Please contact Kay Payne at 650-941-1374 or Amanda Olson at 415-750-3638 to schedule a lecture.

New Lectures

By Hand: American Women with Needle and Thread
With extraordinary creativity and meticulous crafsmanship, for over 350 years American women have produced both warmth and beauty in quilts, samplers and embroidered images. Their handwork is a mirror of the times in which they lived, the patterns of their lives, their daily concerns and their hopes and dreams. With pieces of cloth and strands of thread they created cherished works of art that celebrate love and beauty and the world in which they lived.

Cityscapes: Contemporary Artists’ Views of the Urban Landscape
Gain a new appreciation for the modern artist! A look at the new de Young and how it complements the San Francisco cityscape. We’ll see beautiful images of 20th and 21st century urban landscapes which are in the contemporary galleries, and explore how artists show the importance of place and style, discovering the special stories behind these fascinating works of art.

Art on the Edge: Paintings and Their Frames
Frames not only establish the boundary between a painting and its setting but have been used by patrons, artists, dealers and collectors to tell a story, enhance the aesthetics of a work or even its commercial value.  This lecture reviews some of the frames within the FAMSF collection and places them in the context of framing history.

American Art at the de Young in San Francisco: 1670 to 1900
A portrait of America through American paintings, furniture and decorative arts, from 1670 to the late 1800s. All art is from the permanent collection of the Fine Arts Museums’ outstanding permanent collection. Part II of this lecture will be available next year.

New Angles on Art at the de Young
Dramatic angles and intersections don’t stop at the copper-skinned architecture of the New de Young Museum. The Museum’s multi-faceted art collection straddles cultures around the world from Oceania, Africa to the Americas, revealing intriguing angles and intersections in art. Come hear new angles on the art and enjoy this ‘primer’ of the museums’ collections!

here’s No Business Like Show Business
From Clowns to Acrobats to Ballerinas to Hamlet! The performing arts have fascinated painters and sculptors from ancient Greece to Picasso. Join us for a tour of drama and comedy in the world of entertainment.

Art through Time: The History of Art

Europe in Your Own Backyard: The Art Collections at the Legion of Honor
A visit to other times and places by sampling styles and artists in Western Europe is contained in the collection of the Legion of Honor. Many favorites are discussed including El Greco, Rembrandt, Rubens, Corot, Monet & Picasso.

Rembrandt to Renoir: Three Centuries of European Art at the Legion of Honor Museum
This slide lecture explores the exciting changes in European painting during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries as seen in San Francisco’s outstanding collection

Leonardo da Vinci & the Splendor of Poland: Collectors & Patrons
Sixty-nine European masterworks from 5 centuries accompany Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Lady with the Ermine, and introduce us to an exceptional group of 19th century Polish masters. This slide lecture includes art found in the amazingly rich Polish collections from Cracow to Gdansk.

Sun, Sea & Land: The Story of Landscape
The sun, sea and land have fascinated and intrigued humans since the beginnings of history. This lecture is a reflection of this interest as seen through the eyes of artists including examples from the collections of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. 

Portraits with a Purpose
An entertaining look at portraits—glamorous and elegant, commanding and supercilious. Some portraits flatter, others caricature, and still others were done as an act of revenge. Intriguing stories are explored; fascinating facts and amusing anecdotes about the art of portraiture will be told.

Self-Portraits: The Artist’s Image
What did they look like? We see the art, but rarely see the artists who created it. Sometimes candid, sometimes concealing, self-portraits show us how artists perceive themselves.

Picasso to Pop: Liberation of 20th Century Art
This lecture features post-World War II Pop artists, including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Claes Oldentberg. It also covers important Bay Area painters who were innovators in Abstract Expressionism and figuration, such as Wayne Thiebaud, Richard Diebenkorn and Nathan Oliveira.

Chicano Vision: The Cheech Marin CollectionChicano Now/Chicano Encounters
This lecture covers Chicano/Chicana life, culture and painting as it emerged in the wake of this movement for political and social change during the 1960s and 1970s. The Cheech Marin collection focuses on works whose urban, street-wise temperament forms a highly expressive and emotionally keyed painterly style. It introduces us to 26 contemporary artists, including Ruprt Garcia & others.

Art in Our Times: A Century of Change
What is the most representative work of art to identify the 20th century? Who is its most important artist? This lecture examines the explosive creativity in this century of rapid changes, advances, wars, technology and changing identities.

