In this short silent film by Jonas Grimas, courtesy of the Royal Academy of Arts, London (2014), artist and Royal Academician Stephen Chambers and printmaker Mike Taylor demonstrate the technique of the chiaroscuro woodcut, one of the most successful early forays into color printing. Chiaroscuro woodcuts are printed from two or more carved woodblocks to combine tone and line. They often approach the qualities of a drawing on tinted paper or achieve painterly effects akin to brushwork.

The issue of preservation arises frequently in discussions of land art and monumental outdoor sculpture, the type of work for which Michael Heizer is best known. For his Scrap Metal Drypoints , Heizer selected salvaged zinc and aluminum plates scarred with appealing scrapes, scratches, marks of oxidation, and corrosion—all dramatic evidence of environmental effects. In preparation for exhibition, conservators and curators, in consultation with the artist, elected to restore the clarity of one of the prints by mitigating the distracting staining and discoloration visible in the paper support. The challenge of handling and maneuvering the eight-foot-long print—particularly when swollen with water—requires seamless coordination. Over a period of three days, the monumental print was bathed in calcified water in a custom-built sink, removing much of the paper’s general discoloration. Once the print was lifted from the bath and dried under blotters, the conservators examined the remaining stains and selectively treated them by brushing and spraying weak solutions of bleach. A final bath removed all remaining chemical solutions from the paper. After a long period of drying, the print was hinged and framed for display in the exhibit The Serial Impulse at Gemini G.E.L.

The artistic collaboration between Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt is revealed through close examination of Cassatt’s beloved painting Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (1878) from the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Prompted by a rare letter from Cassatt to her dealer, Ambroise Vollard, referencing Degas’s work on this painting, Gallery associate curator Kimberly A. Jones and senior paintings conservator Ann Hoenigswald spent years researching and examining the painting, on the hunt for Degas’s contribution. In this short film, Jones and Hoenigswald shed light on their detective work and discoveries.

Ann Hoenigswald, senior conservator of paintings, and Felix Monguilot Benzal, 2012-2013 Kress Interpretive Fellow, review the conservation treatment of El Greco’s Saint Martin and the Beggar (1597/1599). In 2014, Spain will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the death of El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos, 1541-1614) with major exhibitions of the artist’s works. Upon completion of treatment, the Gallery will loan Saint Martin and the Beggar and its companion painting Madonna and Child with Saint Martina and Saint Agnes to their city of origin for The Greek in Toledo exhibition at the Museum of Santa Cruz, Toledo. In this video from January 22, 2013, Hoenigswald and Monguilot Benzal reveal how the original texture and color of the paint will return once a layer of discolored varnish is removed. The Kress Interpretive Fellowship is supported by a grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation to provide a new kind of mentored professional development opportunity within American art museums.

The video Lost-Wax Bronzecasting is a step-by-step demonstration of the process produced by the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Photographers have long been drawn to the luminous qualities of the platinum and palladium processes to achieve their aesthetic goals. National Gallery conservators and scientists spearheaded an interdisciplinary study of these rare and beautiful prints in an effort to appreciate their material nature and to ensure their long-term preservation. This video illustrates the basic materials and steps involved in the production of platinum and palladium prints.

Hidden among thousands of great works by famous artists in the National Gallery of Art is the work of a different artist, whose presence is not intended to be noticed. A mount maker meticulously creates small brass fittings by hand. This intricate process enables works of art to hang weightlessly from exhibition walls or appear to float in space. Mount makers’ work is ever-present but never noticed. Take a glimpse behind the scenes to see a museum mount maker at work.

Lee Ewing, National Gallery of Art photographer, explores the challenges of photographing Edgar Degas’s Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.

The platinum photograph played an important role in establishing photography as a fine art during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

"In the Tower: Mark Rothko," on view February 21, 2010 through January 2, 2011, featured the enigmatic black paintings of Mark Rothko.

This film explains the process of creating a polychrome sculpture using the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Saint Ginés de la Jara.

