Loading Events

Friends of Decorative Arts Lecture

The decorative arts – fine furniture, jewelry, ceramics, and glass – are all around us and in the Museum.  FODA expands understanding of their variety and beauty.  Plus, you will make new friends at the meetings.  Annual dues are $20 in addition to Museum membership.

FODA programs are held on the second Tuesday of the month at 2PM during season.  Non-FODA members can attend for $5, plus MFA admission.  Carolyn Nygren is the volunteer coordinator.

Upcoming events follow:

Tuesday, January 13: Decorative arts have been a significant part of the MFA collection from the very beginning.  Museum founder Margaret Acheson Stuart wanted the decorative arts to accompany paintings and sculpture of the same period, creating the ambience of a private home.  Director Kent Lydecker will discuss some of the Museum’s prized and popular decorative art objects.  Before coming to the MFA, Dr. Lydecker led the education department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 18 years.

Tuesday, February 10: George Ellis, now retired and living in St. Petersburg, enjoyed a distinguished career as a museum director and developed special expertise in African art.  Until the mid-twentieth century, few American art museums included objects from Sub-Saharan Africa in their collections.  They were relegated to natural history institutions.  Mr. Ellis will trace the metamorphosis of Africa’s artistic traditions from curiosity to art and show examples demonstrating the diversity of African decorative arts.

One of the most accomplished directors in the history of the Honolulu Museum of Art, Mr. Ellis dramatically expanded the collection and supervised the addition of the Henry R. Luce Pavilion Complex.  He has also been Associate Director of the Museum of Cultural History at the University of California, Los Angeles and Assistant Director of the Birmingham Museum of Art.  He holds his BA in art history and his MFA in painting from the University of Chicago.

Sunday, February 22, 3PM: The visual and performing arts have been intertwined throughout the ages.  Almost everything we know about ancient Greek musical instruments has been learned from studying their depiction on vases.  Duncan MacMillan will show photographs of some of these vases and will also play recordings of ancient music performed on reconstructed instruments. This special FODA program is FREE to the public with MFA admission.

Tuesday, March 10: Flower lei – icons of the Hawaiian Islands – have long been admired and enjoyed by the world.  Dr. Teresa Wilkins, the MFA’s Member Services Manager, will examine the traditions of these floral art forms, focusing on their construction, meaning, and use.

Dr. Wilkins selected this topic in honor of Art in Bloom 2015.  She holds her BA magna cum laude from the University of South Florida, where she was a Presidential Scholar, and her PhD in non-Western art history from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Event Details


Date
January 13, 2015

Time
2–3 pm

Event Categories

Add to Calendar