Skepticism is a Virtue: Talking about Contemporary Art
Contemporary art engages us visually and intellectually, but it can also entice, provoke, annoy and fascinate. Skepticism can be a virtue or a vice, but it is always worthy of discussion.

Arts of the Ancients: Egypt, Greece, Rome & the Holy Land

Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum
This lecture focuses on nearly 150 objects spanning almost 3,000 years, including the earliest pharaonic portrait of a king dating to the First Dynasty, as well as jewelry, mirrors and cosmetic containers are featured. Some of the best-known examples of funerary art, papyrus sheets from the “Book of the Dead,” carved and painted reliefs and a Roman panel portrait are included.

Death on the Nile: Egyptian Art in the Fine Arts Museums and Beyond
Solve one of the oldest murder mysteries! Learn the origins of the mummies. Enjoy the Antiquities Collection at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, in addition to other treasures from around the world.

Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh
Presenting the changing interpretations of a woman, who claimed full powers of the throne and assumed the title of “King,” Hatshepsut illustrates a vast treasury of royal statuary and reliefs; monumental sculpture; and a wide variety of ceremonial objects, finely crafted furniture, dazzling jewelry, and other exquisite personal items.

The Private Lives of the Gods: Art Inspired by Classical Mythology
Tales of the daring adventures and scandalous love affairs of the gods and goddesses on Mt. Olympus have inspired artists for centuries. Knowing the stories will enhance your enjoyment of the works of art.

Gold of Greece: The Ultimate Antique
Elegance, status and allure are but a few of the attributes of jewelry made of gold. The lecture spans the millennia from the Minoan Age (about 2100-1580 B.C.) to the Byzantine Era (about 550-1204 A.D.).

Arts of Indigenous Peoples: Africa, Oceania and the America

Queens, Matriarchs, Maidens: African Art in the de Young Museum
Images of women in art depict their central role in indigenous cultures around the world.

Trade Beads: Spheres of Mystery & Intrigue
Long before Christopher Columbus ventured west, elaborate trade routes brought European beads to the New World and beyond.

Oceanic Treasures from the Friede Collection at the de Young Museum
The new de Young Museum includes a gallery dedicated to the finest collection of objects from New Guinea in the world, recently donated by John and Marcia Friede. Showcasing around 350 objects, the museum affirms the importance of this chronology of this  imaginative and colorful art, from prehistoric stone artifacts to 20th century objects.

Dreaming the Reality: Australian Aboriginal & New Zealand Maori Art
A comparative journey through two very distinct Oceanic cultures, focusing on the peoples and art of these lands.

Soccer, Sweets & Salsa: The New World’s Gifts to the Old
Bouncing balls, roasting potatoes, frothy hot chocolate—the bounty of the ancient Americas is portrayed in the arts of the Pre-Columbian world.

Ancient Lives in Clay: Pre-Columbian Ceramics
Ceramics provide a compelling picture and vivid record of the lives of ancient Pre-Columbian peoples.

The Mysterious  Maya: Art & Architecture of Mexico & Central America
Like pages of a book, ancient temples and pyramids, carvings, paintings and glyphs, are continuing to reveal the Mayan world in the distant past.

Dynasty & Divine Rulership: The Maya Mystique
The Maya developed a complex and highly refined royal culture which was reflected in all areas of their art, architecture, and writing.

Teotihuacan, the Painted City
From massive pyramids to miniature figurative sculpture, the art treasures from this ancient Mexican city-state are spectacular.

From Pots to Ponchos: the Arts of the American Southwest
Ceramics and textiles are collectors’ delights. Learn about the lives of ancient Pre-Columbian peoples in the American Southwest that produced them.

Traditions in Europe: France and Italy

Vive la France! The French and their Painting
Explore France through slides—the beauties of its land and people, the realities of their existence, their illustrious history, their hopes and dreams. Included are paintings of large cities and small villages, young and old, rich and poor, happy and sad, the country at peace and at war. French art is woven through a labyrinth of hundreds of years of celebrating the unique and beguiling country we know as France.

Bonjour Monsieur Courbet! The Bruyas Collection from Montepellier, FranceThis lecture show 60 paintings from the collection of the Musée Fabre in Montpelliler, France; it offers an overview of 19th c. French art in addition to the varying styles of the times. Artists include not only the famous Courbet, but also Delacroix, Ingres, Gericault, Millet and many others.

French Impressionism: The Artists and their Paintings
An intriguing and fascinating look at Impressionist artists who saw the world in effervescent color and light, creating glowing paintings which resound with beauty.

