Release Date: September 3, 2014

Fall Lecture Program at the National Gallery of Art Highlights Exhibitions, American Writer James Baldwin, New Publications by Noted Authors, the Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art, and More

Faya Causey, head of academic programs, National Gallery of Art, moderates a panel discussion on the Image of the Black in Western Art, Volume 5: The Twentieth Century, Part 2: The Rise of Black Artists. A book signing follows the program.

Washington, DC—This fall, the National Gallery of Art offers an array of public lecture programs featuring a distinguished group of artists, authors, curators, poets, and scholars. Highlights of the season include the annual Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art, programs honoring James Baldwin, two public symposia, a panel discussion, and five book signings.

Artist Ursula von Rydingsvard visits the Gallery on September 21 to discuss her sculptural practice, which often incorporates 4 × 4 cedar beams. Although her work is abstract, the artist has acknowledged a strong correlation to the human figure, most visible in her vertically oriented conical works, such as Five Cones (1990–1992), currently on view in the East Building Atrium.

James Baldwin, American essayist, novelist, playwright, and poet (1924–1987), is honored with programming to mark the 90th anniversary of his birth. On September 11, poets Carolyn Forché and E. Ethelbert Miller offer a reading of and reflections on Baldwin's work in the East Building Atrium, and on October 12, Karen Thorsen and Douglas Dempsey Thorsen discuss the making of their award-winning documentary, James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket, before presenting the world premiere of its new restoration in the Gallery's West Building Lecture Hall.

The exhibitions Degas/Cassatt and Degas's Little Dancer are explored in multiple programs highlighting conservation and curatorial research. On September 14, senior conservator Ann Hoenigswald delivers the lecture Degas and Cassatt as Collaborators: A Look Beneath the Layers. Hoenigswald joins curator Kimberly A. Jones on September 15 to examine the relationship between Degas and Cassatt. To celebrate the closing day of Degas/Cassatt on October 5, the Gallery will hold a public symposium titled Degas and Cassatt: Different Perspectives. On November 23, Daphne Barbour, Alison Luchs, and Shelley Sturman take visitors inside the extraordinary life of Degas's sculpture Little Dancer Aged Fourteen (1878–1881), which inspired the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' world-premiere musical Little Dancer, running from October 25 through November 30, 2014.

Captain Linnaeus Tripe (1822–1902), who captured some of the first images of important cultural and geographic sites in India and Burma (now Myanmar), is the subject of two programs in conjunction with Captain Linnaeus Tripe: Photographer of India and Burma, 1852–1860, the first major traveling exhibition of Tripe's work. Exhibition curator Sarah Greenough introduces the exhibition on September 28. On December 10, noted scholars, including John Falconer and Holger Hoock, discuss Tripe's work in a public symposium.

Miguel Falomir delivers the 18th annual Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art entitled Venice 1548: Titian Looking at Tintoretto's "Miracle of the Slave" on November 9.

On November 16, a panel discussion between David Bindman, Adrienne L. Childs, Ruth Fine, Kobena Mercer, and Sharmila Senis moderated Faya Causey. A book signing of Image of the Black in Western Art, Volume 5: The Twentieth Century, Part 2: The Rise of Black Artists follows the lecture. This will be the fourth panel discussion at the Gallery to honor this series.

All lecture programs are presented free of charge and take place in the West Building Lecture Hall unless otherwise noted. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Public Symposia

Degas and Cassatt: Different Perspectives
Sunday, October 5, 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Illustrated lectures by noted scholars, including Norma Broude, professor emerita of art history, American University; Richard Kendall, curator at large, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown; Nancy Mowll Mathews, visiting associate professor, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, and Eugenie Prendergast Senior Curator and Lecturer Emerita, Williams College; and Harriet Stratis, senior research conservator, the Art Institute of Chicago. Concluding remarks given by George T. M. Shackelford, deputy director, Kimbell Art Museum.

