott McNeil Whistler’s Nocturnes to the decadent sexuality of Aubrey Beardsley’s illustrations for Oscar Wilde’s Salomé, savor a rich array of competing styles. Then learn about British modernism’s assault on Gilded Age culture in the early 20th century, which eventually eclipsed Sargent’s brilliant career.Jonathan Ribner, associate professor and director of graduate admissions, Department of History of Art and Architecture, Boston UniversityWednesday, December 6, 2023
Madame X: Fashion and Self-fashioning in John Singer Sargents Paris Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-16 | Sargent admired the unusual beauty of American socialite Virginie Avegno Gautreau and convinced her to pose for a portrait—a calculated bid for celebrity that implicated both artist and sitter. Sargent captured Gautreau’s distinctive self-fashioning in the iconic portrait now known as Madame X, which famously caused an uproar when it was first exhibited in Paris in 1884. Nearly 140 years later the portrait continues to captivate. Look closely at the relationship between Sargent and Gautreau while considering the social and artistic milieu that fueled the notorious scandal and its impact on the artist’s career and sitter’s reputation.Stephanie Herdrich, associate curator of American Painting and Sculpture, Metropolitan Museum of ArtWednesday, November 29, 2023
Fashioned by Sargent: Inspired Beauty through Dress Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-16 | You know the paintings; now focus on the fashion within the art by taking a look at the sumptuous textiles, elegant silhouettes, and architectural underpinnings that supported it all. What goes unseen in John Singer Sargent’s representations of beauty is the work women put into sculpting their appearances for the world to see. Color, texture, and shape all play a role in this seduction of the eye.Penney Pinette, costume shop manager and adjunct lecturer, Boston UniversityWednesday, November 15, 2023
“It” Women and John Singer Sargent’s Self-Fashioning Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-02-16 | Sargent painted some eye-catching portraits of men, but his provocative visions of women stole the show, asserting his bold Parisian style. Beyond his iconic Madame X, Sargent’s depictions of socialites, divas, scholars, and adventurers tapped into momentous changes in women’s lives unfolding during the Belle Époque. Learn about how both Sargent’s public success and his private freedom drew on his complex and remarkable portrayals of women. In envisioning his friends, confidantes, and patrons as self-confident and free-spirited women, Sargent hit on a paradoxical solution for his own sexual complications and an exhilarating inspiration for his own self-fashioning.Paul Fisher, professor and chair of American Studies, Wellesley CollegeWednesday, November 8, 2023
It Women and John Singer Sargents Self- Fashioning Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-01-22 | Sargent painted some eye-catching portraits of men, but his provocative visions of women stole the show, asserting his bold Parisian style. Beyond his iconic Madame X, Sargent’s depictions of socialites, divas, scholars, and adventurers tapped into momentous changes in women’s lives unfolding during the Belle Époque. Learn about how both Sargent’s public success and his private freedom drew on his complex and remarkable portrayals of women. In envisioning his friends, confidantes, and patrons as self-confident and free-spirited women, Sargent hit on a paradoxical solution for his own sexual complications and an exhilarating inspiration for his own self-fashioning.Paul Fisher, professor and chair of American Studies, Wellesley CollegeWednesday, November 8, 2023
Women in Renaissance Italy: Community and Culture in Florentine Convents Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-01-22 | Women’s convents were important institutions in Renaissance Florence. In addition to hosting religious communities and giving structure to the daily lives of the women they housed, these monastic complexes were centers of education and artistic expression. Though cloistered from their urban environment, Florence’s convent communities were not impervious to what was happening beyond their walls—as evidenced in the active use of a single space on the monastic campus: the refectory, or dining hall.Learn more about how convent refectories served nuns and explore the long-standing tradition of depicting the Last Supper on refectory walls in Florentine monasteries. Get to know some of the most famous Florentine Last Supper frescoes, including a recently restored painting by the 16th-century self-taught artist and nun Plautilla Nelli, and discover how they connected convent residents with the cultural circumstances and artistic achievements of their city.Catherine O’Reilly, manager of Collections DocumentationWednesday, October 25, 2023
Passionately Unconventional: Music by Women in Renaissance Italy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2024-01-09 | Female composers have existed for millennia: there is a 4th-century biblical edict against women singing, which only proves that they persisted. Women have also written down music since it began to be notated. Take a deep dive into a brief period in history, the Italian Renaissance, when women composers were not only remarkable, but celebrated.Amelia LeClair, founding director, Cappella ClausuraWednesday, October 18, 2023
Women in Renaissance Italy: The Art of Family Life Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2023-12-21 | Take a closer look at some exemplary paintings, sculptures, furniture, jewelry, clothing, and household items associated with women’s lives in Renaissance Italy. Through an analysis of key life cycle events—among them marriage, childbirth, and death—and their related objects, we can better understand how women lived, and what they lived with, during this period.Jacqueline Marie Musacchio, professor of Art, Wellesley CollegeWednesday, October 4, 2023
Italy’s First Woman of Letters: Vittoria Colonna Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2023-12-21 | Explore the life and writing of Vittoria Colonna, Marchesa di Pescara, the first woman in Italy to have a book of her own poems published. What did it mean for a woman to be a writer in 16th-century Italy? How did Colonna conceive of her role as a love poet and, later, as a devotional poet? How did her close friendship with Michelangelo shape her creative work? Discover the answers to these and other questions about one of Renaissance Italy’s most fascinating figures.From the course: Women in Renaissance ItalyRamie Targoff, Jehuda Reinharz Professor of the Humanities, Brandeis UniversityWednesday, October 11, 2023
Fashioning Identities Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2023-12-13 | Join Boston-area creatives and MFA staff as they explore themes of representation, styling, and identity in art and look at how these themes relate to the new exhibition “Fashioned by Sargent.” This multidisciplinary lecture, panel discussion, and performance considers how we represent out personalities and attributes through individual style. Learn more about John Singer Sargent’s work the power he had in portraying his subjects. Then hear from the speakers as they discuss the relevance of representation and manufactured identity in today’s image-conscious world.Erica Hirshler, Croll Senior Curator of American Paintings, Art of the AmericasJas Knight, artistOompa, musicianOJ Slaughter, artistThursday, November 2, 2023
