Lunchtime with a Curator: Decorative Arts Design Series

Save when you purchase the Lunchtime with a Curator fall series!

Join curator Elizabeth Lay, a regular lecturer on the topics of fashion, textiles, and American furniture, for an image-rich lunchtime lecture series focusing on decorative arts and design topics.

Session Information

Collectors and Their Collections
Insights for the 21st-Century Collector of Decorative Arts

When Lorenzo de Medici died in 1492, he had assembled a vast collection of paintings, books, textiles, precious metals, and hardstone. His collection became an example of Renaissance material culture and evidence of what wealth, knowledge, culture, and power looked like during the period.

Today we have ever more access to information and to competition. In the face of this global purchasing power, we are challenged to reconsider what drives the pursuit of collecting and our roles as collectors. What do our collections tell us about our time and values—and ourselves? How are collections used today to leverage power? And how does the rearrangement of a collection change its message? Join Elizabeth Rochette and Lay in conversation as they examine this complex and fascinating topic.

Rochette is the co-founder of Arte-Case, a design sourcing company in Paris. She was a European furniture specialist at Christie’s New York and an assistant curator at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. She is currently an adjunct faculty member in the GW Corcoran Smithsonian M.A. program in decorative arts and design history and in the Parsons Paris M.A. program in the history of design and curatorial studies.

Additional Sessions

• October 4 Mid-century Modern Furniture Connoisseurship: How To Spot the Knock-offs
• October 18 Acquisition: 20th Century Decorative Arts at Auction

Patron Information

• If you register multiple individuals, you will be asked to supply individual names and email addresses so they can receive a Zoom link email. Please note that if there is a change in program schedule or a cancellation, we will notify you via email, and it will be your responsibility to notify other registrants in your group.
• Unless otherwise noted, registration for streaming programs typically closes two hours prior to the start time on the date of the program.
• Once registered, patrons should receive an automatic email confirmation from CustomerService@SmithsonianAssociates.org.
• Separate Zoom link information will be emailed closer to the date of the program. If you do not receive your Zoom link information 24 hours prior to the start of the program, please email Customer Service for assistance.
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