Captain Linnaeus Tripe: Photographer of India and Burma, 1852–1860
Wednesday, December 10, 11:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Illustrated lectures by noted scholars, including John Falconer, curator of photographs, India Office Collection, The British Library; and Holger Hoock, J. Carroll Amundson Professor of British History and editor-designate, Journal of British Studies, University of Pittsburgh

Panel Discussion

Image of the Black in Western Art, Part IV
Sunday, November 16, 2:00 p.m.
Panel discussion includes David Bindman, emeritus professor of the history of art, University College London; Adrienne L. Childs, associate, W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for the Study of
African and African American Research, Harvard University; Ruth Fine, curator (1972–2012), National Gallery of Art; Kobena Mercer, professor, history of art and African American studies, Yale University; and Sharmila Sen, executive editor-at-large, Harvard University Press. Moderated by Faya Causey, head of academic programs, National Gallery of Art
Book signing of Image of the Black in Western Art, Volume 5: The Twentieth Century, Part 2: The Rise of Black Artists follows.

Lectures

Van Gogh at the National Gallery of Art
Sunday, September 7, 2:00 p.m.
Mary Morton, curator and head, department of French paintings, National Gallery of Art

A Celebration of James Baldwin with Carolyn Forché and E. Ethelbert Miller
Thursday, September 11, 3:30 p.m., East Building Atrium
Carolyn Forché, poet and professor of English and director of the Lannan Center, Georgetown University; and E. Ethelbert Miller, poet, literary activist, and director, African American Resource Center, Howard University
Supported by Dr. Darryl Atwell and Dr. Renicha McCree to honor the ninetieth anniversary of the birth of James Baldwin (1924–1987), American essayist, novelist, playwright, poet, and activist.

Degas and Cassatt as Collaborators: A Look Beneath the Layers
Sunday, September 14, 2:00 p.m.
Ann Hoenigswald, senior conservator of paintings, National Gallery of Art

The Farnese Collection in Naples
Friday, September 19, 3:00 p.m.
Fabrizio Vona, superintendent, Superintendency of Historical, Artistic, and Ethno-anthropological Heritage for the City and the Museums of Naples and the Royal Palace of Caserta

Ursula von Rydingsvard
Sunday, September 21, 2:00 p.m., East Building Atrium
Ursula von Rydingsvard, artist

The Afrofuturisms of Astro Black
Saturday, September 27, noon
Soda_ Jerk; Justine Topfer, curator
This program is held in conjunction with 5 x 5, a Project of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Introduction to the Exhibition: Captain Linnaeus Tripe: Photographer of India and Burma, 1852–1860
Sunday, September 28, 2:00 p.m.
Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head, department of photographs, National Gallery of Art
Book signing of Captain Linnaeus Tripe: Photographer of India and Burma, 1852–1860 follows.

Rendez-vous with Art: A Conversation
Tuesday, October 7, 3:30 p.m., East Building Atrium
Philippe de Montebello, director emeritus, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Fiske Kimball Professor, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; and Martin Gayford, London critic for Artinfo and author of Man With a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud and David Hockney: A Bigger Message
Book signing of Rendez-vous with Art follows.

Saving the Baldwin Film
Sunday, October 12, 2:00 p.m.
Karen Thorsen and Douglas Dempsey
Thorsen, director of James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket, and cowriter Dempsey discuss the making of their award-winning documentary, the challenges of restoring the original 16 mm film elements, and the necessity of ensuring access to this powerful film during the digital age.
Supported by Dr. Darryl Atwell and Dr. Renicha McCree to honor the ninetieth anniversary of the birth of James Baldwin (1924–1987), American essayist, novelist, playwright, poet, and activist.

James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket
Sunday, October 12, 4:00 p.m.
World premiere of restoration
Produced in association with Maysles Films and PBS/American Masters, The Price of the Ticket premiered in 1990 at Sundance and went on to win numerous awards at home and abroad. The Price of the Ticket has been restored with the help of the Ford Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts in honor of Baldwin's 90th birthday. (Karen Thorsen, 1990, 87 minutes)
Supported by Dr. Darryl Atwell and Dr. Renicha McCree to honor the ninetieth anniversary of the birth of James Baldwin (1924–1987), American essayist, novelist, playwright, poet, and activist.