At the time of their acquisition in 1995, Cornelis Verbeeck's paintings Dutch Warship Attacking a Spanish Galley and Spanish Galleon Firing Its Cannons were covered with layers of discolored varnish.

James Coddington, The Agnes Gund Chief Conservator, MoMA, New York, speaks about what new information obtained from chemical imaging tells us about the working methods of the artist Jackson Pollock, noted for his abstract drip paintings. Coddington spoke at a one-day symposium held at the National Gallery of Art on September 21, 2015, which was supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Marcello Picollo, CNR researcher, Institute of Applied Physics “N. Carrara”, presents several case studies using reflectance imaging spectroscopy of objects from small paintings on copper plates to large frescos.

Ruven Pillay, imaging scientist, C2RMF, Paris, speaks about software for viewing multimodal data sets.

Damon Conover, engineer, department of electrical and computer engineering, George Washington University, addresses how information from complementary imaging modalities can be mathematically combined.

John Delaney, senior imaging scientist, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, explains reflectance imaging spectroscopy.

Kathryn Dooley, research scientist, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, presents several case studies.

Michelle Facini, paper conservator, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, speaks about Degas’s working methods.

Melanie Gifford, research conservator, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, discusses Rembrandt’s late works.

Yuriko Jackall, assistant curator, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, speaks about Fragonard.

Koen Janssens, professor, department of chemistry, University of Antwerp, explains XRF imaging spectroscopy.

Costanza Miliani, CNR researcher, department of chemistry, University of Perugia, explains mid-infrared imaging spectroscopy.

Stephen Bann (professor emeritus, University of Bristol, and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) discusses reproductive engravings by Léopold Flameng in publications such as the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, which brought old master and contemporary paintings to a wide audience. Bann argues that the history of reproduction offers insight into how the work of masters, old and new, were received and circulated.

David Bomford (former conservation chair, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and 2018 Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) discusses the importance of Édouard Manet’s The Railway (1873), painted at a pivotal moment both in the artist’s life and for the city of Paris. Identifying the setting and the sitters in the painting as well as Manet’s innovations in painting technique, Professor Bomford shares what makes this painting one he most admires in the collection.

Anna Ottani Cavina (Università di Bologna, emerita; Fondazione Federico Zeri, presidente onorario; and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) focuses on John Robert Cozens, Cetara on the Gulf of Salerno (1790). Ottani Cavina describes Cozens’s visionary approach to watercolor painting, which inspired the romantic painters of the next generation.

How do sculptors reckon with the buildings that surround their work? Penelope Curtis takes us on a journey along the thin line between art and architecture, looking at Henry Moore and I. M. Pei’s East Building collaboration, Moore’s Three Motives Against Wall, Number 1, and Costantino Nivola’s Widow of Pausania.

Kathleen A. Foster (Philadelphia Museum of Art and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) focuses on the Winslow Homer watercolor Boys Wading (1873). Foster describes Homer’s surprising turn to watercolor, a medium he learned first as a commercial illustrator and one that he embraced as a fine artist for the next thirty years.

Cecilia Frosinini (Opificio delle Pietre Dure e Laboratori di Restauro, Florence, and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art), explores how Giotto conveys a new painterly language of feeling and devotion that expresses human relationships and bodily presence.

Marc Fumaroli (professor emeritus at the Collège de France and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) examines four landscape paintings by Jean Honoré Fragonard from the period 1775/1780: A Game of Hot Cockles, Blindman’s Buff, The Swing, and A Game of Horse and Rider . In contrast to the pleasure-seeking pursuits usually identified in these garden scenes, Fumaroli sees fearful apprehension in Fragonard’s ambiguous depiction of natural settings and human expressions.

Thomas Kren (former associate director for collections, J. Paul Getty Museum and 2016 Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) examines Saint Apollonia Destroys a Pagan Idol, part of an altarpiece by Giovanni d’Alemagna. Kren describes the inherent tension between the artist’s use of pious subjects and the beautiful, at times sensual, representation of the nude. Even as the early Christian saint attacks the pagan statue of Apollo, this painting exemplifies a paradoxical embrace of ancient sculptural and architectural forms that characterized Renaissance art.

