Metropolitan Museum Lectures
November and December 2010

Wednesday, November 3, at 11 a.m. – Art History 201: Masterpieces of World Art, Era of Impressionism. This series, presented by Janetta Rebold Benton, Pace University Distinguished Professor of Art History, offers insight into global masterpieces of architecture, sculpture, and painting created from prehistory to our own day. This fall, the artistic styles known as Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Art Nouveau in Western Europe (approximately 1800 to 1900) are studied and compared with contemporaneous creations throughout the world. The six-part series, which began on October 6, continues with Post-Impressionism: Van Gogh and Gauguin; Menier Chocolate Factory in England and Eiffel Tower in France; Oceanic Art; Puebla Ceramics; and Architecture of H. H. Richardson in New England.
Single tickets: $25

Wednesday, November 3, at 6 p.m. – European Paintings from the Met, presented by Jerrilynn D. Dodds, Dean of Sarah Lawrence College. Four paintings from the Metropolitan Museum's collection are singled out and explored in terms of artistic context and the cultural and social meanings that each work reveals about its place and time—prompting the question, "What makes a masterpiece?" This four-part series series, which began on October 13, concludes with Jasper Johns: White Flag, 1955.
Tickets: $25

Thursday, November 4, at 11 a.m. – American Idols: Six Great Painters, presented by H. Barbara Weinberg, Alice Pratt Brown Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture. Among the most revered late 19th-century American masters are Whistler, Cassatt, and Sargent, perfect embodiments of cosmopolitanism who starred on an international artistic stage, and Homer, Eakins, and Chase, who rooted their works in the American experience. This three-part series considers these great painters in pairs, underlining similarities and differences between them. This series, which began on October 21, concludes with Mary Cassatt and William Merritt Chase.
Tickets: $23

Tuesday, November 9, at 6 p.m. – How He Saw New York: J.D. Salinger and the City, presented by author and New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik. J.D. Salinger, who famously lived away from his hometown of New York for many decades, portrayed the city with great affection and intensity in The Catcher in the Rye and the Glass family stories. Gopnik, who wrote the Salinger memorial in The New Yorker, will discuss the late author's vision of the city.
Tickets: $25

Tuesday, November 16, at 11 a.m. – We'll Take Manhattan, a four-part series presented by author David Garrard Lowe. This salute to the Big Apple includes a tribute to the brilliant and urbane lyricist Lorenz "Larry" Hart; an exploration of the Beaux-Arts era and the Deco decades; and a lecture on that quintessential New York woman, the writer and legendary wit Dorothy Parker. The series begins with Larry Hart, The Words Linger On. Concept and narration by David Garrard Lowe; songs performed by Bobby Nesbitt.
Series tickets (4 Tuesdays: $110)
Single tickets: $30

Wednesday, November 17, at 11 a.m. – Art History 201: Masterpieces of World Art, Era of Impressionism. This series, presented by Janetta Rebold Benton, Pace University Distinguished Professor of Art History, offers insight into global masterpieces of architecture, sculpture, and painting created from prehistory to our own day. This fall, the artistic styles known as Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Art Nouveau in Western Europe (approximately 1800 to 1900) are studied and compared with contemporaneous creations throughout the world. The six-part series, which began on October 6, concludes with Art Nouveau: Horta in Belgium, Guimard in France, and Gaudí in Spain; Fabergé Eggs in Russia; Ise Shrine in Japan; and American Architectural Innovations.
Single tickets: $25

Tuesday, November 23, at 11 a.m. – We'll Take Manhattan, presented by author David Garrard Lowe. This salute to the Big Apple includes a tribute to the brilliant and urbane lyricist Lorenz "Larry" Hart; an exploration of the Beaux-Arts era and the Deco decades; and a lecture on that quintessential New York woman, the writer and legendary wit Dorothy Parker. The four-part series, which began on November 16, continues with The Beaux-Arts Epoch: Grand Central Terminal; Glittering Fifth Avenue Mansions; and the Statue of Liberty.
Single tickets: $30

Tuesday, November 30, at 11 a.m. – We'll Take Manhattan, presented by author David Garrard Lowe. This salute to the Big Apple includes a tribute to the brilliant and urbane lyricist Lorenz "Larry" Hart; an exploration of the Beaux-Arts era and the Deco decades; and a lecture on that quintessential New York woman, the writer and legendary wit Dorothy Parker. The four-part series series, which began on November 16, continues with The Deco Decades, Chic Modern: The Waldorf-Astoria; the Chrysler Building; and the Rainbow Room.
Single tickets: $30

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Friday, December 3, at 6 p.m. – Dames at Sea—from S.S. France to Norway . Maritime historian John Maxtone-Graham traces the history of the S.S. France, which ruled the Atlantic for 12 years. Laid up in 1974, she was transformed five years later into the cruise ship Norway. The two-part series begins with France's Last Ocean Liner.
Series tickets (2 Fridays): $40
Single tickets: $25

Tuesday, December 7, at 11 a.m. – We'll Take Manhattan, presented by author David Garrard Lowe. This salute to the Big Apple includes a tribute to the brilliant and urbane lyricist Lorenz "Larry" Hart; an exploration of the Beaux-Arts era and the Deco decades; and a lecture on that quintessential New York woman, the writer and legendary wit Dorothy Parker. The four-part series, which began on November 16, concludes with Dorothy Parker, Star of the Algonquin Round Table: Brilliant Epigrams and Witty Poetry.
Tickets: $30

Wednesday, December 8, at 2:30 p.m. – Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, presented by author Fred Plotkin. Giacomo Puccini, who created several operas in settings exotic to Italian audiences, also wrote one opera for American audiences—and set it in California, a place he had never been to. December 10, 2010, is the 100th anniversary of the world premiere of La Fanciulla del West at the Metropolitan Opera. This lecture will explore the origins of the opera and its impact.
Tickets: $23

Friday, December 10, at 6 p.m. – Dames at Sea—from S.S. France to Norway. Maritime historian John Maxtone-Graham traces the history of the S. S. France, which ruled the Atlantic for 12 years. Laid up in 1974, she was transformed five years later into the cruise ship Norway. The two-part series, which began on December 3, concludes with Norway's First Caribbean Megaship.
Single tickets: $25

Note: All ticketed lectures include entrance to the Metropolitan Museum's galleries, including The Cloisters museum and gardens, on the day of the event.

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October 27, 2010