Nature Perfected: The Landscapes of Claude Lorrain
Claude Lorrain's beautiful paintings and drawings are a unique response to the topography and atmospheric effects of the Roman countryside. One of the most inventive artists of his time, he established a new landscape format that remained influential well into the 19th century. His calm, lovely, serene compositions chronicle his response to the glorious area around Rome.

Impressionists in Winter
Intrigued by the challenges of painting a predominately white subject, the French Impressionists explored infinite combinations of color and light to create landscapes that resonate in the hearts of the public today.

Paris and her Painters
A visual journey to Paris, seen through the eyes of both Impressionist and Academic painters, as well as photographers, Atget and Zola, who recorded her charms from 1870 to 1900.

Three French Villages, Seven French Masters
Stroll the paths of three tranquil villages where genius flourished. Visit the homes, and view the art of Daubigny, Corot, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Cezanne, and VanGogh.

Brush with Fame: Claude Monet
An in-depth examination of Claude Monet, the leader and lifetime adherent of Impressionism. It covers his life from its beginnings in the 1860's through the water-lilies in 1920's.

Monet in Normandy
Monet spent much of his life in Normandy, his art reflecting the countryside, the towns and villages, the beautiful Rouen cathedral, the sparkling bodies of water and the seasonal rhythms of the area.

The Hidden Mask of Manet
Upon Manet’s death in 1882, a Paris newspaper reported, “Manet was the Parisian par excellence: witty, subtle in his pleasures, enjoying all the refinements of life.” This lecture is a psychological interpretation of his art and life.

Degas: The Man and His Art 
A new look at an enigmatic master, an artist passionately devoted to the avant-garde and a driving force behind Impressionism—the creator of lovely paintings of ballet dancers, striking views of horse races, intimate scenes of women bathing and—a new type of modern sculpture

The Post-Impressionists & Their Legacy: From Van Gogh & Gauguin to Matisse & Picasso
Artists who followed the famous Impressionists built upon the new creativity and carried it to further heights. Bravura brushwork, brilliant color, experimentation with perspective, modern theories, and controversial subject matter are just a few of the topics offered by these artists as they entered the 20th century. 

Toulouse-Lautrec & the Spirit of Montmartre
An enticing look at the lively and creative spirit of Montmartre, the northern-most district of Paris, and the site of important avant-garde communities of artists and entertainers inlate 19th century France.

Picsasso in Perspective
“My art is like a diary,” Picasso once said. “To understand it, you have to see how it mirrors my life.” Picasso is the hero of 20th century art, a financially successful artist, the most prolific and inventive artist of his time, a lover of life and women, and a model for all contemporary artists. This slide lecture is a biography full of art and stories.

A Day in the Life of the Renaissance
A journey back in time exploring 15th century daily life in Florence and Venice

A Proud Heritage: Art in America

American Painting: The Spirit and the Dream
We share the excitement of a developing nation with the artists who gave visual reality to the “spirit and the dream.” A fine introduction to museums throughout America.

The Rockefeller Collection of American Art at the Fine Arts Museums             
John & Blanchette Rockefeller had the resources to collect anything they wanted. Why did they choose American art & why did they donate it to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco? This slide lecture helps explain why we are a major center for American Art as well as a pilgrimage site for students, collectors and lovers of American art.

Westward Ho!
A fascinating look at the experience of emigrants who journeyed westward both by land and sea. Drawn from letters, journals, memoirs and literary sources, the stories are illustrated by vintage photography, paintings and personal sketches, all monuments to moments in the rich and varied lives of those who dreamed of a better life in the American West.

Seeing Is Not Believing: Still Life in America
Taste, smell, touch—American still life artists evoke the senses as they redefine what is real and what is not.

Illusions of Reality: Realism in American Art
Realism in American art explores definitions and visions of reality of some of the most beautiful and challenging images ever produced, from American Folk Art to 20th century Photorealism.

The Kingdoms of Edward Hicks
This lecture is devoted to the life and works of Edward Hicks, a 19th century Quaker minister and painter, whose interpretations of The Peaceable Kingdom are among the most beloved paintings in American art.

Casting A Spell: Winslow Homer, Artist and Angler
Winslow Homer traveled extensively in pursuit of his life-long love of fly-fishing. From Quebec to the Adirondacks and into Florida, he created beautiful watercolors of light, atmosphere, the spirit of place and the intensity of his response to Nature, time and the environment.

American Impressionism: A Legacy to Young Moderns
Artists as diverse as Thomas Eakins and John Singer Sargent responded to dynamic changes at the end of the 19th century. New techniques explored by their French contemporaries created a legacy for the artists who followed.