Antoinette Le Normand-Romain (former director of the Institut national d’histoire de l’art and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) discusses Auguste Rodin’s sculpture The Walking Man (1903). Le Normand-Romain describes a history of The Walking Man that reveals much about Rodin’s methods, his deep appreciation of antiquity, and the significance of his art in the evolution of modern sculpture.

Jacqueline Lichtenstein (Université Paris-Sorbonne, emeritus, and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) discusses Edgar Degas, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen (1878–1881). Lichtenstein touches on issues such as the hierarchy of painting and sculpture, originals and copies, and the value of seeing works of art in person.

Richard J. Powell (John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art and Art History at Duke University and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) discusses Archibald J. Motley Jr.’s painting Portrait of My Grandmother (1922). Powell describes the arresting power of the artist’s loving portrayal of Emily Simms Motley, a woman born in slavery and hardworking all her long life, asserting its place among the other Jazz Age paintings for which the artist is well known.

Victor Stoichita (Université de Fribourg and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) discusses Murillo’s Two Women at a Window in terms of the artist’s preoccupation with two relationships: that between the private space depicted in the painting and the public space of the beholder, and that of the viewer and the viewed.

Carl Brandon Strehlke (Philadelphia Museum of Art, adjunct curator, John G. Johnson Collection, and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) discusses Domenico Veneziano, Saint John in the Desert (c. 1445/1450). Strehlke describes the history of the altarpiece of which this painting was originally a part and how the painting came to the National Gallery of Art.

Nancy J. Troy (Victoria and Roger Sant Professor in Art at Stanford University and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) discusses Piet Mondrian’s painting Tableau No. IV: Lozenge Composition with Red, Gray, Blue, Yellow, and Black (c. 1924/1925). Troy describes the history and previous iterations of this diamond composition and the work’s powerful influence within popular and artistic spheres.

Carel van Tuyll van Serooskerken (Teylers Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands, and former Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor at the National Gallery of Art) brings viewers inside the “rustic paradise” of river landscapes by brothers Annibale and Agostino Carracci in the National Gallery of Art collection. While describing their distinct approaches to the subject, Professor van Tuyll shows the pleasure the brothers took in creating these views.

The Mellon Foundation sponsored a project to create ConservationSpace, a web-based document management system developed specifically to address the needs of conservators. The software marries the versatility of a word processor with the capabilities of a database. Users can manage examination and treatment reports, images, notes, and other records associated with a work of art via a browser-based system with remote storage. The system is highly configurable and designed to interface with existing collection management systems. In this video conservators discuss how ConservationSpace addresses their needs.

Led by Diana Greenwald, assistant curator of the collection, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and former Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow, National Gallery of Art, and Lynn Russell, head of education, National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art was the first American art museum to invite teams of data scientists and art historians to analyze, contextualize, and visualize its permanent collection data. The Gallery's full permanent collection data was released to six teams of researchers from institutions including Bennington College, Carnegie Mellon University, Duke University, George Mason University, Macalester College, New College of Florida, University of California, Los Angeles, and Williams College. Questions from curators, conservators, and researchers helped guide this analysis, and teams were encouraged to pursue whichever avenues of inquiry they found most compelling. The study culminated in a two-day Datathon, with teams finalizing their visualizations and presenting their findings at a public event on Friday, October 25, 2019. Special thanks to the Library of Congress LC Labs and Rare Books Division for facilitating access to Library collections as data for this event.

Elizabeth Cropper, Dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, offers a welcome and introduction to the conference “New Projects in Digital Art History,” held on November 21, 2014. In the first lecture of the conference, Paul B. Jaskot, DePaul University, considers how specific kinds of art-historical problems relate to digital mapping methods. Jaskot focuses on this question through a case study of the digital visualization of space and the built environment at Auschwitz, a site of generic and mostly functional buildings that can be labeled, broadly, as vernacular. In this case study, stemming from Jaskot’s ongoing collaboration with Anne Kelly Knowles, digital mapping as part of the research process allows a more critical historical analysis of one of the most brutal architectural planning endeavors of the modern period. Furthermore, the study highlights the methodological potential of digital analysis for a renewed emphasis on vernacular architecture as a central subject of art history.

