Artists “double” their visual worlds by creating artworks within artworks. Curator Miriam Stewart will explore how these artists create intriguing interactions between painter, subject, and viewer. Led by: Miriam Stewart, Curator of the Collection, Division of European and American Art Gallery talks are limited to 18 people and registration is required. You can register by […]

In the past few years, for many of us, the majority of our daily interactions occur through a screen. We work at a day job, staring all day at a screen. Then, we turn to a different screen at night, to stream more 'content'.  The phone.  The laptop, The iPad.  The ‘zoom’ calls.  Emails. Texts. […]

On this tour, Emily Feng ’25 will explore how certain works of art provoke a sense of disorientation. A student of philosophy and economics, Feng will look closely at three works: Saxon Motif (1964), an oil painting made in West Germany by Georg Baselitz; Zhan Wang’s Sculpture in the Form of a Nine-Hole Scholar’s Rock, made in China […]

On this tour, Aidan Scully ’25 will explore how people have been (mis)remembered through art and what stories developed around those memories over time. The stops on the tour are Bearded Man, Possibly Emperor Macrinus, a battered Roman sculpture from the early to mid-third century; a Persian tombstone from the Seljuk-Atabeg period (1117); and Henry Inman’s 1832–34 painting , […]

To commemorate International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, we invite you to ON DISPLAY HARVARD 2023, featuring a one-hour movement installation involving Harvard students and community members in the Calderwood Courtyard. ON DISPLAY HARVARD is presented in collaboration with ON DISPLAY GLOBAL, a worldwide movement installation and social justice initiative created by physically integrated dance company Heidi Latsky Dance. Harvard’s Office for the […]

Join curatorial intern Saffron Sener for a discussion of wildness, emptiness, and beauty as represented in Albert Bierstadt’s Rocky Mountains, “Lander’s Peak” (1863). Led by: Saffron Sener, Graduate Curatorial Intern of American Art, Division of European and American Art Gallery talks are limited to 18 people and registration is required. You can register by clicking on the […]

Which colors did ancient Greek and Roman artists use, and how have we discovered their choices? What is polychromy, and how does it influence our understanding of the ancient world? This talk explores both the overt and covert colors within our ancient art collection, with a special emphasis on Greek vase paintings, marble sculpture, and […]

Join artist, poet, and educator Lio Olin to learn about the long history of ekphrastic writing. Ekphrasis, from the Greek word for the written description of a visual work of art, has changed the way we approach and view visual art. The group will first gather in the modern and contemporary art galleries to take […]

The public is invited to perform Vespers, a 1969 work by the late experimental composer Alvin Lucier that encourages participatory echolocation across the gallery. The performance will be led by students enrolled in the EIU Pine Honors College’s Exploration Seminar Who Speaks for the Oceans? taught by Jennifer Seas. Supplies will be provided.   

Join program assistant Shirley Hunt to explore the role of recorded music in Nam Jun Paik’s audiovisual work Electronic Opera #1. An accomplished musician and independent scholar, Hunt will share insights into the history, cultural context, and interpretation of musical material used in the creation of this artwork. Led by: Shirley Hunt, Program Assistant, Division of […]

On this tour, Isa Haro ’24 will explore how abstraction in art has been practiced, viewed, and enjoyed over time, with three very different examples. She will look at a group of Ming dynasty garden rocks (16th–17th century), which served as focal elements in traditional gardens; Paul Cézanne’s Study of Trees (c. 1904), a radically austere painting that contributed […]

Join curator Lynette Roth for a closer look at three different works—two series of portrait photographs from the Busch-Reisinger Museum collection and a video installation on loan— that rely on a systematized artistic format to examine and critique uniformity. Uniforms, which are at play in these works, can be used to delineate between those who […]

Take a trip through time and space by exploring early modern Japanese paintings that feature legendary journeys, with curatorial intern Carolyn Bell. Learn how these paintings cast their viewers in the role of traveler, allowing them to experience these fantastical journeys themselves. Led by: Carolyn Bell, Graduate Curatorial Intern, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art […]

In conjunction with the exhibition Objects of Addiction: Opium, Empire, and the Chinese Art Trade (September 15, 2023–January 14, 2024), drama therapists Ana Bess Moyer Bell and Amy Lazier of the artist collective 2nd Act will lead a workshop designed to challenge participants’ ideas about addiction through a drama therapy model. By examining, embodying, and destigmatizing addiction […]

Our galleries are full of stories—this series of talks gives visitors a chance to hear the best ones! The talks highlight new works on view, take a fresh look at old favorites, investigate artists’ materials and techniques, and reveal the latest discoveries by curators, conservators, fellows, visiting artists, technologists, and other contributors. Led by: Lynette […]