Visions of Elegance: John Singer Sargent, Artist Extraordinaire
An exploration of glorious portraits, intriguing landscapes and charming everyday scenes by John Singer Sargent. With a perceptive eye, he captured for us fascinating details of a world of pleasure and promise, making our world richer because of his astonishingly beautiful paintings.

The Immortal Eight: Artists of the “Ash Can School”
Maurice Prendergast, Arthur B. Davies, Robert Henri, George Luks, William Glackens, John Sloan, Ernest Lawson and Everett Shinn changed the way America looked at art in the early 1900’s, and paved the way for the Modernist Movement.

New York's Tenth Street Studios: Center of American Art in the 19th Century
Great American artists from 1860 on were involved in the flourishing artistic community in and around the 10th Street Studio Building in New York. Attempts to market their works against the backdrop of historical events in America resulted in many of the artistic institutions we know today - the art gallery, auction house, and municipal museums. The importance of this single structure can hardly be overestimated in the history of 19th century American art.

An African-American Art Experience
This lectures reflects on the African-American personal, national and collective experience. It illustrates how this experience influences the artists and their art.

John Steuart Curry: Inventing the Middle West
A primary figure in the Regionalist school of painting, Curry was firmly rooted in the values and realities of early 20th century rural life. His straightforward, descriptive style portrays people, places and events, and the character and spirit of the Midwest, before and during the Depression years.

America’s Rebel Painters: New York, Los Angeles & San Francisco in Mid-20th Century
This lecture raises the question of whether a biographical approach to art reveals the private passions of this group of creative dissidents. Artists include Jackson Pollock, Willhelm de Kooning, Franz Kline, and others.

New Forms of Expression: The Beat Generation, 1950-1965
The “Beat Generation” had a profound effect on popular culture as we know it today. Music, art, literature and politics changed during the fifties and sixties, and produced a more diversified and inclusive America.

Cityscapes: Contemporary Artists' Views of the Urban Landscape
Gain a new appreciation for the modern artist! A look at the new de Young and how it complements the San Francisco cityscape. We'll see beautiful images of 20th and 21st century urban landscapes which are in the contemporary galleries, and explore how artists show the importance of place and style, discovering the special stories behind these fascinating works of art.

Art in California and the San Francisco Bay Area

Golden Dreams: The California Experience
Paintings, prints and vintage photography illustrate the California story a state, which has enticed the world with health, fun, freedom, riches, youth, adventure, beauty and suntans, spectacular scenery, fascinating history and intriguing inhabitants.

California Light
The lure of California brought not only gold seekers, but also hundreds of artists to the West where they were enchanted by the California light.

100 Years of Landscape Art in Northern California
This talk explores the rich landscape tradition in Northern California, through the eyes of visual artists, from Arthur Mathews and William Keith to Wayne Thiebaud and William T. Wiley.

Bay Area Figurative Painters
Elmer Bischoff, Joan Brown, Richard Diebenkorn, Manuel Neri, Nathan Oliveira, David Park and others created a scandal in the 1950’s, when they abandoned their variant of Abstract Expressionism, turned to including the figure in their compositions, and developed a sophisticated dialogue between abstraction and representation.

Bruce Conner: Artist Extraordinaire
This lecture on the exhibition of 160 works of art shows Bruce Connor’s 40 years of engagement with the physical, metaphorical and metaphysical subjects in a variety of media: painting, collage, film and sculpture.

Glorious Color, Glowing Light: The Radiant World of Wayne Thiebaud
This is a fascinating look at the brilliant color and the luxurious paint that marks Wayne Thiebaud’s unique depictions of everything from delicious desserts to the hills of San Francisco and the Bay Area.

The San Francisco Story, 1850-2000
A colorful saga of San Francisco in paintings, prints and photographs, seen through the eyes of artists who echoed the times in which they lived, recording the city as they saw it. Their unique perceptions of the beauty and history of San Francisco are illustrated by works by Arnold Genthe, Chiura Obata, David Goines, Wayne Thiebaud, and many others.

After the Ruins, 1906-2006: San Francisco’s Earthquakes Remembered
This lecture includes works by renowned photographer, Arnold Genthe, and others, who captured on film collapsed buildings, smoldering ruins, recovery efforts and survival in tent cities throughout the city. Photographs, stories, and eyewitness accounts of those who coped with catastrophe-some with courage, determination, heroism and good humor, some with corrupt, fraudulent and unscrupulous deeds are included.

