Kathleen Bashian, a certified master guide in Washington and a popular Smithsonian study leader, leads a virtual memorial pilgrimage through the city, examining the aesthetics of memorials as works of art and architecture, their origins, and their impact on contemporary visitors.
Blossoming in Vienna and spreading like a mania through Europe, the waltz proclaimed a new freedom of sexual expression and individual liberties in the early 19th century. Classical music and opera expert Saul Lilienstein traces the development of a musical form and a dance that changed history.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec reveled in the circuses, dance halls, nightclubs, and brothels of fin de siècle Montmartre, his beloved bohemian world that inspired works marked by energy and sensuality, as well as candor and compassion. Art historian Joseph Cassar illuminates the artist's creative life in the colorful social and cultural milieu of Paris in the Belle Epoque. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit).
Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing that offers a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon for a series of workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. This session focuses on Antonio Martorell’s La Playa Negra I (Tar Beach I).
Art historian Renee Gondek focuses on visual depictions of the iconic hero of the Trojan War, Achilles, to examine how the most famous of epic narratives from Classical mythology inspired centuries of creators and cultures. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
George Washington ordered the laying out of a 10-mile-square district to be the seat of government, directing that boundary stones mark one-mile intervals along its border. Historian Dakota Springston tells the story of the people who surveyed and placed the stones—and helped turn the idea of an American federal city into a reality.
There are songs so familiar they seem part of us. In this series with writer and filmmaker Sara Lukinson, find out how some our favorites from the American songbook came to be and how they speak to generations of listeners. This session highlights Somewhere Over the Rainbow and You’ll Never Walk Alone.
The Great Falls of the Potomac is the most magnificent natural landmark in the metropolitan Washington area. Rise early on a crisp spring morning, avoid the crowds, and enjoy a socially distanced, small-group experience in the great outdoors with naturalist Keith Tomlinson.
Great art is timeless, and speaks to us across time, culture, and space. Artist and educator Paul Glenshaw looks at one of the most iconic images of the French Revolution as he delves into the time of the artist and explores what shaped David’s vision. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Maryland’s long history, diverse inhabitants, varied landscapes, and of course, the Chesapeake Bay have contributed to a delicious cornucopia of foods and culinary traditions. Explore the state’s signature flavors, both familiar and unique, from the Appalachians of western Maryland to the Chesapeake’s Eastern Shore.
Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing that offers a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon for a series of workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. This session focuses on 20th-century African American artist Alma Thomas’ colorful compositions.
Join Historic Royal Palaces guide Siobhan Clarke for a virtual look inside four great historic royal palaces. Using maps, paintings, photographs, and music, Clarke introduces the splendid corridors of royal power and pleasure.
The 2021 edition of the popular Philadelphia Flower Show is the first to be held outdoors in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park. Join Nicole Juday Rhoads, director of engagement at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, for a presentation on the Philadelphia Flower Show’s history and a preview of the new show themed "Habitat: Nature's Masterpiece.”
Met Cloisters curator Barbara Drake Boehm provides a fresh interpretation of the complex imagery woven into the iconic medieval Unicorn Tapestries. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Examine the development of the Corning Museum of Glass, now the largest museum in the world devoted to the subject, in a virtual look at its collections, library, Innovation Center, and other aspects of this world-class resource.
As ruler of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, Sultan Mehmed II viewed himself as a new Roman emperor. To reflect that power and prestige he required an appropriate symbol: the magnificent Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. Join Serif Yenen, a tour guide and guidebook author, for an exploration of the dazzling palace—including its fabled hidden sections—and stories about the lifestyles of the sultans who inhabited it. (World Art History certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
There are songs so familiar they seem part of us. In this series with writer and filmmaker Sara Lukinson, find out how some our favorites from the American songbook came to be and how they speak to generations of listeners. This session highlights This Land Is Your Land and Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Join Linette Dutari, associate director of communications at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute live from Panama for an engaging program about STRI’s ground-breaking research on tropical forests and marine ecosystems and their astounding biodiversity.
The Mouse rules! Over the last nine decades, the Walt Disney Company has transformed every facet of the entertainment business. Author Brian Rose examines the secrets behind the development of this still-growing powerhouse, tracing the remarkable evolution of a small cartoon studio in 1923 into the most powerful force in worldwide media today.
You can’t visit Italy right now—but you can join art historian and culinary expert Elaine Trigiani at her farmhouse in Tuscany for a virtual exploration of Calabria—the toe of Italy’s boot—through a vivid look at its artistic and culinary heritage. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
In the 11th century, Pisa was a thriving city and a maritime power. Lucca later emerged as one of the region’s trading centers. Join Renaissance art historian Elaine Ruffolo for an incisive look at these cities’ influence on the development of art and architecture in the Mediterranean region. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Discover the visual splendor and spiritual power of Byzantine art with art historian Judy Scott Feldman, from the jewel-like mosaics of Ravenna to the dazzling domed interior of Hagia Sophia and the penetrating stare of holy figures in Orthodox icons. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
There are songs so familiar they seem part of us. In this series with writer and filmmaker Sara Lukinson, find out how some of our favorites from the American songbook came to be and how they speak to generations of listeners. This session highlights Summertime and My Favorite Things.
The artist Raphael arrived in Rome in 1508 and brought a subtle revolution in art and architecture to the Eternal City. Join art historian Elaine Ruffolo for a virtual visit to the papal apartments—Stanze—Raphael painted, and revel in his virtuosity. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Historian and scholar Michele L. Simms-Burton, a former professor of African-American studies at Howard University examines the creators and the works that came alive during one of the most creative and intellectually productive eras in African American history, the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.
Art historian Aneta Georgevskia-Shine discusses ways of approaching Hieronymus Bosch (1450–1516), a unique artist who continues to fascinate us with the fantastic imagery and densely symbolic messages of his compositions. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
The Borgias’ name has become synonymous with blind ambition, murder, rape, incest, and torture in Renaissance Italy. But there was something more to know about them, and art historian Elizabeth Lev provides a broader context to the powerful family’s story.
In this class open to all levels, students discover the versatility and fluidity of working in watercolors while exploring the functional and aesthetic elements of color and design found in plants.
Impressionism is one of the most popular styles in the history of art. Art historian Janetta Rebold Benton presents intimate looks at four luminaries of the impressionist school. (World Art History Certificate elective: Earn 1 credit)
As the capital of the western outpost of the Roman Empire in its last days, then of the occidental provinces of the Byzantine Empire, Ravenna offered a refuge of luxury and splendor rising above relentless seas of barbarism. Art historian Elaine Ruffolo explores the city’s extraordinary early Christian-era structures and what they reveal about an important period of European cultural history. (World Art History Certificate elective: ½ credit)
At its height, Renaissance Florence was a center of enormous wealth, power, and influence. Its often-violent political scene was dominated by rich mercantile families, the most famous being the Medici. Renaissance art historian Elaine Ruffolo traces the family’s influence on the city’s political, economic, and cultural history. (World Art History Certificate elective, ½ credit)
