Museum Made

The Rise of America's Art Museums

Learn how American art museums - through timing, luck, and lots of money - became international leaders of the world's best art collections. Uncover how museums grew to become America's cultural guardians. 

(This pairs nicely with my new BOOK!)

Great American Homes

From the famous to the obscure, traditional to modern, American homes reflect the influential individuals who commissioned them. Take a virtual tour inside some of America's greatest historic house museums. 

Great Homes of Paris

Most visitors to Paris, France focus on its most well-known landmarks and attractions, the city's historic house museums offer an immersive perspective into the famed City of Light. From mansions to modernist apartments, from artists to architects, it's time to go beyond the Louvre and uncover these charming local institutions like never before.

Versailles - The Eternal Palace

The Palace of Versailles is the physical manifestation of King Louis XIV's 'absolute power.' See the palace of the Sun in a whole new light. This lecture explores why millions of visitors continue to be entranced and intrigued by the world's most influential palace as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

Illusions in Art

The Confounding History of Trompe l’oeil

Artists have long employed illusions to create visual expressions that have allured viewers for centuries. Trompe l’oeil, French for 'deceive the eye’ continues to be an art technique that can mean many things. Be prepared to be tricked and enjoy uncovering the illusions! 

Ghoulish Delight 

Disney's Haunted Mansion

Disney’s Haunted Mansion is a theme park classic and design icon. This popular attraction continues to inspire and be enjoyed by millions of visitors every year. Learn about the development, architecture, and story behind this thrilling dark ride. 

Dollhouses, gingerbread, models, and miniatures can offer serious historical, architectural, and cultural insights. From fantastical playthings to forensic maquettes, scale down into the big little world of things made in miniature. 

Depictions of food in art and culture have long engaged and nourished people for millennia. From ancient Pompeian mosaics to Warhol’s Campbell’s famous Soup Cans, food found in art can be contemplative to surprising. 

Josiah Wedgwood was a master potter and entrepreneur. His keen understanding of Enlightened tastes and ability to produce goods in tune with fashionable trends solidified his contribution to British design. 

Understanding modern and contemporary art can be intimidating and frustrating to anyone without an art background. With an open mind, anyone can discover (and enjoy!) art on their own terms and personal tastes.

From Michangelo to Mapplethorpe, the male body has been expressed artistically for centuries. Exploring issues of masculinity, gender, and sexuality, men in art have inspired and challenged viewers. Consider and reflect on the male form in this dynamic lecture, which is formatted for mature audiences only because of subject matter and nudity. 

Martha Stewart’s impact has become indelible upon American design and culture. The core foundation of understanding Martha’s legacy is her firm convictions behind her magazine and the products she and her company developed. Not a biography, this lecture explores the design principles that made Martha Stewart an American legacy. 

In development