In this lecture, originally presented as part of the conference “New Projects in Digital Art History” on November 21, 2014, James T. Tice, University of Oregon, discusses a project that will provide scholars with an innovative tool to study the complex urban fabric of Rome as it has evolved over three millennia. Using advanced GIS technology, this multidisciplinary project intends to create a layered history of Rome by updating the Forma Urbis Romae , the cartographic masterpiece of ancient Roman topography published in 1901 by Rodolfo Lanciani. This map measures 25 by 17 feet and employs an innovative graphic system that represents Rome’s historic urban fabric as a series of layers from ancient to modern. The map remains the standard archaeological reference for Rome even though it does not incorporate the numerous discoveries uncovered since its original publication. Tice and his fellow researchers plan to critically examine, update, and eventually republish the Forma Urbis Romae map as an interactive website. One of the website’s constituent elements will be an evolving geo-database that will both solicit and incorporate contributions by internationally prominent scholars in the field.

In this lecture, originally presented in the conference “New Projects in Digital Art History” on November 21, 2014, Christian Huemer, of the Getty Research Institute, discusses The Getty Provenance Index® as a tool for data visualizations. A pioneering project in the digital humanities, the Provenance Index is a collection of databases offering free online access to source material for research on the history of collecting and art markets. It currently contains 1.5 million records transcribed from sources such as archival inventories, sale catalogs, and dealer stock books. As an example of the data visualization possibilities offered by the Provenance Index, Huemer and his collaborator, Maximilian Schich (The University of Texas at Dallas), use 230,000 auction sales records to develop network diagrams of 22,000 agents connecting 130 sale locations in Great Britain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands from 1800 to 1820. The ability to map multiple records at once allows researchers to recognize relationships between numerous data points. Huemer argues that these data visualizations, addressing the flow of objects, money, and people over time and through space, have the potential to draw attention to evidence difficult to see otherwise and prompt new research questions.

In this lecture, originally presented as part of the conference “New Projects in Digital Art History” on November 21, 2014, Martyna Urbaniak, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, considers the methodology, functionalities, and research possibilities afforded by the use of digital archives in the study of the visual and literary culture of the High Renaissance. Urbaniak discusses the project “Looking at Words through Images: Some Case Studies for a Visual History of Italian Literature,” based at the Center for Data Processing of Text and Images in Literary Tradition at the Scuola Normale Superiore. The aim of this project is to create a multimedia digital archive to investigate the origins, evolution, and fortunes of the Italian epic poem Orlando Furioso ’s editorial format and its powerful influence, in figurative and editorial terms, on reception dynamics in the age of printing.

In this lecture, originally presented as part of the conference “New Projects in Digital Art History” on November 21, 2014, Ivo van der Graaff, CASVA, National Gallery of Art, discusses the Oplontis Project, an ongoing archaeological study of two Roman villas. Conceived from the outset as a “born digital” publication, the Oplontis Project utilizes a three-pronged approach to scholarly publication: a cloud-based 3-D model, an online database, and XML e-books. Van der Graaff explains how e-books, the cloud, and 3-D modeling software are transforming the distribution and publication of archaeological materials. Users can now access monographs, models of buildings and cityscapes, and even entire databases online. The sum of these technologies allows for a radical departure from print monographs as the established publication medium in this field.

In this lecture, originally presented as part of the conference “New Projects in Digital Art History” on November 21, 2014, Caroline Bruzelius, Duke University, discusses Visualizing Venice, a project that uses visualization tools to model Venice’s growth and change over time. For the Visualizing Venice research team, working with digital technologies prompted new kinds of questions about archival data and different approaches to scholarly research. Visualizing Venice has become a public-facing digital humanities initiative that seeks to engage users in considering ways in which social, economic, religious, and technological changes transform cities and their surrounding environments.