New American Art Series

1. Illusions of Presence: A Nation & Its Inhabitants

2. A Sense of Place: Landscape & Still Life

3. Art in the Third Dimension: Sculpture & Contemporary Craft

4. Contemporary American Art: Are You Engaged or Outraged?

This new series on American art celebrates the extensive collections at the de Young Museum. Each lecture demonstrates a specific category within the field.

These lectures may be ordered separately ($75.00 each) or as a 4-part series ($250.00.)

Splendor in the Park: The New de Young Museum
With a groundbreaking design that dramatically integrates art, architecture and nature, the de Young Museum presents diverse collections in specially-designed galleries that allow visitors to experience both the interconnectedness as well as the uniqueness of the arts of different cultures. These collections encompass American painting and decorative arts, the arts of the Americas, the Pacific Islands and Africa. This lecture will include highlights of the building’s architecture and its gardens with the setting of Golden Gate Park.

Women Artists, Women Subjects

The Other Side of the Easel: Women Artists, 1600-1926
An historic overview to introduce many forgotten painters, such as Artemesia Gentileschi, Elizabeth Vigee-LeBrun, Suzanne Valadon, Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, Kay Sage and the ever-present “Anonymous,” are seen along their more famous male counterparts.

Modern Women Artists: 1900-2000
A lecture which continues the above topic, includes Gwen John, Gabrielle Munter, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Joan Mitchell, Joan Brown, Alice Neel and others. (The earlier lecture is not a prerequisite for the second.)

The Unique Circle of Mary Cassatt
This lecture reflects on Cassatt’s career from its academic beginnings in Philadelphia through her final years in France, working and exhibition with the Impressionists. Vivid descriptions of 19th century life with digressions on fashion, music and menus, remind us of the community of artists, including Degas, Manet, Pissarro, Morisot, Monet and others.

Reflections of Femininity: Women Portrayed in Art
An intriguing and fascinating look at women in the western world as portrayed by artists from medieval to modern times. Artists included are Vermeer, Degas, Lautrec, Klimt, Hopper, Picasso and many others.

Georgia O’Keeffe: The Poetry of Things
“Nobody sees a flower—really—it is so small it takes time—and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time,” O’Keeffe. This lecture focuses on O’Keeffe’s sensuous regard for objects in nature, from flowers to skulls; her famous over-sized flowers are featured.

Photography & Graphic Arts: Prints, Drawings, & Works on Paper

Wonders of Light & Shadow: Art & the Camera
A fascinating exploration of photography and painting, and the different ways they interpret and record reality. For 165 years, both have been tightly woven together, interacting and intertwined in a relationship that has sometimes been controversial, contentious, but always captivating.

The Treasures of the Achenbach Collection at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
This lecture emphasizes the best from the Achenbach Foundation of Graphic Arts, the most extensive collection of drawings, watercolors, prints, photographs and posters in the western United States.

35 Years of Crown Point Press
An overview of contemporary artists, who worked with Kathan Brown at Crown Point Press, San Francisco. Crown Point Press played an important role in the American print renaissance during the last three decades of the 20th century.

An American Focus: The Anderson Graphic Arts Collection

Over the last 40 years, printmaking has been characterized by innovation and experimentation. From the “Golden Age” of the ‘60’s to the most contemporary additions, Harry and Mary Margaret Anderson have collected works that chronicle those trends in printmaking as well as modern art, establishing a collection of over 650 works of art recently donated to the Fine Arts Museums.

Art with an Attitude: Contemporary California Prints & Drawings
From Wayne Thiebaud to Deborah Oropallo, California artists have established a mood, style, and flavor that reflects our unique place in art making. Using prints and drawings recently acquired by the Achenbach Foundation, you will explore what makes contemporary art contemporary and how art produced in California establishes and maintains our identity and image.

The Art of Richard Diebenkorn: Works on Paper at Crown Point Press
This slide lecture is an overview of Richard Diebenkorn’s career, stressing his involvement with Crown Point Press in San Francisco. The working processes of intaglio printmaking will be illustrated with examples from the special series, Clubs and Spades.

The Look of NOW: Graphic Art of Ed Ruscha
Using words and images drawn from popular culture, Edward Ruscha, considered one of the finest print makers today, examines the contemporary issue of abstraction vs. figuration. This lecture marks the acquisition of the artists’ print archive by The Fine Arts Museums.

