The Arts & History   

Explore Glenview, an 1877 home on the National Register of Historic Places, designed by esteemed architect Charles W. Clinton. On a guided tour, discover the six fully restored period rooms, showcasing fine woodwork, furnishings, artwork, and architectural features that make it one of the most significant early Gilded Age residences open to the public. Glenview appears in HBO’s Emmy Award-winning series The Gilded Age as the home of socialite Mrs. Astor.

Join us for an illustrated discussion of a bold new history of American photography as depicted in "The New Art: American Photography, 1839–1910" exhibit at The Met (April 11-July 20, 2025). The show will feature a range of photographic formats from daguerreotypes to stereographs and cyanotypes by major artists and obscure and unknowns alike, who created works in small towns highlighting the dramatic changes to photography as a medium throughout the years. We’ll discuss and explore the evolution of photography as a cultural, commercial, artistic, and psychological preoccupation through the works presented in this exhibit.

From the fifth-century sack of Rome to that telltale thick black eyeliner, the identity of the “Goth” has run like an undercurrent through history. But who were the members of this lost civilization? Join us as we tour through the texts and artifacts that provide clues to a population that vanished a thousand years ago. What secrets still beg to be uncovered about a group remembered as both destroyers and heroes?

Disappearance, deception, and danger unfold on a trans-European train in one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most celebrated British thrillers. When an elderly governess vanishes mid-journey, only one fellow passenger believes she ever existed. As secrets unravel and suspicions mount, Hitchcock blends wit, romance, and suspense with masterful precision. Join us to unravel the mystery and explore Hitchcock’s genius in building tension and subverting expectations. "Come on, sit down, take it easy. What's the trouble?"

Join us for a dynamic exploration of the history, drama, and deep tensions shaping the Catholic Church today as we approach the next conclave. From the revolutionary spirit of Vatican II to the groundbreaking leadership of Pope Francis, this course reveals the battles over tradition, modernization, and global diversity that will determine the Church’s future. Learn how a 2,000-year-old institution wrestles with profound questions about authority, inclusion, and reform—and discover why the next papal election will be one of the most consequential in modern history.

Join us for our annual stroll around Bronxville Lake, hoping to spot up to twenty species of birds in just two hours. May is nesting season and the birds are in their colorful breeding plumage. Baltimore Orioles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Yellow Warblers, and Tree Swallows will delight the eye. Learn to identify a variety of birds by sight and song.

Based on the Metropolitan Museum exhibition “Sargent and Paris” (April 27 - August 3, 2025), which focuses on the Paris decade of his youth, we will explore the full breadth of John Singer Sargent’s career. As one of the most popular American artists of the 19th century, Sargent has been hailed to unimaginable heights and severely criticized, achieved great fame, and created equally great scandals. This presentation will also include works by Sargent’s friend Claude Monet and his near contemporary Thomas Eakins, to create a comparative experience of his work.

One of the country's first theme parks, the former home of actresses Lillian and Dorothy Gish, a grand hotel, a view of a former army base and storied islands - these are some of the fascinating sites and sights in New Rochelle's Lower Harbor area. This 90-minute walking tour with Barbara Davis, Executive Director of the Westchester County Historical Society and New Rochelle's City Historian, will reveal the amazing history located along the shores of the Queen City of the Sound.

For the 13 agonizing days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the very existence of our nation and the world was in doubt.  In this lecture, Jess Velona uses rarely-heard tape recordings of secret White House meetings to show how John F. Kennedy rose to the moment and found a peaceful resolution to the crisis.  Crucially, JFK gave himself time to weigh his options, and then he resisted pressure from military advisers and Congressional leaders to launch military strikes that would likely have set off a nuclear war.  We'll also see how JFK's speech to the nation, and Adlai Stevenson's at the United Nations, turned world public opinion against the Soviets, strengthening America' negotiating position.  Finally, Jess will discuss recently-discovered evidence that despite the best efforts of JFK and Khrushchev, on two occasions ground-level military officials almost accidentally started a nuclear war anyway.   Up for discussion is what lessons this dramatic episode has for presidential leadership in our own time.  

Join Ginny Poleman for a captivating walk along Manhattan's iconic Fifth Avenue as she unveils the stories behind the grand homes of influential New Yorkers like Henry Clay Frick, Joseph Pulitzer, and other wealthy figures who spared no expense in building these opulent residences.

