Programs in the Galleries

Programs in the galleries are free to Members of the Harvard University Art Museums and are open to the public with the price of Art Museums admission, unless otherwise indicated.

Gallery Talks

Renaissance Responses to Antiquity: From Titian to Bernini
Saturday September 20, 11:30am
Amy Brauer, Diane Heath Beever Associate Curator, Ancient and Byzantine Art and Numismatics. Antien Knaap, Theodore Rousseau Postdoctoral Fellow, Painting, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts
During the Renaissance, artists throughout Europe were increasingly attracted to the sculptures and monuments of the classical period that were being unearthed in Rome and elsewhere. Artists such as Titian and Peter Paul Rubens traveled to Rome to study and copy numerous statues and ancient ruins. This gallery talk will highlight the influence of classical culture on Renaissance art by looking at selected works in the museum’s collection.

Tree of Life
Sunday September 21, 1:30pm
Mary McWilliams, Norma Jean Calderwood Curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art
In honor of Stuart Cary Welch, guest curator of the installation Tree of Life: Five Indian Variations on a Theme, Mary McWilliams will discuss 17th- to 19th-century Indian paintings and objects that explore vegetal imagery.

American Art at Harvard
Saturday October 11, 11am
Melissa Renn, curatorial assistant, American art

Saturday November 8, 11am
Virginia Anderson, assistant curator of American art

Sunday November 23, 1:30pm
Sandra Grindlay, curator, Harvard University Portrait Collection

Saturday December 6, 11am
Paul Katz, undergraduate assistant, American art

This series of gallery talks will focus on a number of themes in American art, including portrait painting traditions, European influences on American landscape painting, American material culture, and collecting practices.

Portraiture
Wednesday October 15, 2pm
Lyle Ashton Harris, artist, assistant professor, New York University
Lyle Ashton Harris will discuss portraiture in the Harvard Art Museum collections and will sign copies of his newly released book, Lyle Ashton Harris: Blow Up, following the gallery talk.

Gentileschi’s Virgin with the Sleeping Christ Child
Saturday November 15, 11am
Danielle Carrabino, Theodore RousseauCuratorial Intern, Painting, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts
This gallery talk will focus on one painting by a follower of Caravaggio.

Color in the Oasis
Saturday November 15, 11:30am
Mary McWilliams, Norma Jean Calderwood Curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art Jeffrey B. Spurr, Islamic and Middle East specialist, Harvard Fine Arts Library
The cocurators for the installation Color in the Oasis: Ikats of Central Asia will discuss five resist-dyed textiles from Central Asia, including wall hangings and a Karakal- pak woman’s head veil.

Drawing & Writing from Art Workshop
Wednesdays, 3:30–5pm
November 12, 19, December 3,10, inclusive
Janet Sartor, coordinator of programs
Having studied studio arts and literature, Janet Sartor has a compelling interest in the intersection of writing and visual arts. She will lead participants in this four-session offering to discover ways to find inspiration by viewing works in the museum’s collections and reading The Matisse Stories by A. S. Byatt. Participants will be encouraged to explore their own interpretations by producing original narratives and drawings.

Discussions of the book will be followed by sessions in the galleries for viewing, sketching, and writing. In the final meeting, participants will share their poems, short stories, and sketches. Copies of the book, journals, and drawing materials will be provided; non-Members will be given unlimited access to the galleries during public viewing hours for the duration of the program. $80 (Members $60); scholarships are available. Limited to 15 adults. To register or obtain more information, email janet_sartor@harvard.edu or call 617-384-5224.

Gallery Conversations: Art As You See It

Monday—Friday, 12:15pm, 2pm
Twice each weekday, docents will lead guided tours, either Looking Closely: A Focused
Encounter—a gallery talk focused on a particular work, works, gallery, or theme—or Highlights of the Collections—a tour that takes visitors through the Art Museum collections.