Andrew Wyeth in Context: Contemporary Art and Scholarship
Friday, October 17, 10:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
A Wyeth Foundation for American Art Conference
Illustrated lectures by noted scholars, including David Cateforis, The University of Kansas; Edwin R. Harvey, Miami University; Anne Classen Knutson, Atlanta; Leo G. Mazow, University of Arkansas; Abbie N. Sprague, Menlo Park, California; and James Welling, Princeton University

Andrew Wyeth: Rebel
Sunday, October 19, 2:00 p.m.
Patricia Junker, Ann M. Barwick Curator of American Art, Seattle Art Museum

Hollywood Burn
Sunday, October 26, 2:00 p.m.
Hollywood Burn has screened previously at the Museum of Moving Image (NY), Gallery of Modern Art (Brisbane), Centre for Internet and Society (Bangalore), and Node Centre (Berlin), as well as at underground film festivals in England, Ireland, Israel, Canada, the US, and Australia. (Soda_ Jerk, 2006, 52 minutes)

El Greco in America: Critics, Collectors, and Connoisseurs
Sunday, November 2, 2:00 p.m.
Richard L. Kagan, Arthur O. Lovejoy Professor Emeritus of History and Academy Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University

Titian's "Danaë" during World War II
Thursday, November 6, 1:00 p.m.
Brigitte Daprà, director of exhibitions and loans, Superintendency of Cultural Heritage for the City and the Museums of Naples and the Royal Palace of Caserta

THE SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG LECTURE ON ITALIAN ART
Venice 1548: Titian Looking at Tintoretto's "Miracle of the Slave"
Sunday, November 9. 2:00 p.m.
Miguel Falomir, head curator for the department of Italian Renaissance painting, Museo Nacional del Prado, and professor of history of art, University of Valencia

Inside Look: Little Dancer Aged Fourteen
Sunday, November 23, 2:00 p.m.
Daphne Barbour, senior conservator, department of object conservation, National Gallery of Art; Alison Luchs, curator of early European sculpture, National Gallery of Art; and Shelley Sturman, senior conservator and head, department of object conservation, National Gallery of Art

New York's Cinema 16 Film Society: Programming for a Divided World
Sunday, December 7, 2:00 p.m.
Scott MacDonald, visiting professor of art history, Hamilton College

Why Prints?
Sunday, December 14, 2:00 p.m., East Building Atrium
Dave H. Williams, author and collector
Book signing of Small Victories: One Couple's Surprising Adventures Building an Unrivaled Collection of American Prints follows.

Works in Progress

All lectures are offered on Mondays in the West Building Lecture Hall at 12:10 and 1:10 p.m.

Degas and Cassatt: A Relationship Under the Microscope
September 15
Ann Hoenigswald, senior conservator of paintings, National Gallery of Art; and Kimberly A. Jones, associate curator, department of French paintings, National Gallery of Art

Martin Johnson Heade: The Magnolia Paintings
September 22
Lynn Russell, head of education, National Gallery of Art

Impressionist Prints in Context
September 29
Eric Denker, senior lecturer, National Gallery of Art

Patrimony in Peril: Germany's Survey of Mural Paintings Threatened During World War II
October 27
Molli Kuenstner, image specialist for northern European art, National Gallery of Art; and Thomas O'Callaghan, image specialist for Spanish art, National Gallery of Art

The Secret of the Gondola
November 3
David Alan Brown, curator of Italian and Spanish paintings, National Gallery of Art
Book signing of The Secret of the Gondola follows.

Expanding Art Around the Corner: Changes in the Gallery's Multiple-Visit School Program
November 17
Sara Lesk, senior educator and manager, Art Around the Corner, National Gallery of Art; and Julie Carmean, museum educator and coordinator of professional development, Art Around the Corner, National Gallery of Art

William Kentridge: Processions
December 8
Judith Brodie, curator and head of modern prints and drawings, National Gallery of Art

Seeing: A Photographer's Work
December 15
Lee Ewing, photographer, division of imaging and visual services, National Gallery of Art