This panel discussion was originally presented as the conclusion to the conference “New Projects in Digital Art History” on November 21, 2014. The six lectures given at the conference are available online as NGA videos. Paul B. Jaskot of DePaul University moderates this panel of conference speakers (from left to right on the stage): Ivo van der Graaff, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts; Caroline Bruzelius, Duke University; Christian Huemer, Getty Research Institute; Martyna Urbaniak, Scuola Normale Superiore; and James T. Tice, University of Oregon. The panelists and moderator discuss the successes and challenges of their own projects and the future of digital research in art history.

Alan Newman, chief of imaging and visual services at the National Gallery of Art, and Tom Cramer, chief technology strategist and associate director of digital library systems and services at Stanford University, define the origins and goals of the IIIF and the goals of this symposium . Newman and Cramer spoke at the IIIF symposium on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

Glen Robson, head of systems at the National Library of Wales, discusses using IIIF for geo-referencing, simplifying the sharing of images and content, and customized viewers. Robson spoke at the IIIF symposium on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

Anna Naruta-Moya, archivist and project manager of the Indigenous Digital Archive, State of New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, presents on the Indigenous Digital Archive at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and discusses increasing accessibility of government documents regarding Native Americans . Naruta-Moya spoke at the IIIF symposium on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

Emmanuelle Delmas-Glass, collections data manager, and Edward Town, postdoctoral research associate, Yale Center for British Art, discuss digital strategy, the Yale Open Access Policy, data exchange protocols, image sharing, and comparison for research. Delmas-Glass and Town spoke at the IIIF symposium on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

Jon Stroop, application development manager at Princeton University Library, discusses the IIIF image API, image zoom and panning, and clarifying syntax for users and developers. Stroop spoke at the IIIF symposium on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

Drew Winget, visualization engineer, and Stuart Snydman, associate director for digital strategy, Stanford University Libraries, present and demonstrate how the Mirador viewer is used to zoom, compare, annotate, and share images . Wignet and Snydman spoke at the IIIF symposium on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

Rob Sanderson, information standards architect at Stanford University Libraries, discusses the IIIF presentation API, multiple object views, and the shared canvas model. Sanderson spoke at the IIIF symposium on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

Tom Crane, technical director, and Ed Silverton, senior UI developer, Digirati Ltd., present and demonstrate the Wellcome Player and the Universal Viewer, view optimization for books and manuscripts, searching using auto-complete, and directionality. Crane and Silverton spoke at the IIIF symposium on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

Franziska Frey, the Malloy-Rabinowitz Preservation Librarian and head of preservation and digital imaging services at Harvard University, discusses IIIF and Mirador at Harvard, software development, and collaboration to share images of books, manuscripts, and other documents . Frey spoke at the IIIF symposium on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

Michael Appleby, associate director of academic software development at Yale University, discusses tagging, annotation, text discovery using computer vision algorithms, and the power of using APIs. Appleby spoke at the IIIF symposium on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

Rachel Frick, director of business development, and Mark Matienzo, director of technology, Digital Public Library of America, discuss IIIF for cultural heritage aggregation, user experience, and future concerns. Frick and Matienzo spoke at the IIIF symposium on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

Tom Cramer, chief technology strategist and associate director of digital library systems and services at Stanford University, delivers closing remarks and answers questions at the IIIF symposium held on May 5, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art.

The history of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA) at the National Gallery of Art is closely intertwined with that of the institution, and especially with the planning and design of the East Building. This richly illustrated lecture—delivered on August 6, 2017 by Dean Elizabeth Cropper—goes behind the scenes into the conception of a research institute housed at the gallery, and traces the development of the Center since its founding in 1980. Cropper looks at CASVA’s programs of fellowships, meetings, publications, and research, and discusses the wider importance of research institutes today.

The National Gallery of Art is home to one of the most highly respected and extensive art conservation laboratories in the world, with a staff of more than 50. Among them are not only conservators of paintings, three-dimensional objects, works on paper, photographs, textiles, and frames, but also scientists and specialists in preventative care, which encompasses everything from monitoring environmental conditions to pest management. In addition to treating works of art in the collection, conservators and scientists collaborate with curators to perform research that improves our understanding of artists’ techniques and materials, and ultimately of the works of art and their historical contexts. In this lecture held on July 16, 2017, Mervin Richard, chief of conservation at the National Gallery of Art, discusses the history of conservation at the Gallery and some of the many activities that occupy the department today.

