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January 2026 Public Talk Descriptions​​​​​​​​​​​

 

Art Nouveau: Humanity in Harmony with the Natural World

Art Nouveau is an elegant decorative style that revolutionized visual art and architecture across Europe and the United States at the end of the 19th Century and into the 20th.  Art Nouveau designers believed that all the arts should work in harmony to create a "total work of art,"— paintings, graphic art, buildings, interior design, furniture, textiles, clothing, ceramics, glass art, metal work, and jewelry— all inspired by graceful, natural forms.

 

Art and Activism: The Life and Legacy of Ruth Asawa

The groundbreaking work of Ruth Asawa, a Japanese American sculptor and passionate arts activist, is the subject of a blockbuster retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, on view until February 7, 2026. Asawa was best known for her ethereal wire sculptures that blur the boundaries between art, craft, and nature, but her extensive body of work also includes paintings, printmaking, and public commissions. Asawa’s legacy extends far beyond the studio—she was a tireless advocate for arts education, believing deeply in its power to shape communities and young minds. This presentation will explore her remarkable life, her artistic innovations, and her enduring impact on American art and public life.

 

Is It Manet or Monet?

What a difference a vowel makes! Édouard Manet and Claude Monet were two giants of the 19th Century avant-garde who influenced each other in profound ways. However, many aspects of their personal lives, artistic technique, and even philosophical ambitions were radically distinct. In this two-part talk, we will examine these likenesses and differences through the lens of their remarkable works, and you will become an expert in the comparison! Manet in Part 1 and Monet and a quiz in part 2! Bring a pencil!

 

Hitler, Art, and the Jews

 Culture is an important element of a nation’s identity as well as an expression of an individual’s humanity. This presentation will explore the complex and disturbing intersection of Nazi ideology, art, and anti-Semitism during Adolf Hitler’s regime. It will examine how in its earliest days, the Third Reich used art as a tool of propaganda by labeling modernist works as “Jewish” and "degenerate." Through visual documentation, this talk will show how cultural expression became both a weapon and a victim in one of history’s darkest chapters.

 

Florine Stettheimer: Icon of Jazz Age New York

One of New York’s most unconventional painters, Florine Stettheimer was a keen and opinionated observer of the people and rapidly changing world around her. Her famous salon, attended by New York’s avant-garde during the 1920s through the early ’40s, was legendary. She prophetically chose to portray subjects considered controversial even today, such as race, sexual orientation, gender, and religion. Come and hear about the unique life of this German-Jewish artist and see some of her most celebrated works. It is time to recognize Florine Stettheimer as one of the most significant artists of the 20th century, whose work remains as modern and relevant today as it was a century ago.

 

Yayoi Kusama: The Moment is Imminent

Well into her 90s, contemporary Japanese painter and sculptor Yayoi Kusama is having a moment— today she is one of the world’s most popular and recognizable artists. Her Infinity Mirrors immersive experience installations took the world by storm in the 21st Century, but she has been making vibrant and innovative art for decades. Her artistic practice is rooted in her lifelong fascination with the natural world, inspired by her intimate engagement with the colors, patterns, and life cycles of plants and flowers. This talk will discuss her long and productive life and examine her extraordinary work.

 

Claude Monet and Venice (2 parts)

Indisputably, Claude Monet is one of the most recognizable and celebrated figures in art history. Everyone loves his beautiful landscapes, colorful and dynamic depictions of modern life, and monumental garden scenes. Monet also painted the grandeur of Venice to much acclaim, and the Brooklyn Museum will be reuniting many of these glorious scenes in a blockbuster exhibition opening on October 11 and closing on February 1, 2026. Part 1 of this talk will depict Monet’s journey from a rejected outsider to a ground-breaking icon of Modernism. In Part 2 we will not only be dazzled by Monet’s Venetian masterpieces but will see centuries of art works by a variety of painters who were inspired to capture the city of Venice, creating spellbinding images of the water, light, architecture, and magnificent coastal landscapes of this unique and magical place.   

 

Ruth Orkin: Power of the Image

Ruth Orkin, born in Hollywood, California in 1921, was an award-winning photojournalist and filmmaker. She moved to New York in 1943 and launched an impressive career capturing iconic images of people and places. She often said that film, music, and travel inspired her, and all of that came together in her photography. The subject of innumerable exhibitions and honors in her lifetime, Ruth Orkin’s legacy continues to this day.

                                                             

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec:

Painter & Printmaker of the Parisian Demi-Monde

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a post-Impressionist painter, printmaker, and illustrator who immersed himself in the colorful and sometimes decadent world of Paris’s circuses, theaters, cabarets, and brothels. Because he was an aristocrat born with a rare physical condition, he was more accepted by this cohort of outsiders than by the society of his peers. He recorded his experiences in enticing, elegant, and provocative images, which we will explore as we learn about his brief, extraordinary life.

 

Lea Bondi: Art, Aryanization, and Restitution

This presentation will explore the life and legacy of Lea Bondi Jaray, a prominent Jewish art dealer in interwar Vienna whose gallery and personal collection fell victim to Nazi persecution. As the Third Reich tightened its grip on Austria, Bondi’s gallery was forcibly "Aryanized"—seized and transferred to non-Jewish hands under duress, stripping her of both livelihood and heritage. Among the most infamous losses was Egon Schiele’s Portrait of Wally, a painting that later became the centerpiece of a landmark restitution battle decades after World War II. Through historical documents, images, and the story of her determined efforts to reclaim her legacy, this talk sheds light on the tragedy of cultural theft and the resilience of those who fought to recover what was stolen.

