LECTURES

Charles B. Ferguson Distinguished Lectures:

An Introduction to California Impressionism
Thursday, April 3, 2008
3:30-5 p.m. lecture
Free with general admission
Lecture by Mr. Jean Stern, Executive Director of The Irvine Museum
Among the artists discussed are: Franz Bischoff, Alson S. Clark, Colin Campbell Cooper, Edgar Payne, Hanson Puthuff, Granville Redmond, Guy Rose, Donna Schuster, Elmer Wachtel, Marion Wachtel and William Wendt

Jean Stern, a recognized authority on California Impressionism, has extensive experience in the field as an author, curator, lecturer, and teacher. He has been the executive director of the Irvine Museum since its inception in January 1993, and has established a national presence for the Irvine Museum in the field of California Impressionism through a noteworthy international series of books, exhibitions, lectures, articles and video documentaries.

Lectures included with Museum admission

“Connecticut Impressionism: A Celebration of Beauty”
Saturday, April 19, 1 p.m.
NBMAA Docent Fred Biamonte will present the works of American Impressionists who studied in France and returned home to paint in Connecticut.  Images of Connecticut from the art colonies at Cos Cob and Old Lyme will be featured in the presentation.

The Landscape as Art: Frederick Law Olmsted Day Symposium
Friday, May 2, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
“The Landscape as Art” is the subject of the 2008 Connecticut Frederick Law Olmsted Day celebration on May 2 at the New Britain Museum of American Art. Visitors will appreciate the resonance between the American art landscape paintings inside, as well as the Olmsted-designed landscape of Walnut Hill Park outside. The Olmsted Day celebration begins in the morning with presentations by Morgan Fippinger and Charles Birnbaum. The executive director of the Cultural Landscape Foundation will speak in the morning to start the celebration. After lunch and birthday cake, the afternoon program will feature cultural landscapes of Connecticut along with a discussion of the history and current use of Walnut Hill Park, which was designed by Olmsted & Vaux in 1870. Time will also be set aside for attendees to tour the galleries and the park. For more information, please contact landscape architect and preservationist Norma Williams at (203) 431-5866 or norma_williams@sbcglobal.net.

“John Henry Twachtman: Winter Light”
Saturday, May 17, 1 p.m.
John Henry Twachtman was the leader of the art colony at Cos Cob, as well as a major Connecticut Impressionist. His paintings document seasonal change, focusing more specifically upon fall and winter rather than spring and summer; subjects which are favored by the French Impressionists. Psychobiographer and NBMAA docent Fred Biamonte will analyze how Twachtman’s inner world of turmoil produced such breathtaking landscapes.

Artemisia – The Untold Story
Thursday, May 22, 3 p.m.
NBMAA docent Terry Gianzinetti will host a lecture on Artemisia Gentileschi’s life and her paintings. This follows an Art & Literature Series discussion of the book, “The Passions of Artemisia” See Art & Literature for dates and more information.

Paris to Pasadena:  Journey of Impressionism
Wednesday, June 4, 1 p.m.
Come explore the travels of Impressionism's E.L.B.O.W S - the artists' depiction of the Everyday, Light, Brushwork, Outdoors and Weather from Paris to California via Connecticut with docent Pat Hickox.