Jasper Johns: 45 Years of Master Prints
Jasper Johns (b. 1930) has been making prints since 1960 with the fine art press, Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) and lithographs, screen prints, and etchings at Gemini G.E.L. and Simca. This lecture celebrates the remarkable 45-year history of John’s printmaking, spanning images such as Target (1960) through Bushbaby (2004).

Master Drawings from the Goldyne Collection
Joseph Goldyne, a highly regarded artist, and his wife Deborah, have collected incredible works of beauty, elegance and technical skill. One of the largest and most diverse collections of drawing in the United States, this lecture will include almost 100 works of art, invluding those by Rembrandt and Van Dyke, Turner and Degas, and Matisse and Mondrian, just to name a few.

Elements of Art

Learning to Look
When you look, really look, you will see how artists utilize line, form and color to blend an idea and an image on canvas. This lecture introduces a new approach to appreciating art, a visual, rather than an historical perspective.

Behind the Scenes: Workshop & Studio
This talk shows connections in art throughout the ages. Similarities throughout many eras and many cultures are the tools, materials, and processes for making art. Learn how stone and wood are carved, how ceramics are made from slabs and coils or thrown on a wheel, how metals are cast, and how murals and easel paintings are painted.

Art on the Edge: Paintings and Their Frames
Frames not only establish the boundary between a painting and its setting but have been used by patrons, artists, dealers and collectors to tell a story, enhance the aesthetics of a work or even its commercial value. This lecture reviews some of the frames within the FAMSF collection and places them in the context of framing history.

Art in the Third Dimension: Sculpture

Sense of Space: Sculpture in the 20th Century
The traditional definition of sculpture has been expanded and exploded by 20th century artists. This survey of more than 30 sculptors reflects a tremendous variety—biographical figures by Picasso and Giacometti, geometric abstractions by Calder and Hepworth, architectural constructions by Smith and diSuvero, and many others.

Boldly Conceived: The Sculpture of Picasso
“Anyway, it is by one’s works that one is understood,” Picasso once said. “We must work and keep on working.” While discussing his art and his life, through the revolutionary synthesis of all his art processes, painting and sculpture, ceramics, prints and drawings, this slide lecture focuses on Picasso’s sculpture.

Art that Bridges, Swirls & Melts: The World of Modern Installation Artists
Walk and sit on cracked stones at a museum? Walk into a labyrinth and view the sky? Miles of fabric? Tons of rock? Blocks of ice? Welcome to the world of the modern installation artist, and the environment.

The Sculptures of Ruth Asawa: Contours in the Air
Ruth Asawa's teachers taught her "that there is no separation between studying, performing the daily chores of living, and creating one's own work." She has applied this philosophy in her commitment to what she calls"completing the circle"-learning something, applying it, and then passing it on in some form so that it is not forgotten. This lecture also explores the legacy from such Bay Area artists as Joan Brown, June Schwarcz, Bella Feldman and others

European Treasures: Furniture and the Decorative Arts

At Home with the Royalty in France: French Furniture & the Luxuries of Life
An intimate view into the life of the nobility during the 17th and 18th centuries, highlighting examples of San Francisco’s magnificent collection of French furniture fashioned by the finest artists of their time.

Faberge: Treasures to Behold
This entertaining presentation includes sumptuous treasures amassed by private American collectors for over 100 years. It touches on 16 of Faberge’s celebrated and extraordinary Imperial Easter Eggs as well as splendid jewelry and hundreds of objets d’art, all made to amuse, to entertain and to enjoy.

History in a Teacup: Traveling with Porcelains from China to California
Intrigue in a teacup? Yes! In the 17th century, kings traded army platoons in order to buy blue and white teacups from China. This was a period of trade and espionage with the Far East, the object being “white gold,” the secret of making porcelain. This lecture looks at the beautiful collection of FAMSF porcelains while discussing the history and economics of their rise in demand.

Art Deco, 1910-1939
The most glamorous and popular style of the 20th c., this lecture traces the development of Art Deco from its emergence to its widespread popularity all over the world in the 1930's, affecting cities from Paris, New York, Shanghai and Bombay. Featured in the lecture are many works from private and public collections , including painting, sculpture, architecture, furniture, textiles, glass, metal, jewelry, graphic works, fashion, photography and film.

