The Arts & History   

Life in the Middle Ages was never easy, but how did people--especially those in northern regions--survive the season of ice and snow? What did they do during dark winter days and nights in extreme temperatures? This lecture will examine the realities of wintry life, including a discussion of new research techniques involving ice cores to understand the medieval climate, and how the Little Ice Age impacted global climates.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting.

Looking to brush up on your high school or college Spanish in an enjoyable way? Is your Spanish advanced beginner to intermediate level? Join us for a screening and discussion of Valentín, an Argentinean film that will win your heart. We will watch the film with English subtitles, and you will discover why critic Roger Ebert praised the 8-year-old protagonist Valentín ("brave" in Spanish) for living up to his name. Then, we’ll have a guided discussion in Spanish about the characters, themes, and favorite scenes. Don’t worry about making mistakes—our instructor will be there to help. Come for a fun evening of film, conversation, and palomitas (popcorn)!

The Fuller Building, more commonly known as the Flatiron Building, was never the tallest in Manhattan, but it was one of the first to be built with a steel skeleton. It was so skinny on its north end that men and women of 1902 thought it might topple over. Learn other fun facts (like the phrase “23 skidoo” was coined on its corner) in this one-hour virtual lecture with tour guide Ginny Poleman.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting.

Are you watching them, or are they watching you? Join us for a series of screenings of classics from the Master of Suspense. We’ll traverse decades and continents across three nights as we discuss the life, career, and influence of Alfred Hitchcock. On January 14, we’ll watch what is possibly his first certifiable classic, The 39 Steps, then on February 11, Cary Grant will take you to Rio in Notorious, and on March 11, join us in the dining car for Strangers on a Train. The funny thing is, someone who looks exactly like you has already signed up…

Register for the series and receive a 10% discount.

Check out the three classes that are part of this series:

• Tuesday, Jan. 14: Hitchcock's The 39 Steps With The Picture House
• Tuesday, Feb. 11: Hitchcock's Notorious With The Picture House
• Tuesday, Mar. 11: Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train With The Picture House

 

Espionage, danger, suspense: This 1935 thriller follows Richard Hannay as he’s swept into a deadly game of cat and mouse after a chance encounter with a spy. Set in the misty highlands and bustling streets of Britain, this early Hitchcock classic is known for its rapid pacing and witty dialogue. Join us to watch and discuss the origins of Hitchcock’s iconic style and his journey toward becoming the Master of Suspense. Will you come or will you be an "innocent bystander"?

Click here to receive a 10% discount when you register for the three-part series, which includes screenings of three of Hitchcock's classic suspense films on three different evenings.

Check out the other two classes that are part of this series:

• Tuesday, Feb. 11: Hitchcock's Notorious With The Picture House
• Tuesday, Mar. 11: Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train With The Picture House

Founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great, the Hermitage Museum is one of the greatest universal museums in the world. The Empress brought together art collections from all over Europe, proving that Russia could compete with the art and class of the West. This program explores the history of the palace-turned-art-museum, the staterooms open for visiting, the famous Malachite room, an unusual automation clock, and even a small Ancient Egyptian gallery. Learn about the stunning neoclassical architecture, period rooms, and art from all over the world in this magnificent museum.

The buzzword “sustainability” has taken our world by storm, but is this really such a new concept? This lecture will look back at medieval farming, animal husbandry, manor life, and the social connections that all came together to wrest the most from the land—with each next harvest, herd, or industry in mind. Exploring the heritage of sustainability from a thousand years ago might just give us some insight into our own endeavors.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting.

Recently returned to Rome from their “captivity” in Avignon, France, and desperate to assert their role as spiritual and temporal leader of the universal Catholic Church, ruler of the Papal States, and “Pontifex Maximus,” Renaissance Popes began to rationalize, fortify, and beautify the city of Rome. But they needed a place where all of these roles could be articulated and performed. Sixtus IV built the Sistine or Great Chapel to serve these functions in its rituals, orations, and most importantly decorations. Before Michelangelo, Botticelli and other Tuscans were painting the parallel histories of Moses and Christ, lawgiver and grace giver, the portraits of Early Christian popes as prefigurations of Sixtus and his successors, and a Star filled ceiling, an invitation to contemplate the heavens as the final goal and end of a Pope’s reign. Follow the cany political gestures and deeply felt spiritual and personal themes of Sixtus as he inaugurates a great period of Papal beautification and glorification of the city of Rome, Urbis et Orbis (“for the city and the world”).

Intrigue, romance, betrayal: Alfred Hitchcock brings Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman together in a thrilling postwar spy romance. Set against the glamorous yet dangerous backdrop of Rio de Janeiro, the film explores the perilous secrets and tangled loyalties of espionage. With Hitchcock’s masterful direction and a mesmerizing cast, Notorious is suspenseful and seductive. Join us to dive deep into this "very strange love affair" and discuss how Hitchcock’s storytelling continues to captivate generations.

Click here to receive a 10% discount when you register for the three-part series, which includes screenings of three of Hitchcock's classic suspense films on three different evenings.

Check out the other two classes that are part of this series:

• Tuesday, Jan. 14: Hitchcock's The 39 Steps With The Picture House
• Tuesday, Mar. 11: Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train With The Picture House

 

In this season of love, join us as we explore various aspects of temptation in medieval culture—both as a concept and a practice. Beginning with a closer look at the fruit that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, we’ll also get acquainted with some medieval celebrity couples and lovers who threw caution to the wind.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting.

