Smithsonian Associates Presents September Program Highlights

August 29, 2019
News Release
Social Media Share Tools
Rennaissance-era feast

Dining with da Vinci: Feasts of the Imagination
Sept. 9 6:45 p.m.

The September issue of the Smithsonian Associates’ program guide features a variety of educational and cultural programs, including seminars, lectures, studio arts classes, performances for adults and children and local and regional study tours. Highlights this month include:

Dining with da Vinci: Feasts of the Imagination

Monday, Sept. 9; 6:45 p.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center

He’s known as one of the world’s most prolific creators, but there is an overlooked role that is worth considering when celebrating the genius of Leonardo da Vinci: Renaissance foodie. Food historian Francine Segan sets da Vinci in the context of the culinary culture and manners of the Italian Renaissance and explores his appetites for a life he richly savored.

The Peacock Room in Context

Wednesday, Sept. 11; 6:45 p.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center

Long considered one of the Smithsonian’s treasures, James McNeill Whistler’s Peacock Room is an icon of aesthetic design. Kerry Roeder, a curatorial fellow in American art at the Freer|Sackler, and an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University, discusses the scandalous history of the room and the challenges posed by the museum’s attempt to re-create the artist’s original vision of the space.

A War Correspondent at Gettysburg: A Reporter's Mission, a Father's Search

Saturday, Sept. 14; 8:45 a.m.
Tour departs from the Holiday Inn Capitol at 550 C St. S.W.

Author Chuck Raasch, whose book Imperfect Union covers the story of 19-year-old Bayard Wilkeson, a missing Union artillery officer, and his father Sam, a reporter for The New York Times who spent three days on the battlefield in search of his son, leads an all-day tour of the sites at Gettysburg National Military Park where the stories of father and son unfolded.

Write a Novel in a Month

Saturday, Sept. 28; 9:30 a.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center

Each November, thousands of writers around the world sign up for the National Novel Writing Month Challenge: drafting at least 50,000 words of their novel in 30 days and nights of literary abandon. A full day seminar led by writing coach and author Kathryn Johnson allows participants to take up the challenge or just develop a solid base to begin or continue a novel at their own pace.

 

# # #

SI-353-2019