FREE LECTURES AND SYMPOSIA AT THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS SPRING/SUMMER 1999

The lectures and symposia listed below are free and open to the public. For more information on these and other programs, please call (617) 495-4544.

New Discoveries in Roman Puteoli (Pozzuoli)
Wednesday, May 12; Reception 5:30 p.m.; Lecture 6 p.m.
Arthur M. Sackler Museum

Stefano De Caro, Superintendent of Antiquities for Naples and Caserta
This Loeb Lecture is sponsored by Harvard University's Classics, the Harvard University Art Museums, and the Archaeological Institute of America.

The Making and Reception of Painting in the Pre-Modern Islamic World
Friday and Saturday, May 21 and 22; 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
American Academy of Art and Sciences, 136 Irving Street

With this two-day symposium, sponsored by The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Harvard University will bring together specialists who will present new research and explore new issues in the study of painting in the context of the book from the 14th to 17th century. Topics include the techniques and materials of painting; the conceptualization and realization of painting; theories of painting and aesthetics; and the reception of painting by later audiences. Speakers include Serpil Bagci, Hacettepe University, Ankara; Sheila Blair, Richmond, New Hampshire; Jonathan M. Bloom, Richmond, New Hampshire; Renata Holod, University of Pennsylvania; Yves Porter, Université d'Aix-en-Provence; David J. Roxburgh, Harvard University; John Seyller, University of Vermont; Priscilla P. Soucek, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas; Zeren Tanindi, Uludag University, Bursa; and Elaine Wright, The Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.

Admission to the lectures is free and advance registration is not required. Lunches will be offered to symposium participants on both days for $15 per lunch by advance registration only - please call (617) 495-2355 for lunch reservations and for further information.

Public Art for Boston: John Singer Sargent's Mural Projects
Friday, June 25
Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Boston Public Library

The summer of 1999 might well be called the summer of Sargent in Cambridge and Boston. In addition to the exhibition Sargent in the Studio: Drawings, Sketchbooks, and Oil Sketches at the Fogg (June 10-September 5), several other exhibitions of the work of John Singer Sargent will be on display throughout the Boston area: John Singer Sargent at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (June 23-September 26); Sargent in Context at the Boston Public Library at the Boston Public Library (June 7-July 30); and Sargent: The Late Landscapes at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (May 21-September 26).

The Boston area is home to Sargent's three great mural projects: The Triumph of Religion at the Boston Public Library (1890-1919); the mythological decorations The Winds at the Museum of Fine Arts (1916-1925); and The Coming of the Americans and Death and Victory at Harvard's Widener Library (1921-1922).

The Harvard University Art Museums, together with the Boston Public Library and the Museum of Fine Arts, will present a day-long celebration of these major public works. The day will begin with a series of slide lectures exploring the mural projects from both an art historical and a conservation perspective. Speakers include Jane Dini, University of California at Santa Barbara; Pamela Hatchfield, conservator, Department of Objects Conservation and Scientific Research, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Gianfranco Pocobene, associate conservator of paintings, Straus Center for Conservation, Harvard University Art Museums; Carol Troyen, associate curator of paintings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Lydia Vagts, assistant conservator of paintings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and Mary Crawford Volk, independent scholar. (Sackler lecture hall; 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)

During the afternoon, participants will be given an opportunity to independently view the exhibition at the Fogg, the Widener Library murals, and the exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts (tickets to the exhibition at the MFA will be provided to participants following the morning lectures at the Sackler.) At 5:30 p.m., Sally Promey, associate professor of American Art, University of Maryland, will present a lecture entitled Painting (Religious) Privacy in Public at the Boston Public Library followed by a reception at 6:30 p.m. amidst the murals in the Library.

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The Harvard University Art Museums' facilities are wheelchair accessible. For general information, please call (617) 495-9400. For press information or photographs, please contact Stephanie Dorn at (617) 495-2397. For more information on events, please contact the Friends, Fellows, and Special Programs Office at (617) 495-4544. World Wide Web: www.artmuseums.harvard.edu.

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The Harvard University Art Museums comprise three museums (Busch-Reisinger Museum, Fogg Art Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Museum), all located on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, MA, at the intersection of Quincy Street and Broadway, adjacent to Harvard Yard. The Art Museums are open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and Sunday 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Closed holidays. Admission is $5.00; $4.00 for senior citizens; $3.00 for students; free under 18 and to all on Saturday mornings and all day on Wednesdays. For special tour reservations, please call (617) 496-8576. General tours are offered Monday through Friday from September through June; Wednesdays only in July and August. The Fogg tour is at 11:00 a.m.; the Busch-Reisinger tour is at 1:00 p.m.; and the Sackler is at 2:00 p.m. The Harvard University Art Museums is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.