In this lecture, National Gallery of Art scientists discuss the ongoing adaptation of technologies used originally to identify and map minerals on Mars to better understand art in the Gallery’s collection. These new imaging techniques, based on molecular and elemental spectroscopy, have allowed researchers to develop more detailed maps of the distribution of materials such as pigments and paint binders. For example, the types of paints (oil vs. alkyd resin) used by Jackson Pollock in his famous drip painting Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist) were mapped . In an early Renaissance painting by Cosimo Tura, the pigments and paint binders were mapped and a preparatory sketch was revealed. In addition, these imaging technologies have been used to visualize compositions that have been painted over, such as the woman beneath Pablo Picasso’s Le Gourmet , and also to illuminate early paint composition changes in Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s Young Girl Reading .

Museum curators have many responsibilities: acquiring, caring for, and presenting works of art; researching and writing scholarly content; and organizing temporary exhibitions of works borrowed from other institutions and from private owners. At smaller museums there may be only a few curators, and they are often expected to have wide-ranging knowledge. At large institutions with diverse collections, such as the National Gallery of Art, curators must be experts in the art of specific periods, regions, or media. In this lecture, held on August 27, 2017, Franklin Kelly, deputy director and chief curator at the National Gallery of Art, examines the various roles that curators play in the functioning of today’s museums and in shaping the visitor’s experience of art.

Although the National Gallery of Art has presented special exhibitions since its opening in 1941, it was the opening of the East Building in 1978 that greatly expanded their number and complexity. The new building provided the design team maximum flexibility, including the allowance of objects soaring to nearly 40 feet, safe installation of objects weighing over 13 tons, and a sunlit space over 100 feet long. With the addition in 2016 of two new exhibition spaces, a new exterior sculpture terrace, and staircases that allow the visitor to move freely between all levels, the East Building continues to offer new and exciting opportunities. In this lecture, held on August 13, 2017, Mark Leithauser, senior curator and chief of design, discusses the history of the department, how an exhibition evolves from concept to reality, the installation process, and illustrates how the same East Building gallery space has been repeatedly redesigned and reconstructed to display works of art at the highest possible museum and scholarly standards.

Did you know that horticulture has been a part of the mission of the National Gallery of Art since the doors opened in 1941? The design for the West Building, by John Russell Pope, included gardens as an important element of the museum. Greenhouses were added in 1954 so that plants and flowers needed for interior and exterior gardens, special exhibits, and events could be grown on site. The role of the Gallery’s horticulturists has expanded over the years with the openings of the East Building (1978) and Sculpture Garden (1999), and the restoration of the Andrew W. Mellon Memorial Fountain (2017). Special endowments fund seasonal plant and flower displays to enhance the visitor experience. In this lecture held on July 9, 2017, Cynthia Kaufmann, chief of horticulture services at the National Gallery of Art, discusses the many facets of the Gallery’s horticulture division. To volunteer email: [email protected]

For more than 75 years, the National Gallery of Art Library has played a key role in the Gallery’s educational mission. In this lecture, held on July 23, 2017, Roger Lawson, executive librarian, John Hagood, head of reader services, and Gregory P. J. Most, image collections chief, offer a look behind the scenes and into the stacks to reveal how the library grew to be one of the world’s foremost resources for the study of art history. Along the way they highlight some of the rare and unique books and images that comprise its collections.