“Beauty in Everyday Things:” International Arts & Crafts from the Victoria & Albert
From its early beginnings in Britain in 1880s to its interpretation and development in America, continental Europe and Japan, the Arts & Crafts movement was one of the most far reaching and influential design movements of modern times. Recognizable style in America includes the Craftsman style bungalow, and works in all media: furniture, metal, textiles, ceramics, glass, and highly respected names like Gustav Stickley, Greene & Greene, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Please Be Seated: American Chairs and American Sitters, 1670-1994
American portraits tell us a great deal about our history and our heritage; they also tell us about our furniture. Our ancestors sat in some excellent works of art. This lecture illustrates the history of chairs from 1670-1994 through the collection at the de Young Museum, and reviews some of the styles—Windsor, Chippendale, Belter, 19th century Revivals, Frank Lloyd Wright, Eames and many others.

American Treasures: Furniture and the Decorative Arts & Contemporary Craft

Please Be Seated: American Chairs and American Sitters, 1670-1994
American portraits tell us a great deal about our history and our heritage; they also tell us about our furniture. Our ancestors sat in some excellent works of art. This lecture illustrates the history of chairs from 1670-1994 through the collection at the de Young Museum, and reviews some of the styles- Windsor, Chippendale, Belter, 19th century Revivals, Frank Lloyd Wright, Eames and others.

“Of the People, By the People, and For the People:” Early American Furniture
Furniture: you live with it, eat from it, put things on it, and even sit on it. The American home and the furniture in it amplify and illustrate our history; they reveal secrets about our way of life and who we are..

Shaker Furniture & Architecture: Religion in Art & Stone
This talk concerns many types of Shaker craftsmanship, from architecture and churches, workshops and barns, to chairs, chests, desks, boxes and baskets. Shaker villages in New Hampshire, New York and Massachusetts are illustrated, as well as works of art from the Fine Arts Museums.

An Appeal to the Senses: Contemporary Craft
From the outstanding collection of George and Dorothy Saxe come major contemporary crafts—vibrant glass by Chihuly, skillful woodturning by Stocksdale, witty ceramics by Arneson, pictorial textiles by Cook, and many more.

Sacred Art

“Joy to the World!” Images of Christmas through the Ages
The Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Humility of the Shepherds and the Joy of the Angels are all familiar subjects for the holiday season. These scenes are interpreted through famous works of art from Duccio to Dali.

A Woman Wrapped in Silence: Mary in Art
Mary has been a pervasive presence in Western art for centuries. See how artists of different denominations and nationalities have interpreted her role based on examples from the collections of the Legion of Honor Museum.

The Iconography of Saints in Medieval and Renaissance Art
Saints predominate in many works of Western art during the Medieval and Renaissance times. Learn their stories and their extreme importance in this colorfully illustrated slide lecture.

Pilgrim’s Progress: A Journey to Santiago de Compostela, Spain
For a thousand years, pilgrims have followed the Camino to Compostela to venerate St. James. Using contemporary photos and objects from our Medieval and Renaissance collections at the Fine Arts Museums, a 15th century woman travels over Roman bridges, past centuries-old churches, experiencing adventure, camaraderie and serenity that typifies the “way of the Camino.”

The Fiber Arts: Fashions & Embellishments

The Pennsylvania Amish & their Quilts
In the midst of our sophisticated and frenetic 20th and 21st centuries’ world of technological accomplishment, the Amish and their magnificent quilts reflect their simple life, quiet certainty, and celebration of the ordinary.

The Quilts of Gee's Bend
The New York Times says, "some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced are seen in Gee's Bend quilts." This lecture includes selections from quilts made by four generations of African American women who live in Alabama. They are pieced from scraps of fabric often salvaged from worn-out clothes, combined in extraordinary combinations of color, pattern, and texture.

By Hand: American Women with Needle and Thread
With extraordinary creativity and meticulous craftsmanship, for over 350 years American women have produced both warmth and beauty in quilts, samplers and embroidered images. Their handwork is a mirror of the times in which they lived, the patterns of their lives, their daily concerns and their hopes and dreams. With pieces of cloth and strands of thread they created cherished works of art that celebrate love and beauty and the world in which they lived.

Fashion in Art: Fig Leaf to Finery
An exciting and entertaining look at the changes in dress in the Western world over the centuries. Included are illustrations and profiles of many famous fashion arbiters, as well as a panorama of styles from ancient Greece through the 20th century.

Artwear: Fashion and Anti-fashion
How does Artwear differ from contemporary fashion? This lecture explores the movement springing from counterculture street fashions of the 1960s and continues with Artwear’s passage through feminism, an interest in non-western cultures, Pop Art, and the development of studio craft practice. Artwear can be exciting, innovative, one-of-a-kind, and outrageous.

