Try doing a text search for your program, or browse our programs using the calendar and program type filters.
Learn to embrace and celebrate the unpredictability, versatility, and beauty of watercolor. Class discussions cover supplies; color theory, palettes and pigment control; and exercises and experiments to achieve different effects.
The teacher introduces students to works of Degas, Renoir, Cassatt, and other masters of pastel. Instruction in a variety of techniques helps you on your way to an inspired pastel art adventure.
Exploring classic winter scenes, strategize the best techniques to capture the season’s unique qualities. Then go outside and take photos to share for review.
Artistic patronage was an important tool in a Renaissance pope’s arsenal, employed both to display power and to communicate and persuade. Art historian Liz Lev looks at the fruitful connection between popes and art from the halcyon days of 15th-century Popes Sixtus IV and Julius II to the Enlightenment era, examining a variety of masterworks including the Laocoön statue and frescoes by Botticelli and Raphael. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Drawing on one of the greatest Post-Impressionist and early modern art collections in the world, Barnes Foundation educator Penny Hansen guides a five-part series of online tours that examine the paintings of artists who helped shape a revolutionary period in the history of art. High-definition Deep Zoom technology provides close-up views of their canvases. This session highlights Henri Matisse.
The Vikings have fascinated people for centuries, but new discoveries have transformed the view of their world. Archaeology and modern scientific techniques have revealed that Vikings were as good at trading as they were at raiding. In a daylong seminar, historian Jennifer Paxton traces how Vikings pioneered in creating an economic empire that reached from the far western Atlantic Ocean to the markets of Constantinople and Baghdad.
In an afternoon of artistic experimentation designed to strengthen creative muscles and deepen skills in visual expression, explore five distinct modes of visual thinking—memory, observation, imagination, narrative, and experimentation—to complete eight expressive journaling exercises using the marking and mapping approach.
The 49th season of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society features musical masterpieces from the early 17th century to the middle of the 20th, played on some of the world’s most highly prized musical instruments in an 8-concert series. This concert features music of Dvorák with the Smithsonian Academy Orchestra.
While Romare Bearden worked in many mediums from oil and watercolor to printmaking, he is best known for his mixed media collages and photomontages. After looking at Bearden’s works of art, students try their hand at creating Bearden-inspired mixed-media compositions.
Great shoots start with great locations—and Washington, D.C., offers plenty of unbeatable visual inspiration. Learn to capture this vibrant city and sharpen your way of thinking about shooting outdoors as you deploy a minimal amount of equipment and a lot of fresh perspective.