Created from the massive art collection of the House de Medici, the Uffizi Gallery is one of the most visited museums in the world. One of the most prominent Italian museums, it holds a priceless collection from the Renaissance as well as classical Ancient Rome. This program digs into the fascinating and surprising history of the building, the ancient Roman town beneath it and its archaeological secrets, and the private passageway used just for the Medici family, and it also looks into the surrounding area.

The old Farley Post Office is one of the last vestiges of McKim, Mead, & White’s architectural designs in the old Penn Station neighborhood. See how this Beaux Arts beauty is being painstakingly conserved to its former glory, and how the rest of the building was repurposed as the new, modern train hall, honoring the original Penn Station. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, states: “Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) reimagined European landscape painting by portraying nature as a setting for profound spiritual and emotional encounters.” Organized to honor the 250th anniversary of Friedrich’s birth, the Met’s exhibition, Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature (Feb. 8-May 11, 2025), is the first comprehensive exhibition of the artist held in the United States. This presentation will also include works by Friedrich’s contemporaries to create a comparative experience of Friedrich’s work and the extremely influential movement of Romanticism that swept across Europe in the 19th century.

The Vietnam War is unique because the key decisions were made in a single room where most of the conversations were recorded. In this 2-session class, mixing public events with excerpts from tapes most Americans have never heard before, Jess Velona explores this window into history, through such turning points as the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, Johnson's tortured decision to escalate the war, his dismissal of antiwar protesters as "mentally diseased," and his belated recognition that his presidency had been destroyed by the war. Then, listen as Johnson discovers, at the end of the 1968 campaign, that his new bid for peace is being sabotaged by candidate Nixon himself. Once Nixon takes office, explore his struggle to contain the wave of protests set off by the invasion of Cambodia, culminating in Kent State. Finally, listen as Nixon responds to the shock of the Pentagon Papers leak by ordering illegal acts and forming the Plumbers, setting the stage for the Watergate scandal that would consume his presidency.

The role of women’s lives in society from the 18th century to the 19th Amendment is highlighted in popular song. Playing mountain and hammered dulcimers and guitar, Linda sings broadsides, laments, love songs, work songs, parlor melodies, and suffrage anthems. The songs reflect the changing status of women in society. Interspersed with the music are excerpts from women’s diaries and letters. Among the stories included will be those of Deborah Samson, who fought as a soldier in the Patriot army in the Revolutionary War battles in White Plains and Tarrytown, and the New York and New Jersey women who led the fight for Women’s Suffrage.

Obsession, deception, fate: Hold onto your seat for one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most diabolical thrillers. When two strangers meet on a train, an innocent conversation about their “problems” turns into a deadly pact—or does it? With one of the most gripping climaxes in cinema history, this 1951 film explores themes of fate, guilt, and the dark side of human nature. We "have a theory you should do everything before you die," including joining us for an unforgettable evening, as we delve into the suspense and psychology that define Hitchcock’s chilling style.

Click here to receive a 10% discount when you register for the three-part series, which includes screenings of three of Hitchcock's classic suspense films on three different evenings.

Check out the other two classes that are part of this series:

• Tuesday, Jan. 14: Hitchcock's The 39 Steps With The Picture House
• Tuesday, Feb. 11: Hitchcock's Notorious With The Picture House

Tavern-goers, “scolds,” and women who pushed back against the status quo hold a special place in medieval history for disrupting the “cultural script” of a patriarchal society and advocating for themselves. Using advice manuals, bawdy tales, and archeological artifacts, this lecture will examine the role of “unruly” women as both a challenge and a touchstone for gender dynamics in the Middle Ages.

Please be sure to register by the day before the class at the latest. You will receive an invitation email with a link to join the Zoom meeting.

His work is often described as revolutionary, cinematic, soulful, dark... His personality, as difficult, violent, and unstable... His life was marred with fights, a murder, prison, and running for his life. All the while, he was also receiving patronage, major commissions, and creating masterpieces during a life cut short, ending in mysterious circumstances. He was profoundly influential in his day, as well as for centuries to come. This presentation will follow Caravaggio’s trail across Italy, visiting his major works in their original sites.

This 110-year-old train terminal welcomes hundreds of thousands people daily. But how many stop to take in this world-class landmark? This 2-hour walking tour will give you reason to stop and admire this magnificent Beaux Arts building like never before.

This exploration of the Grand Central Terminal will include these, and more:

• A brief history of the Vanderbilt family behind the NY Central Railroad and the two Grand Centrals that came before the 1913 Terminal.
• A quick primer on what “Beaux Arts” architecture is and how to identify it.
• Vintage photos of the terminal’s construction, sculptures, and inaccessible areas.
• The incredible story of how the Terminal escaped the wrecking ball.
• The colossal mistake of the Terminal’s Grand Concourse ceiling.
• A trip to the Terminal’s hidden, landmarked cocktail bar that was once a private office.
• A peek into the window catwalks.
• An opportunity to tell secrets across the elliptical Guastavino “Whispering Gallery.”

After the tour, get some holiday shopping done at the annual Grand Central Holiday Market!