Lorena Bradford, accessible programs, department of education, National Gallery of Art The 2019 Summer Sunday Lecture Series takes a closer look at the many treasures housed in the Gallery’s permanent collection. Since it opened to the public in 1978, the East Building itself has been recognized as one of the Gallery’s most prized masterpieces. The passing of the building’s architect, I. M. Pei (1917–2019), invited a new look at his projects around the globe. In a talk given on July 7, 2019 as part of the 2019 Summer Sunday Lecture Series, Lorena Bradford situates the commission of the East Building within the context of Pei’s blossoming career and shares some of the challenges Pei and his team faced in developing the final, inspired design. Bradford analyzes the responses of critics, fellow architects, and the public to the East Building, both before the completed structure was unveiled and after it opened in 1978, concluding with reflections on Pei’s legacy.

Eric Denker, senior lecturer, National Gallery of Art The 2019 Summer Sunday Lecture Series, Celebrating the Old Master Collections of the National Gallery of Art, takes a closer look at the many treasures housed in the Gallery’s permanent collection. Works by Italian, French, Dutch, and American artists are featured in this visual tour. New insights and surprising discoveries await, featuring Gallery favorites and recently acquired works. In this first lecture in the series, presented on July 14, 2019 senior lecturer Eric Denker discusses the Gallery’s collection of 17th-century Dutch paintings, one of the most important outside of the Netherlands. The holdings include a distinguished selection of well-known masters, including Frans Hals, Rembrandt, and Vermeer, as well as many superlative works by lesser-known painters of the Golden Age of Dutch painting. Intense competition during this era propelled artists to specialize in specific genres of painting including portraiture, landscape, still life, and scenes of daily life.

Eric Denker, senior lecturer, National Gallery of Art The 2019 Summer Sunday Lecture Series, Celebrating the Old Master Collections of the National Gallery of Art, takes a closer look at the many treasures housed in the Gallery’s permanent collection. Works by Italian, French, Dutch, and American artists are featured in this visual tour. New insights and surprising discoveries await, featuring Gallery favorites and recently acquired works. In this second lecture in the series, presented on July 21, 2019 senior lecturer Eric Denker discusses the Gallery’s collection of Venetian painting. The holdings begin with rare works by Giovanni Bellini, such as his late masterpiece The Feast of the Gods , as well as works by the most important artists to emerge from Bellini’s studio, including Giorgione, Titian, and Carpaccio. Also well represented in the Gallery’s remarkable collection are Venetian paintings from the second half of the 16th century by Tintoretto and Veronese, and the 18th century, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Canaletto.

Heidi Applegate, guest lecturer The 2019 Summer Sunday Lecture Series takes a closer look at the many treasures housed in the Gallery’s permanent collection. Works by Italian, French, Dutch, and American artists are featured in this visual tour. New insights and surprising discoveries await, featuring Gallery favorites and recently acquired works. In this third lecture in the series, presented on July 28, guest lecturer Heidi Applegate discusses the Gallery’s collection of British paintings, known for its “Grand Manner” portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough, landscapes by John Constable, and seascapes by J. M. W. Turner. Applegate discusses the history of the collection, paintings that have changed over time, and recent acquisitions by John Martin, Richard Parkes Bonington, and John Ward of Hull.

Heidi Applegate, guest lecturer The 2019 Summer Sunday Lecture Series takes a closer look at the many treasures housed in the Gallery’s permanent collection. Works by Italian, French, Dutch, and American artists are featured in this visual tour. New insights and surprising discoveries await, featuring Gallery favorites and recently acquired works. In this fourth lecture in the series, presented on August 4, 2019 guest lecturer Heidi Applegate discusses the Gallery’s collection of American paintings. The American collection has grown from 10 paintings when the West Building opened in 1941 to become the largest of the paintings departments in the museum. Dr. Heidi Applegate gives an overview of how the collection has been assembled over the past seven decades, underscoring the transformative addition in 2014 of paintings from the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Dianne Stephens, senior educator, National Gallery of Art The 2019 Summer Sunday Lecture Series, Celebrating the Old Master Collections of the National Gallery of Art, takes a closer look at the many treasures housed in the Gallery’s permanent collection. On August 11, 2019 Dianne Stephens, a senior educator at the National Gallery of Art, discusses masterpieces of American furniture from the Kaufman Collection, 1700–1830. These magnificent objects were permanently installed at the National Gallery of Art in October 2012 as a promised gift of the collection formed over five decades by Linda H. Kaufman and the late George M. Kaufman, which includes some of the finest and most elegant examples of American furniture produced in colonial and post-revolutionary America. The Kaufman Collection a significant addition to the decorative arts at the National Gallery of Art and in Washington, and these important pieces of furniture complement and enrich the great American achievements in painting and sculpture in the Gallery’s permanent collection.