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February 2026 Public Talk Descriptions

 

John Singer Sargent: Romance, Drama, and the Visual World, part 2

After the 1884 scandal surrounding his portrait of Madame X, John Singer Sargent rebuilt his career with remarkable strategic finesse, turning what could have been a professional disaster into a catalyst for reinvention. Relocating to London, he cultivated a clientele of the Anglo-American elite, producing dazzling, fluid portraits that depicted his sitters’ status yet projected an air of modernism. Over the next decades he increasingly pursued landscapes and watercolor travel studies, revealing a freer, more experimental side of his artistry. In the final decades of his career, he mostly dedicated himself to mural cycles in public spaces and the expressive outdoor work he found more personally fulfilling. Today we revere Sargent not only for the brilliance of his technique, but for the way he captured—with unmatched immediacy and humanity—the texture, temperament, and luminous beauty of the world. You need not have attended part 1 to enjoy part 2!

 

Jewish Artists in 19th Century Europe

19th Century Enlightenment ideas brought many changes to Europe, including citizenship for ethnic minorities. For many European Jewish artists, political emancipation and its accompanying assimilation created opportunities to establish themselves as professional artists for the first time in modern history. Some artists took the opportunity to express their Judaism in their art. Others embraced the secular art world and left their Jewish identity behind. But most 19th Century Jewish artists alternated between secular themes and Jewish sources. You will find the story of how these men and women dealt with their new freedom inspiring and illuminating.

 

Augusta Savage: Renaissance Woman

Augusta Savage overcame poverty, racism, and gender discrimination to become a luminary of the Harlem Renaissance. Her sculptures celebrated African American culture, and her work as an arts educator and political activist catalyzed social change. This talk will explore Savage’s lasting legacy by examining her remarkable life and affecting works, as well as those of the younger artists she inspired.

 

Camille Pissarro: Have But One Master— Nature

Camille Pissarro was an “outsider” in 19th Century Paris— he was a Jewish émigré from St. Thomas, a political radical, and he absolutely rejected the academic art establishment. He was called the father figure and peacemaker of the Impressionists because he was the oldest in the group, had the least quarrelsome temperament, and he took new artists under his wing and gave them advice and encouragement. Although he painted a variety of subjects, he is mostly known for his luminous portrayal of the natural world, which inspired not only the young artists of the 19th Century avant-garde, but which continues to enthrall art lovers today.

 

Is It Manet or Monet?  2 parts

What a difference a vowel makes! Édouard Manet and Claude Monet were two giants of the 19th Century avant-garde who influenced each other in profound ways. However, many aspects of their personal lives, artistic technique, and even philosophical ambitions were radically distinct. In this two-part talk, we will examine these likenesses and differences through the lens of their remarkable works, and you will become an expert in the comparison! Manet in Part 1 and Monet and a quiz in part 2! Bring a pencil!

 

Romare Bearden: Memory and Magic

Romare Bearden drew on his personal memories and used his vast knowledge of history, religion, and literature to create some of the most enduring images of the 20th Century. He placed aspects of African American life within the context of universal themes, which is why his work is so accessible and so unforgettable. Bearden used many different media and techniques, but he is best known for his innovative collages. They depict powerful scenes across time, place, history, and experience. These signature works combine visual, emotional, and cultural memory.

 

Marcel Duchamp: The Alchemist of the Avant-Garde

Open the dictionary to the word “iconoclast,” and you will see a picture of Marcel Duchamp. He challenged the standards and beliefs of the art world and ushered in a new era of creative license—the reverberations of which are still felt in contemporary art today. Duchamp’s imagination was aroused by elements of Cubism, Surrealism, and even Pop Art, but his resourcefulness meant continuous self-reinvention and deliberate inconsistency. He once said, “I have forced myself to contradict myself in order to avoid conforming to my own taste.” Come and learn about his innovative works and the shockwaves they produced. A blockbuster Duchamp retrospective opens at the Museum of Modern Art on April 12, 2026.

 

The Art World’s Most Famous Power Couple:

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, whose tempestuous relationship is legendary, created mesmerizing images that have captivated art lovers worldwide. Join us for this two-part presentation that will acquaint you first with Frida Kahlo, the feminist icon of anguish and passion, and then Diego Rivera, her brilliant and charismatic husband, one of the giants of Mexican Muralism.

 

Mickalene Thomas: Subverting the Familiar

Mickalene Thomas has given us vivid and multifaceted artworks—paintings, collage, photography, video, and site-specific installations. Her work addresses our common perceptions of beauty, sexuality, celebrity, and politics, and expands and subverts these notions in original and complex ways. The subject of a major international tour that began in 2024, Mickalene Thomas has assumed her rightful place in the pantheon of the most important, original, and inspiring artists of the 21st Century.

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 Art by African Americans:

From the Protests of the ‘60s to the Age of Black Lives Matter

At the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, African American artists were inspired not only to create amazing works, but to agitate for fundamental change in the art world. After being marginalized and ignored for so long, they demanded greater representation of their work in museums, as well as the inclusion of African American scholars and curators in the ranks of museum professionals.  Join us as we celebrate Black History Month by enjoying the rich contributions these pioneers made to American culture. We will see some of the work that continues to astonish art lovers today.

 

Nazi-Looted Art: Gustav Klimt— Painter of Vienna’s Golden Age

Gustav Klimt’s rise in fin-de-siècle Vienna was closely intertwined with Jewish patrons whose progressive taste and financial support helped define the modern character of his work. Families such as the Bloch-Bauers and the Lederers assembled extraordinary collections that later were looted, dispersed, or destroyed during the Nazi period. This presentation tells the story of what happened to these families and their collections and how the debate over provenance, restitution, and cultural memory continues today.