Release Date: September 12, 2019

Fall 2019 Lecture Series Features World-Renowned Artists and Scholars in a Wide Variety of Programs

Senga Nengudi (right) and Maren Hassinger (left) perform Flying (1982) in Los Angeles. Image credit: African American Performance Art Archive. Kellie Jones, professor, department of art history and archaeology, and faculty fellow, Institute for Research in African American Studies, Columbia University, will discuss Art Is an Excuse: Conceptual Strategies, 1968–1983 during the 2019 Wyeth Lecture in American Art on November 6.

Washington, DC—The fall 2019 program of lectures and book signings at the National Gallery of Art will present nearly three dozen talks by renowned artists, scholars, curators, and historians.

The season will draw from DC's rich pool of talented local artists and experts. Highlights include a dynamic conversation between David C. Driskell and Curlee R. Holton on September 22 and a panel discussion with artists Cynthia Connolly, Claudia Joseph, Rogelio Maxwell, and Richard Hopkins Squires on October 19. On November 16, the Gallery will bring the conversation out of the museum and into the city with a lecture on former local art spaces with the founders of the Washington Women's Arts Center and facilitated by Ray Barker of the DC Public Library, to be held at the Shaw Neighborhood Library. Additionally, the Gallery will feature numerous lectures on the Renaissance, beginning with an introduction to the exhibition Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain on October 13 ending with a December 15 presentation from the esteemed art historian Sir Nicholas Beaver Penny, currently visiting professor at the National Academy of Art, Hangzhou. Penny was previously director of the National Gallery, London (2008–2015) and a former senior curator of sculpture at the National Gallery of Art (2002–2008).

Works in Progress, the Gallery's Monday lunchtime series held in the West Building Lecture Hall, highlights new research by Gallery staff, interns, fellows, and special guests. The 30-minute talks are followed by question-and-answer sessions. Lectures marked with an asterisk (*) are part of the Works in Progress series.

Lectures are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-seated basis. Unless otherwise noted, all programs take place in the West Building Lecture Hall. The West Building Lecture Hall of the National Gallery of Art is located at Seventh Street and Constitution Avenue NW. The East Building of the National Gallery of Art is located at Fourth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Please visit nga.gov/lectures for updated event listings and full details; visit nga.gov/audio-video.html for lecture recordings.

The End of the Sixties
September 8 at 2:00 p.m.
James Meyer, curator of modern art, National Gallery of Art
A book signing of The Art of Return: The Sixties and Contemporary Culture follows.

Conversations with Artists: Oliver Lee Jackson
September 15 at 2:00 p.m.
Oliver Lee Jackson, artist, and Harry Cooper, senior curator and head of modern art, National Gallery of Art

Culture as Translation: Creative (Mis)translation of Japanese Art Abroad
September 16* at 12:10, 1:10 p.m.
Akiko Takesue, exhibition research assistant, department of exhibitions, National Gallery of Art. This talk is related to the exhibition The Life of Animals in Japanese Art, held at the National Gallery of Art from June 2 through August 18, 2019. A different version of the exhibi­tion, Every Living Thing: Animals in Japanese Art, is on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from September 22 through December 8, 2019.

The Living Legacy National Speaking Tour: David C. Driskell and Curlee R. Holton in Conversation
September 22 at 2:00 p.m.
David C. Driskell, artist, curator, and Distinguished University Professor of Art, Emeritus, University of Maryland at College Park; and Curlee R. Holton, artist, and executive director, David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora, University of Maryland at College Park
The conversation will be streamed live.

Introduction to the Exhibition—The Touch of Color: Pastels at the National Gallery of Art
September 29 at 2:00 p.m.
Kimberly Schenck, head of paper conservation, National Gallery of Art, and Stacey Sell, associate curator of old master drawings, National Gallery of Art

Framing Pastels
September 30* at 12:10, 1:10 p.m.
Shan Linde, preservation framer, paper conservation, National Gallery of Art. Held in conjunction with The Touch of Color: Pastels at the National Gallery of Art exhibition, on view through January 26, 2020.

Photographing the Moon: An Evening with Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Curators
October 3 at 6:30 p.m.
In conjunction with the exhibition By the Light of the Silvery Moon: A Century of Lunar Photographs, three curators at the National Air and Space Museum—David DeVorkin, curator of astronomy; Jennifer Levasseur, curator of space history; and Matthew Shindell, curator of planetary science—discuss lunar photography.
The program will be streamed live.

Photography and Nation Building in the Nineteenth Century
October 6 at 2:00 p.m.
Makeda Best, Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography, Harvard Art Museums
Made possible by the James D. and Kathryn K. Steele Fund for Photography. Held in conjunction with the exhibition The Eye of the Sun: Nineteenth-Century Photographs from the National Gallery of Art, on view through December 1, 2019.

Apparent Retrograde: Reflecting on Lunar Photography
October 7* at 12:10, 1:10 p.m.
Yuri Long, photographer, and special collections librarian, National Gallery of Art, in conversation with Diane Waggoner, curator of nineteenth-century photographs, National Gallery of Art. Held in conjunction with the exhibition By the Light of the Silvery Moon: A Century of Lunar Photographs, on view through January 5, 2020.

Introduction to the Exhibition—Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain
October 13 at 2:00 p.m.
C. D. Dickerson III, curator and head of sculpture and decorative arts, National Gallery of Art
A signing of the exhibition catalog follows.

