Experience the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Explore new ways to contemplate the gifts of winter inspired by the vibrant Winter Landscape by Wassily Kandinsky, an artist who embraced the transcendent power of color. Designed for writers of all levels, and for the curious, the workshop invites you to look outwardly at art and to look inwardly through writing.
At Christmastime in 1914, months after World War I began, hundreds of soldiers in Flanders spontaneously stopped fighting one another, left their trenches, and shook hands in no man’s land. For a short time, British and German soldiers barely fired a shot, helped bury one another’s dead, and even played soccer together. Historian and battlefield guide Simon Jones tells the story of what happened in Flanders during the Christmas season in 1914.
While shooting for his book Working the Water, photographer Jay Fleming traveled up and down the Chesapeake documenting all facets of the region’s commercial fisheries and the people and businesses that depend on the harvest. Join him for a vividly illustrated program that brings the bay's iconic seafood industry into focus.
From sleigh bells and sugarplums to the mystical beauties of the Nativity, every December our senses are filled with the music of Christmas. In a 2-session celebration of the festive season, popular speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin explores how classical Western composers created a canon of both secular and sacred experiences that are now deeply rooted in our collective seasonal expectations.
In the history of Western civilization, few peoples are as important and yet as mysterious as the Huns. They were only powerful for some 100 years, yet they played a critical role in the collapse of the western Roman empire. Historian David Gwynn covers the full breadth of the Hun world from the Chinese steppe to Attila’s invasion of France and Italy.
The Smithsonian Institution has shaped the character of the National Mall since 1855. Washington’s most beloved museums offer a panorama of American architecture, with each unique building a study all its own. Carolyn Muraskin of DC Design Tours investigates the style, design, controversy, construction, and fascinating backstory behind these celebrated museums. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
The Christmas story has inspired some of the most affectionate, gentle, and intimate images in the history of Western art. How the biblical narrative was portrayed in Renaissance art dramatically evolved over time, mirroring changes in society and shifts in religious attitude. Moving from a narrow, sacred vision of mother and child to a full-blown cast of humans and animals, Renaissance art historian Elaine Ruffolo offers a lavishly illustrated exploration of the Christmas story as told through painting. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for five online workshops that spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Judith Leyster’ Self-Portrait.
Art historian Elaine Ruffolo leads a virtual stroll through the streets, piazzas, and alleyways of Renaissance Florence that served as vibrant arenas for social encounters, business transactions, political discourse, and everyday interactions. Discover how ordinary Florentines lived, from the organization of their society to the intimate details of their homes—and the connections between our lives today and theirs of over 500 years ago. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for five online workshops that spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Hale Woodruff’s Georgia Landscape.
Christopher Skutela, author and tour guide, leads you on a visual journey to places in Poland that are off the beaten path. Among the sites he reveals are smaller cities and towns with intriguing stories, such as Kazimierz Dolny and Katowice; the Tatra mountains, whose heights attract skiers and climbers; and the extensive canals and rivers that connect more than 2,000 lakes in Masurian Lake Land.
Art historian Laura Morelli unfolds the remarkable story of how an ambitious 20-something sculptor turned a discarded chunk of marble into a masterpiece, singlehandedly transforming Florence and the history of art. She examines how Michelangelo merged a biblical hero and an ancient god to create an image custom-made for the aspirations of the Italian Renaissance. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
The illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Milan, married at 10 to a dissolute papal nephew, Caterina Sforza seemed destined to victimhood, yet she turned the tables on popes, princes, and the army of France alike. Art historian Liz Lev looks at how Caterina Sforza's contemporaries tried to capture the paradoxes of this virago, as she was dubbed, reconciling her courtly grace and seductive beauty with her fierce defense of family and property.
Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for five online workshops that spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Hughie Lee-Smith's Confrontation.
Since the beginning of the talkies, directors have turned to classical music for their soundtracks. Whether it’s Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Richard Strauss, Mascagni, Puccini, or Bach, opuses of almost every famous composer have added emotional depth to hundreds of films. With clips, commentary, and piano demonstrations, concert pianist and movie fanatic Rachel Franklin delves into the magic of some of the greatest film music ever composed (even when it was unintentional).
