Smithsonian Associates Program Series “America’s Gilded Age” Showcases the Era’s Art, Architecture, History and Design
Smithsonian Associates explores the compelling and complex period between the years of 1870 and 1900, known as the “Gilded Age,” in a new series of educational programs beginning Sept. 9 and continuing into next year. America’s Gilded Age was a time of great cultural and social transformation. The Civil War was over, an entrepreneurial spirit was stoking the economic engine and the newly wealthy were remaking Old Europe’s cultural traditions—with an American accent.
Programs in the series explore the many facets of America’s Gilded Age—from vacation “cottages” in Newport and glittering jewels by Cartier and Tiffany to public works in the cities, and from trends in dining and entertaining to the Arts and Crafts movement, begun in reaction to the era’s material excesses. The Gilded Age’s art, architecture and design did more than signal the arrival of a monied class seeking to define itself through its tastes. It also reflected an America that sought to redefine its cultural identity on its own terms as it confidently approached a new century. For more information, the public may call 202-633-3030 or visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.
Programs in 2016 include:
From Swamp to Swank: A Walk Through Washington’s Gilded Age
Morning Tours: Friday, Sept. 9, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 24, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Tours meets at Heurich House, 1307 New Hampshire Ave. N.W.
A guided walk through the Dupont Circle neighborhood provides glimpses of Washington’s social and architectural emergence from the post-Civil War years into the Gilded Age. Participants pass grand homes and visit other residences of the era, including Heurich House and Anderson House.
Extravagant Elegance: The Gilded Age
All-day Program: Saturday, Sept. 10; 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
Art historian Bonita Billman examines the opulent art, architecture, fashion and interior design of the American upper crust between 1870 and 1910, and also explores the dramatic distance between their lives and those on the other end of the social and economic scales.
Fairy Gardens and Victorian Fancies: Miniature Landscape Workshop With Smithsonian Gardens
Studio Arts Workshop: Wednesday, Sept. 21 or Sept. 28; 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
The Victorian-era craze for designing whimsical small-scaled gardens worthy of fairy visitors is blooming again. Participants create whimsical, small-scaled gardens guided by horticulturists from Smithsonian Gardens in this hands-on session.
Murals, Morals, and Krazy Kat: How Gilded-Age Artists Told America’s Story
Evening Program: Thursday, Sept. 22; 6:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
Art historian Theodore Barrow examines the work of various muralists who played a key role in interpreting and magnifying stories and themes of American history in the Gilded Age. He also discusses artists like Winsor McCay and George Herriman, whose work reflected an entertaining and populist version of America’s story at that time.
Painting Lessons From American Artists of the Gilded Age
8-Session Weekend Studio Arts Course: Saturday, Oct. 15 to Dec. 10; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (no class Nov. 26)
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
Participants learn how to bring the signature techniques of Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent and Cecelia Beaux to their own work as they study their methods and their paintings.
8-Session Afternoon Studio Arts Course: Tuesday, Oct. 18 to Dec. 13; 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. (no class Nov. 22)
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
Participants create a reproduction of a Gilded Age mosaic design using a variety of stained glass that mimics the brilliant iridescent Favrile glass developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
A Gilded Age Bouquet: Creating Literary-Inspired Arrangements with Sarah von Pollaro
3-Session Evening Course: Tuesday, Oct. 18 to Nov. 1; 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
Gilded Age novelists and poets eloquently drew on flowers and floral imagery in their writing. Floral designer Sarah von Pollaro leads a series in which works by three of the era’s authors provide the inspiration for creating centerpiece-sized arrangements.
Seductive Paris: American Painters in the City of Light, 1855 to 1920
All-Day Program: Saturday, Nov. 5; 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
In the late 19th century, Paris beckoned young aspiring American painters like Whistler and Sargent. Art historian Bonita Billman highlights Paris’s ascension as the center of the art world, and the French masters who trained American artists and sent them home brimming with creative new ideas.
Jewelers of the Gilded Age: Tiffany and Cartier
Evening Program: Monday, Nov. 7; 6:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
Fine-jewelry designers, such as Louis Comfort Tiffany and Louis-Francois Cartier, rose to prominence by creating extravagant and elegant baubles for the moneyed denizens of the Gilded Age—and the generations that followed. Art historian Stefanie Walker provides a guide to their glittering legacies.
Studio Arts Workshop: Saturday, Nov. 12; 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
Participants can add sparkle to their holidays or brighten the winter months by making an easier-than-it-looks beaded glass ball.
Studio Arts Workshop: Sunday, Nov. 13; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
Participants can step back into the Gilded Age as they create their own statement necklace in the iconic festoon style featuring draped chains, crystal and gemstones.
Studio Arts Workshop: Sunday, Nov. 13; 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
Participants can capture the spirit of elegant Gilded Age jewelry as they create two pairs of earrings made with Swarovski crystal, pearls and precious-metal chain and wire.
I’ll Take a Manhattan: Cocktails of the Gilded Age
Evening program: Tuesday, Nov. 15; 6:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
National Museum of the American Indian’s Mitsitam Café
During the Gilded Age, a proliferation of new cocktails ushered in a new breed of celebrity: the bartender. Author and cocktail historian Philip Greene leads a spirited discussion of the cocktails of the Gilded Age and participants sample four delicious cocktails of the era.
Programs in 2017 include:
New York City in the Gilded Age
Date TBD
George Scheper, senior lecturer of advanced academic programs at John Hopkins University, provides a comprehensive cultural history of New York City in the Gilded Age.
Gilded Age: Scandal and Corruption
Date TBD
From Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall to the rise of the Robber barons to the Credit Mobilier scandal, this program gives an in-depth look at the scandal and corruption of the Gilded Age.
Gilded Age: Interior Design and Landscape Design
Jan. 25
Gilded Age interiors and landscapes offered splendor both inside and out. Participants learn about the wallpapers, rugs and décor that played a role in creating luxurious interiors during the Gilded Age and how exterior landscapes created elegant outdoor rooms.
Gilded Age: Dining and Entertaining
March 2
This evening event, which includes tastings, provides an overview of the food, manners, dining customs and parlor games of the Gilded Age.
A Look at the Arts and Crafts Movement
March 25
Art historian Bonita Billman provides a detailed look at the Arts and Crafts movement that grew out of the excesses of the early Gilded Age.
An Evening With Mark Twain
May 9
This evening event explores the life, legacy and wit of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who, under the pen name of Mark Twain, left an indelible mark on the American landscape, and who coined the phrase “Gilded Age.”
Gilded Age: Book Discussion
4 Sessions, Dates TBD
This book discussion series includes Gilded Age authors such as Edith Wharton, Kate Chopin, Henry James and Stephen Crane.
Smithsonian Associates—the largest museum-based education program in the world—produces vibrant educational and cultural programming inspired by the Smithsonian’s research, collections and exhibitions. Each year more than 750 individual programs are presented to spark creativity and excite learning in people of all ages in the Washington, D.C., area and across the country. Smithsonian Associates brings the Smithsonian to life through seminars, performances, lectures, studio arts classes and local and regional study tours, as well as many engaging programs for children, including performances and summer day camps.
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SI-434-2016
Lauren Lyons
202-633-8614