Discover the Beaux-Arts architectural style that defined the era and shaped the aesthetic of New York during the City Beautiful Movement. Learn about the visionary architects—Stanford White, CPH Gilbert, and the renowned firm Carrère & Hastings—who designed these masterpieces. This tour offers an exclusive look into the luxurious lives and enduring legacies of the city's Gilded Age elite, along one of its most prestigious avenues. 

This tour will stop at many of the most iconic places in Harlem including the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Apollo Theater, the Harlem Walk of Fame, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and Strivers Row. As we walk, we will enjoy the beautiful brownstone architecture and wide boulevards of Harlem, and we will note the many ways in which great African Americans are honored there.

Optional, non-included lunch afterward: Harlem Shake, 100 West 124th Street, at Malcolm X Blvd. and Lenox Ave. Everyone orders and pays individually at the counter. Burgers and salads are available, along with the best milkshakes in NYC!

Charm meets menace in this psychological thriller starring Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. A whirlwind romance leads to a shadowy marriage where love is clouded by lies and fear. Fontaine’s Oscar-winning performance anchors a story rich with ambiguity, as Hitchcock invites us to question everything we see—and everything we want to believe. Join us to unpack the film’s unsettling suspense, iconic visuals, and the controversial twist that still sparks debate today, and to understand why "each time they kissed... there was the thrill of love... the threat of murder!"
 

In 1967, the Summer of Love was a cultural revolution that was the defining moment in the overall counterculture movement that lasted into the 1970s. It represented a large-scale public expression of alternative values and lifestyles that challenged mainstream society, particularly through its embrace of peace, love, and free expression, centered in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Discover the music, fashion, art, and key figures and movements that shaped the era while examining its darker side and enduring legacy.

In a largely illiterate world, seminal stories and messages had to be communicated through visuals. The resplendent stained glass of parish churches and soaring cathedrals served as vehicles for these narratives, from Biblical stories to saints’ lives to even the quotidian lives of guild members. This lecture will showcase the splendor and stories encased in the lead-framed stained glass windows all across medieval Europe—a treat for the spirit as well as the eye!

Embark on a captivating journey through Manhattan’s "Lower" Upper West Side with this history walking tour with Leigh Hallingby. The adventure begins at Lincoln Center, where you'll explore its remarkable transformation during the early ’60s, evolving from a former residential area into one of the world’s premier performing arts centers. Then visit and learn about two nearby monuments dedicated to the American Civil Rights Movement, reflecting on the movement that shaped the country’s social landscape. The tour then heads to Riverside South, to unravel the intricate tale of its development from the historic NY Central freight railroad yards into a sprawling complex of apartment buildings and an extension of picturesque Riverside Park.

Along the way, you will encounter charming relics of vintage New York City, including a quaint horse trough, a rare Dutch-style church, and a 19th-century firehouse, each offering glimpses into the city’s rich architectural and cultural heritage. Finally, we will learn more about two great Upper West Side museums: the American Museum of Natural History and the New-York Historical Society.

Join us for this tour and fascinating journey through time and culture, revealing the stories and transformations that have shaped this iconic neighborhood into a cultural epicenter.

With spring as our backdrop, we will explore eight timeless myths of gods and mortals—tales of love, transformation, and the changing of seasons—brought to life through Western art. From Psyche and Cupid to Persephone’s return from the underworld, the fleeting beauty of Hyacinth, and the fateful race of Atalanta, these stories symbolize renewal and rebirth, and along with countless other Greek and Roman myths, they have inspired a multitude of works of art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art alone holds over 14,000 related works. This lecture features more than 100 artworks from private collections and over 90 museums, including the Louvre, the Prado, the Tate, and the Met. Join us for a journey through myth and masterpiece, where gods and mortals meet in moments of passion, metamorphosis, and the eternal cycle of nature.

What do the Night Before Christmas, Oreos, and cowboys in New York City have in common? Learn that and much more as you take this two-hour walk through the history of Chelsea, including a look at the former National Biscuit Company building—now Chelsea Market, the funky Hotel Chelsea, and the General Theological Seminary (the world’s oldest Episcopal seminary.)

Join Ginny Poleman, as she shares the stories of this revitalized area of restaurants, high-end shops, art galleries and mid-19th century brownstones.