The ability to derive meaning from what we see is an essential skill in a culture saturated with images. Once you understand this visual language, reading images, particularly art, is not only simpler but infinitely more gratifying. Using works from the history of art and from popular culture, art historian Nancy G. Heller focuses on how art communicates, how to analyze and interpret it, and how we can see it as a cultural product that reveals something about the society that produced it. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)
Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for five online workshops that spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Mary Cassatt’s The Boating Party.
Franz Josef Haydn (1732–1809) proved that music could be both serious and joyful—at the same time. In an engaging series, classical music and opera expert Saul Lilienstein demonstrates the range of Haydn’s innovative genius in almost every field of musical endeavor. Each session is highlighted by music recordings and video performances of Haydn’s great works.
Turmeric gets attention for its health-giving properties and is treasured as a culinary spice, lending a base of flavor and brilliant pop of yellow to dishes around the world. Writer and spice expert Eleanor Ford covers the facts, myths, stories, and properties of turmeric and offers guidance on how to use this spice to its best effect.
Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for five online workshops that spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Berthe Morisot’s The Mother and Sister of the Artist.
Yoga can be the self-care component in your healthcare prescription: a lifestyle medicine that promotes overall well-being. In an interactive day, certified yoga therapist Linda Lang shares how yoga can be used to prevent illness and injury; help manage your relationship with chronic conditions; boost vitality and mental clarity; and enhance pain management.
Discover the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Inspired by paintings of the visionary Belorussian-born French artist Marc Chagall and by poetry across time, take the opportunity to slow down, look closely, and reflect to explore love as an animating force in our lives. Designed for writers of all levels, the workshop invites you to look outward at paintings and poetry and to look inward through writing.
In the heart of the Renaissance, love and marriage were celebrated with unparalleled fervor, resulting in the creation of some of history's most iconic artworks. Bonds of love of another sort were represented during this period as well in erotic drawings and prints. Art historian Elaine Ruffolo illuminates the tradition of commemorating love and marriage through masterpieces by artists including Giulio Romano, Lorenzo Lotto, and Titian. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Anatolia’s colorful history has left a windfall of riches—ancient ruins, ornate Byzantine churches, supremely elegant mosques, and splendid Ottoman palaces. In an illustrated series, Serif Yenen, a Turkish-born tour guide and author, highlights the heritage and splendor of ancient Turkey through an examination of some of its cultural gems.
The disenchantment of modern times is often reflected in art that mires the spirit in darkness. But artists of other eras chose to confront the dark side of their world with the compelling force of wonder despite the inequality, poverty, and violence that surrounded them. Art historian Liz Lev highlights how creators like Giotto, Bernini, and Monet wrestled with their own catastrophic times to instill hope and spark amazement. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
For nearly a century, Hollywood has been captivated by the allure of the Broadway musical. Most of the Great White Way’s biggest hits have made the transfer to the movie theater, though sometimes the journey has yielded damaged goods. Media historian Brian Rose looks at this colorful history, including glorious reinterpretations like Milos Forman’s Hair and Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story.
Is it possible that Neoclassicism, with its focus on order and the enduring values of Greece and Rome, can co-exist with Romanticism, with its emphasis on exotic scenes, and studies of sublime nature? Yes it can—and did—in the 18th- and 19th-century art world. Art historian Joseph Paul Cassar explores the artistic and cultural highlights of Neoclassicism and Romanticism from the Enlightenment to the Age of Revolution and the movements’ lasting impact on Western artists. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
The oeuvre of pioneering French Modernist Henri Matisse—created across more than five decades—includes a wide range of materials and styles, from exquisite tiny etchings to enormous cast-bronze sculpture to designs for religious vestments and stained-glass windows. Art historian Nancy G. Heller examines how all of Matisse’s diverse output shares certain critical elements of his aesthetic philosophy and why his work continues to fascinate today’s creative minds. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Working primarily in New York City in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, artists George Bellows, William Glackens, Robert Henri, George Luks, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan realistically depicted what they saw. Their paintings didn’t glamorize or prettify but captured the city with its gritty underbelly exposed. Art historian Bonita Billman explores the unvarnished truths they revealed about modern life. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