Lace, Ruffs & Dagger Slashes: Fashions, Politics & World Exploration
What links the 17th century craze for lace to the Dutch War of Independence? And how did fashion for beaver hats lead to the Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1804? This lecture explores how fashion reflects and creates history.

Politics & Powdered Wigs: How Fashions Help Make History
The 18th century was a period of social and political turmoil, which were reflected in revolutionary fashions and life styles. This lecture also shows art, which depicts the “Golden Age of Portraiture.”

Crowning Glory: Hats, Hair and History
From Samson to the Beatles, from crowns to beaver hats, hair and head coverings have been loaded with psychological and emotional significance. This slide lecture lets painting and sculpture illustrate the amusing and amazing story of how fashions, hats and hair styles have contributed to revolutions and world exploration.

The Impressionist Era: Fashion & Culture
A look at the world of 19th century Parisian fashion, where many clothing styles were captured in paintings by the Impressionists and other artists.

The Art of French Fashion: From the “New Look” to Now
The changing fashions in the second half of the 20th century were influenced by masters of the French design world, as well as the cultural history of the times. Designers included are Dior, Balenciaga, Chanel, St. Laurent, etc.

In Pursuit of Style: Shoes in History
Following the changes in styles in fashionable footwear from early Roman sandals through high button shoes, stiletto heels, wedgies and platforms, to today’s retro styles, this provocative slide lecture reminds us that, throughout the ages, shoes have always reflected the personality and status of the wearer.

Baubles, Bangles and Beads: Jewelry as Art
“All that glitters is not gold!” It can be gems and minerals, as well as humble materials, all fashioned by master crafts people throughout history. This lecture explores jewelry as depicted by the artists of all centuries

Bouquets to Art

"More than Words Can Say": Stories of Flowers in Art
Artists have portrayed flowers and plants throughout history; this delightful and educational lecture tells the meanings and stories associated with these beautiful still lifes, portrayed by artists from the 15th century Renaissance through the present day.

The Queen of Flowers: Resplendent French Rose Gardens
The French call the rose, “la Reine des Fleurs”—the queen of flowers. This talk extols the rose in art and includes a stroll through famous French rose gardens, including Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.

Monet’s World of Flowers: Gardens at Giverny
The lushness of his surroundings inspired some of Monet’s most exciting and modern images. His paintings of the Japanese bridge and the rose garden, as well as shimmering images of the lily pond, reflect his love for his gardens at Giverny.

Feasts & Entertainments

A Feast for the Eye: Food in Art
A delicious excursion into the subject of food, showing both the serious and humorous sides of food depicted in painting, sculpture, fashion and decorative arts. The role of food as a symbol of wealth, power, status and sensuality will be explored. We shall look at self-indulgence vs. self-restraint, and discover how sustenance can be synonymous with art.

Wine, Wassail & Art
A survey of the connection between art and spirits throughout history; both the serious and humorous sides will be seen.

If Music Be the Food of Love
Music along with the visual arts provides beauty and comfort in our lives. Many visual artists portrayed musical instruments, people playing and listening to music—enjoy examples from the FAMSF collections.

Holidays: Christmas, Chanukah and Other Festive Celebrations
A look at holidays and other festivities, which include giving, receiving, feasting, and enjoying, all depicted in beautiful and intriguing paintings.

Home, Sweet Home
The warmth and affection of family life is seen through the eyes of artists, from ancient Greece to the present.

A Celebration of Children
Winsome, plucky, sometimes sentimental and always appealing, children and childhood are the subject of a fresh view of five centuries of Western painting.

To Love and To Cherish: A Celebration of Marriage
“From this day forward” to “happily ever after.” Weddings and marriages in their most amusing, inspiring, romantic and beguiling moments are portrayed in paintings, vintage photographs and sculpture.

Tours & Travels: the Lure of Vacation Destinations
A vacation trip often presents us with the possibility of romance and adventure, spectacular scenery, endearing amusements, and myriad other pleasures. This lecture is a fascinating, visual celebration through art of the magic of leisure trips and travels from Roman times through the 20th centuries.

Animals in Art: Mighty Gods to Pampered Pets
Artists, from cave men to Toulouse-Lautrec and Renoir, have portrayed many roles for animals. Animals have been revered as gods, hunted for sport, and prized as status symbols and companions.

There's No Business Like Show Business
From Clowns to Acrobats to Ballerinas to Hamlet! The performing arts have fascinated painters and sculptors from ancient Greece to Picasso. Join us for a tour of drama and comedy in the world of entertainment.