Space Still the Place: d.c. space Part II and Its Contemporaries: 1974–1991
October 19 at noon
Artists Cynthia Connolly, Claudia Joseph, Rogelio Maxwell, and Richard Hopkins Squires, in conversation with Ray Barker, archivist of special collections, DC Public Library. Silvana Straw, poet, writer, performer, and DC's original Poetry Slam Champion, presents a short performance.
This program is held in collaboration with the DC Public Library.

The Moon in the Age of Photography
October 20 at 2:00 p.m.
Mia Fineman, associate curator, department of photographs, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Held in conjunction with the exhibition By the Light of the Silvery Moon: A Century of Lunar Photographs, on view through January 5, 2020.

Cima da Conegliano and the Politics of Venetian Landscape
October 21* at 12:10, 1:10 p.m.
Sarah Hyde, development officer for planned giving, National Gallery of Art

The Artist's Sketchbook: A Personal View
October 27 at 2:00 p.m.
Charles Ritchie, artist, and former associate curator, department of modern prints and drawings, National Gallery of Art. Held in conjunction with The Big Draw festival at the National Gallery of Art, October 25–27, 2019.

Labor and Leisure: British Photographs from the 1980s
October 28* at 12:10, 1:10 p.m.
Kara Felt, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow, department of photographs, National Gallery of Art

Introduction to the Exhibition—Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence
November 3 at 2:00 p.m.
Andrew Butterfield, exhibition curator, and president of Andrew Butterfield Fine Arts
A signing of the exhibition catalog follows.
The program will be streamed live.

Collaborations and Investigations in Sound: Emily Francisco and Alex Braden in Conversation
November 4* at 12:10, 1:10 p.m.
Emily Francisco, artist, and gallery support specialist, department of media production, National Gallery of Art, in conversation with Alex Braden, artist.     

Wyeth Lecture in American Art
Art Is an Excuse: Conceptual Strategies, 1968–1983
November 6 at 4:30 p.m.
Kellie Jones, professor, department of art history and archaeology, and faculty fellow, Institute for Research in African American Studies, Columbia University

Enduring Visions: Washington Women's Arts Center, 1975–1996
November 16 at 2:00 p.m.
Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library, 1630 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
Judith Benderson and Lucy Blankstein, founders of the Washington Women's Arts Center, in conversation with Ray Barker, archivist of special collections, DC Public Library
This program is organized by the DC Public Library.

A Conversation with Richard Mosse
November 17 at 2:00 p.m.
Richard Mosse, artist, with Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head, department of photographs, National Gallery of Art, and Andrea Nelson, associate curator of photographs, National Gallery of Art. The program will be streamed live here.

Made possible by the James D. and Kathryn K. Steele Fund for Photography.
Something, Anything, Everything, Nothing: Ambiguity, Meaning, and Experience
November 18* at 12:10, 1:10 p.m.
William Whitaker, artist, and senior art services specialist, office of the registrar, National Gallery of Art, and Molly Donovan, curator of modern art, National Gallery of Art

Before the Kodak Girl: Women in Nineteenth-Century Photography
November 24 at 2:00 p.m.
Kara Felt, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow, department of photographs, National Gallery of Art. Held in conjunction with the exhibition The Eye of the Sun: Nineteenth-Century Photographs from the National Gallery of Art, on view through December 1, 2019

Executed en masse: Early Modern Portrait Prints at the National Gallery of Art
November 25* at 12:10, 1:10 p.m.
Lara Langer, 2019 Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow

COMPACT ASSEMBLY
December 2* at 12:10, 1:10 p.m.
Jessica Cherry, artist, and gallery aide, National Gallery of Art; Bryan Funk, video installation artist, and adjunct professor, University of the District of Columbia; Maren Henson, drawing and video artist, adjunct professor, George Washington University and Anne Arundel Community College; Giulia Piera Livi, painting installation artist, adjunct professor, Maryland Institute of Contemporary Art, and manager, C. Grimaldis Gallery; Edward Victor Sanchez, installation artist, and adjunct professor, University of Cincinnati

The Problem with Renoir: A Hard Look at the Artist on the Centennial of His Death
December 3 at noon
Mary Morton, curator and head of the department of French paintings, National Gallery of Art
The program will be streamed live.

Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art
Andrea Mantegna's Stones, Caves, and Clouds
December 8 at 2:00 p.m.
Gabriele Finaldi, director, National Gallery, London

Rajiv Vaidya Memorial Lecture
Forensic Architecture: Counter Investigations
December 8 at 2:00 p.m.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Ring Auditorium
Eyal Weizman, founder and director, Forensic Architecture; professor of spatial and visual cultures and founding director of the Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths, University of London; and founding member of the architectural collective DAAR in Beit Sahour/Palestine

Verrocchio's Medici Tombs: New Observations and Technical Analysis
December 10* at 12:10, 1:10 p.m.
Dylan T. Smith, Robert H. Smith Research Conservator, department of object conservation, National Gallery of Art. Held in conjunction with the exhibition Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence, on view through January 12, 2020

Verrocchio and the Interplay between the Arts
December 15 at 2:00 p.m.
Sir Nicholas Penny, visiting professor, National Academy of Art, Hangzhou; former director (2008–2015), National Gallery, London; former senior curator of sculpture (2002–2008), National Gallery of Art. Held in conjunction with the exhibition Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence, on view through January 12, 2020

Press Contact:
Christina Brown, (202) 842-6598 or [email protected]