The Arts & History   

Stories are not just what authors write in books. They are what make us human — reading them, telling them, sharing them, but most importantly, living them. We are the great stories, each and every one of us.  We are eight-billion Scheherazades.  Explore the power of storytelling in this one-session presentation, and see why fairy tales are not just for children and why the story of Luke and Leia resonates with everyone everywhere — not just on the planet Tatooine; not just in the 1970s. 

Some of the most iconic characters ever dreamed up began as comics or graphic novels and have led the way for modern cinema. Beginning with 1978’s Superman: The Movie, popular comic book characters and storylines have been adapted into successful films, leading to the rise of the superhero genre. Beyond superhero stories, various graphic novels have been adapted into films that explore different genres and themes. Examples include Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Sin City, and 300. We will examine all of these diverse stories and characters.

The two giants of Modern Art, Eduard Manet, and Edgar Degas, were close friends and rivals from their early years as budding artists. By inspiring and angering, supporting and critiquing one another, but mostly by responding to each other’s paintings with their own versions, they have created two deeply influential tracks of Modernism in art. We will explore the similarities and differences in their personalities and creative processes through their vividly colorful and deeply insightful paintings. This lecture coincides with the Manet/Degas exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art running September 24, 2023-January 7, 2024.

This class will focus on three periods in the history of book censorship in America beginning with the Comstock era, named after Anthony Comstock, one of the founders of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, who persuaded Congress in the late 19th century to enact legislation allowing for the suppression of a wide swath of literature. The second period, the Ulysses era, saw the courts in the 1930s allow publication of the James Joyce classic in the United States despite claims that it was obscene, ushering in a more hospitable era for writers and publishers, marred from the late 1940s through the 1960s by efforts to suppress work deemed “subversive" in the context of "cold war" hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union. The third period, from the early 1990s down to the present, has seen the rise of what might be termed "non-state" book censorship, directed by aroused citizens at libraries and schools rather than publishers and booksellers. The discussion will conclude by placing contemporary book censorship in the context of the First Amendment "speech" clause as interpreted by the Supreme Court.

From the witches and ghosts who torment Macbeth and Hamlet to flying cars in the new Broadway musical Back to the Future, the theater has always been as much about magic and the supernatural as it is about naturalism. There's no better time than Halloween to take a look at the superstitions, witches, ghosts, and goblins who come to life on stage. In this fun and interactive class, we will discuss a range of scary plays, watch clips of plays adapted into movies, and, for those not too frightened, read aloud scenes from a range of contemporary and classic plays that bring to life characters and tales of the macabre. Most importantly, we'll preview this upcoming theater season, where the tormented souls in the new horror thriller Grey House, the haunted characters in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' play Appropriate, and the hoodoo sorcerers in the musical adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil will join the witches and wizards of Wicked and Harry Potter on the Broadway stage. Open to all theater lovers and those who love to be scared!​ Spooky, yet delicious light refreshments will be served.

Even before Bram Stoker's famous novel, the figure of Dracula--or Vlad the Impaler--captured attention. Join us to look beneath the legend at the historical figure and milieu that inspired the story.

Money and banking played an essential role in the patronage, appreciation, and proliferation of religious painting and church and secular architecture throughout the centuries of Florence’s ascendency to its ultimate eclipse by Rome. We will examine famous works by Masaccio and Botticelli, Brunelleschi and Michelozzo, themes like art’s value as materials or mastery, subjects and objects of the splendor and problems of wealth, buildings as reflections of public piety, civic virtue, social welfare and economic cycles of boom or bust.

Director Martin Scorsese has produced some of the most memorable films in cinema history. Through interview clips, as well as clips from classic films, including Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), The Departed (2006), The Irishman (2019), and others, we will examine the career, style, and cinematic techniques, as well as the subjects and motifs of one of the greatest directors of all time. We will also look at his much-anticipated adaptation of David Grann’s non-fiction book Killers of the Flower Moon, being released on October 6, 2023.

One of the most famous and admirable women of history, this patroness of France had a short but storied role in the Hundred Years' War. This lecture will restore her voice through trial documents and contemporary accounts, bringing the fifteenth century right into our own time.

