Lectures

Staff Lecture Series

Trade card, A.C. Yates & Co., Philadelphia,1882. Private Collection.

“The Little Founder Who Could: William Penn in Myth, Memory, and Material Culture”

Thursday,  June 6

12:15–1:15 pm, Rotunda

Winterthur’s collection holds urns, chairs, prints, toy tea sets, and boxes among other objects depicting or commemorating William Penn and the founding era of Pennsylvania. These material goods served important functions in creating Pennsylvania origin stories that are part true, part imagined. Catharine Dann Roeber, curatorial intern at Winterthur, will discuss the processes of relic making and uncover the role such objects have played in crafting a public history for Pennsylvania from the 17th century into today. Members free.  Included with admission.

Tom Savage, Director of Museum Affairs

"Winterthur Collectors Circle's Travels Abroad"

Thursday, July 11

12:15–1:15 pm

Join Thomas Savage, director of museum affairs, and Matthew Thurlow, major gifts officer, Winterthur, for an inside look at the group's recent travels. Members free. Included with admission.

"Connecting Art, Science, and Kids!"

Thursday, July 25

12:15–1:15 pm

Come hear about our recent endeavors to expose kids, teachers, and parents to the amazing world of art conservation. Members free. Included with admission.

Common Destinations Lecture Series

 

“The Mapmaker’s Deception: Samuel Lewis and the Art of Illusion”

Thursday, May 30

12:15–1:15 pm, Rotunda

Join Wendy Bellion, associate professor, department of art history, University of Delaware, for a lively discussion on Samuel Lewis and the art of illusion. Members free.  Included with admission.

Margaret Pritchard, photo courtesy of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

“To Decorate, Educate, and Elevate: Maps as Symbols of Status and Gender”
 

Thursday, June 27

12:15–1:15 pm, Rotunda

Maps, charts, atlases, and globes were considered important symbols of enlightened gentleman. As important as they were for documenting new discoveries, promoting settlement, and recording boundaries, they were equally regarded for the intellectual aura that they invoked. They were hung on walls as a means to visually distinguish learned men from those who were less educated. Documentary evidence supports the presence of maps in spaces within the house that were most associated with men. Maps were also included on artists’ canvases and engravers’ plates to suggest male interests and to reinforce their enlightened nature. However, cartographic representations on two-dimensional art were occasionally used to reflect a negative connotation toward women. This talk with Margaret Pritchard, curator of prints, maps, and wallpaper, Colonial Williamsburg, will discuss how maps were used decoratively as well as symbolically. Members free. Included with admission.