David Gariff, senior lecturer, National Gallery of Art The 2019 Summer Sunday Lecture series takes a closer look at the many treasures housed in the Gallery’s permanent collection. Works by Italian, French, Dutch, and American artists are featured in this visual tour. New insights and surprising discoveries await, featuring Gallery favorites and recently acquired works. In this seventh lecture in the series, presented on August 18, 2019 David Gariff, senior lecturer, discusses the Gallery’s collection of Italian paintings, considered the most important in America and among the finest and most comprehensive in the world. The collection contains works by some of the greatest Italian painters in art history, including Duccio, Giotto, Fra Angelico, Fra Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Piero di Cosimo, Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Correggio, and Bernardino Luini. All the important regional schools are represented, including Florence, Siena, Venice, and the Lombard tradition in the north. Most important, the National Gallery of Art is home to the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in the Western Hemisphere—his Portrait of Ginevra de’ Benci. In this lecture, Gariff explores the history of central Italian painting from 1300 to 1520 seen through the masterpieces in the Gallery’s permanent collection.

David Gariff, senior lecturer, National Gallery of Art The 2019 Summer Sunday Lecture Series focuses on the outstanding collections of old master paintings in the National Gallery of Art, and also includes a discussion of the extraordinary American furniture from the Kaufman Collection, currently on view on the ground floor of the West Building. Over the decades, appreciation of French eighteenth-century art has fluctuated between preference for the alluring decorative canvases of rococo artists such as François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard to admiration for the sober neoclassicism championed by Jacques-Louis David and his pupils. In this final lecture in the series, presented on August 25, David Gariff, senior lecturer, surveys the history of French art in the eighteenth century from the time of Louis XIV to the French Revolution. In addition to works by Boucher, Fragonard, and David, scenes of daily life by Antoine Watteau, Jean-Siméon Chardin, and Jean-Baptiste Greuze are discussed.

David Gariff, senior lecturer, National Gallery of Art The 2020 summer series of lectures presented by the education division explores the theme of Staycation. Many of us may be spending this summer close to home, but we can still dream and learn about beautiful places. In these talks, Gallery lecturers will present a tour of six of the world’s great cities. Few regions of Europe can rival the French Riviera’s combination of magical light, mild climate, colorful landscapes, and living history. Long a magnet for foreign artists—including Monet, Renoir, Bonnard, Matisse, Picasso, and Chagall—the Côte d’Azur and its scenery, people, and traditions have inspired some of modern art’s most iconic paintings and sculptures. In this lecture, recorded on July 23, 2020, senior lecturer David Gariff discusses the historical significance and impact of the French Riviera on 20th-century art, examining the inspiration artists found in locations such as Nice, Saint-Tropez, and Collioure.

David Gariff, senior lecturer, National Gallery of Art The 2020 summer series of lectures presented by the education division explores the theme of Staycation. Many of us may be spending this summer close to home, but we can still dream and learn about beautiful places. In these talks, Gallery lecturers will present a tour of six of the world’s great cities. Milan, Italy, is very much a tale of two cities—one that looks back to an illustrious past, while the other celebrates its present and reinvents itself for the future. In this first lecture in the series, recorded on July 23, 2020, senior lecturer David Gariff presents a survey of the city’s rich history and explores some of its contributions to politics, economics, religion, art, literature, music, architecture, fashion, and design. Milan’s native-born and temporary residents included at various times Saint Ambrose, Leonardo da Vinci, and Giuseppe Verdi, to name only a few. In 2020, Milan announced an ambitious scheme to carry the city into a new future, stressing sustainability and the reimagining of urban living in a post-pandemic world. This talk examines the dynamic city, from its ancient roots through its contemporary style.