Art restoration aims to reverse the ravages of time and ideally return the artwork to its “original” state. But can we ever return an artwork to its “original” state? Do we have the right to change an artist’s work in an effort to save it? The results of art restoration have been mixed, to say the least, and disastrous in some cases. While the controversy over the restoration of the Sistine Chapel paintings by Michelangelo still reverberates, in this installment we will additionally explore some of the recent restoration efforts and new technologies and approaches to art restoration.

Once dismissed as the “clown prince” of architecture, Charles III used an interest in architecture, gardens, and urban planning to assert his “soft” power and personal image. From his time as the Duke of Windsor through his coronation, Charles made his biggest impact on British cultural life through his interest in traditional architecture, small-scale urbanism, and sustainable agriculture. He has not shied away from public debates; from the “carbuncle” comment on the proposed hi-tech addition to the National Gallery to founding an architectural magazine, a think tank, and in some ways a movement. We will chart his career and his controversies as the “High Priest of (Traditional) Taste.” ​

From siege warfare to hand-to-hand combat, the Middle Ages certainly figured out how to get battles going! This lecture will explore the innovations and mechanisms of medieval weaponry, from mace to crossbow to trebuchet. Join us as we look into the inventions and tools that cost countries and won wars!

Come uptown and experience the sights, sounds, and fabulous foods of Harlem! Guests on this walking tour will taste their way through this incredibly vibrant neighborhood as they learn about the area’s diverse history. The tour will include a visit to a community garden as well as tastes of food specialties from the Caribbean, Senegal, the U.S., and more.

Share a late morning exploring Arthur Avenue, Bronx's Little Italy, and its many food shops. Witness a cheese-making demonstration, tour behind the scenes in a famous bread bakery, stroll through Arthur Avenue's famous special indoor market, see a pasta demo, sample local delicacies, and finish with a delicious lunch at one of Arthur Avenue's famous but secret spots! Lots to see and do on this amazing and special tour!

This tour focuses on the life, ambitions, and career of Samuel Untermyer, how he came to build this garden, and all the changes the property endured after his death. Untermyer was a founding partner in the law firm of Guggenheimer, Untermyer & Marshall, and was the first lawyer in America to earn a one million dollar fee on a single case. He was also an astute investor and became extremely wealthy. He was passionately interested in and expertly knowledgeable about horticulture, and the level of horticulture at the Untermyer Gardens was nationally famous. His ambition for the garden was that it be no less than the "finest garden in the world." Join us and decide for yourself if this is indeed one of the finest gardens in the world while you listen to a very entertaining story.

Take a stroll around this 9.6-acre park while viewing vintage photographs and listening to the stories of the history, sculptures, library, and neighboring buildings of Bryant Park, including the landmarked American Radiator Building. In the mid-19th century, the park was named Reservoir Square for the 20-million-gallon Croton Distributing Reservoir built on the eastern side of the block. Now named after newspaperman and abolitionist William Cullen Bryant, the park shares the block with the New York Public Library and has become Manhattan’s midtown square with year-round events and free public activities. 

The goal of this impressive public art project is to create murals of over 300 North American birds in the Hamilton and Washington Heights neighborhoods of Upper Manhattan, where John James Audubon lived the last ten years of his life. The 'AMP' is designed not only to display the birds’ beauty but also to make us aware of the challenges that they face–all of the birds painted are threatened by climate change. The artworks range from lovely panels that fill in a window to spectacular murals covering the entire side of a building. This walking tour will allow you to see over 30 murals, mostly along Broadway, between W. 148th and 164th Streets. The tour also visits Audubon’s grave site in the uptown cemetery of the historic Trinity Church.

New York City is one of the top centers of the global art scene, and we can visit world-class art exhibitions at no cost in the revitalized Chelsea area. Join Ginny Poleman, art museum docent, as she curates a two-hour tour of the best art exhibitions in Chelsea, providing insight into the art techniques used, the importance to the current market, and the historical context.

See what birds over-winter here on the Bronx River. In addition to the locals that stay all year, there are several species that are here only during the winter. You may also see some of the “wintering ducks,” including the hooded merganser, the American black duck, and the green-winged teal duck.

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!

 

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!