Program Videos

Acclaimed artist Julie Mehretu joins Shahzia Sikander to discuss Shahzia Sikander: Extraordinary Realities, an investigation into the first fifteen years of Sikander's career, and Julie Mehretu, a mid-career survey on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art. This conversation is moderated by Gayatri Gopinath, Professor, Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, and Director, Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, New York University.

Join Isabelle Dervaux, Acquavella Curator of Modern & Contemporary Drawings, for a virtual guided tour of the exhibition David Hockney: Drawing from Life. David Hockney (b. 1937) is one of the most internationally respected and renowned artists alive today.  Held Friday, November 13, 2020.

Join novelist, poet, and MacArthur Fellowship recipient Ishmael Reed for a conversation on the empowering role of art as a vehicle for reclaiming elements of African spirituality and culture.

Based upon the collections of the Morgan Library & Museum, John T. McQuillen, Associate Curator of Printed Books & Bindings will present an introduction to the European blockbook, its history and production, and delve into the provenance of several of the copies in the Morgan's collection. Held  Wednesday, October 14, 2020.

Join guest curator Isabelle de Conihout and John Bidwell, Astor Curator of Printed Books and Bindings, for a virtual guided tour of the exhibition Poetry and Patronage: The Laubespine-Villeroy Library Rediscovered featuring luxury bindings commissioned by the French courtier Claude III de Laubespine (1545–1570).

In this lecture Meredith Martin, Associate Professor at New York University, will explore various ways that Lequeu’s corpus has been interpreted and has proven to be fruitful for scholars and architects over the past two centuries. Held Wednesday, September 2, 2020.

Take part in a virtual walk-through of the Morgan's exhibition devoted to the extraordinary figure Alfred Jarry (1873–1907). Sheelagh Bevan, Andrew W. Mellon Associate Curator in Printed Books & Bindings, will guide viewers through the installation. Held Wednesday, July 22, 2020.

In this two-part videos series, self-proclaimed letter-writing enthusiast (and Mean Girls star) Rajiv Surendra guides us through the art of writing a letter and maintaining a handwritten correspondence. Using the Morgan's collection as inspiration, Rajiv celebrates the charm and power of the epistolary enterprise.

Join Christine Nelson, Drue Heinz Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts, for a look at Antoine de Saint-Euxpéry's working drafts for The Little Prince, a classic story that suggests how we can combat isolation by trusting in the imagination, acknowledging pain, and building meaningful connections—even in a time of physical distancing.

Sidney Babcock, Jeannette and Jonathan Rosen Curator and Department Head, Ancient Near Eastern Seals and Tablets, will first give an overview of the Morgan’s world renowned collection of seals and learn about their significance in history and art then he will show you how to use the museum's website to get a upclose perspective of the collection. Held Wednesday, July 29, 2020.

The Morgan Library & Museum is one of the largest and richest depositories of Rembrandt’s drawings in North America, encompassing works from every stage of his long career. On July 15th—the 414th anniversary of the artist’s birth—join Austėja Mackelaitė, Annette and Oscar de la Renta Assistant Curator of Drawings and Prints, for a virtual tour of this extraordinary collection.

Curator John Marciari gives a preview of the postponed exhibition Sublime Ideas: Drawings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Held Wednesday, June 24, 2020.

Take part in a virtual walk-through of the Morgan's exhibition devoted to the sensuous and humorous drawings of Al Taylor (1948–1999). Isabelle Dervaux, Acquavella Curator of Modern & Contemporary Drawings, and Lindsey Tyne, Associate Paper Conservator, will guide viewers through the installation.

The Gutenberg Bible is the first monument to the invention of the printing press in western culture. The Morgan is the only institution in the world to have three significant copies, all purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan. Join John McQuillen, Associate Curator of Printed Books & Bindings, to learn about this treasure and why the Morgan has three copies.

Join Roger Wieck, Melvin R. Seiden Curator and Department Head of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, and artist and illuminator Barbara Wolff as they discuss both Wolff's contemporary work and the ancient historic traditions. Held Tuesday, March 10, 2020.

Sir David Cannadine, Dodge Professor of History at Princeton University, President of the British Academy, and Editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, explores the interconnected, transatlantic worlds of the traditional and titled British wealth elite and the new American multimillionaires—the former on the defensive, the latter on the rise—during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Held Wednesday, December 11, 2019.

Laurel Peterson, Moore Curatorial Fellow in the Department of Drawings and Prints, will offer new insights into Hogarth’s practice as a draftsman, shedding light on the evolution of his drawing style and the role played by drawings in the development of his most iconic satirical prints. Held Tuesday, June 18, 2019.

In this lecture, Rhoda Eitel-Porter, Editor of Print Quarterly and former Charles W. Engelhard Curator of Drawings at the Morgan, discusses Early Italian drawings at the Morgan. Held Friday, February 15, 2019.

Celebrating the opening of Drawing in Tintoretto’s Venice, John Marciari, Charles W. Engelhard Curator of Drawings and Prints—and the curator of the exhibition—presents a new overview of Tintoretto’s work as a draftsman.

Co-curators of the exhibition Medieval Monsters: Terrors, Aliens, Wonders, Sherry C.M. Lindquist, Associate Professor, Western Illinois University and Asa Simon Mittman, Professor, California State University, Chico, will discuss the ways that medieval artists and writers demonized cultural outsiders, transforming religious and racial others into monsters, framing poverty and impairment as sin, and characterizing women as inherently deviant and dangerous. Held Friday, June 8, 2018.

In conjunction with the exhibition Wayne Thiebaud, Draftsman, the artist discusses the role of drawing in his practice, his beginnings as a cartoonist, his sketching habits, his love of the Old Masters, and his fondness for classic American food. Held Friday, May 18, 2018.

In this lecture, Marco Simone Bolzoni, Moore Curatorial Fellow and curator of the exhibition Thomas Gainsborough: Experiments in Drawing, will investigate the unorthodox means and materials used by the artist in his quest to capture the beauty of the English countryside.
Held on Wednesday, May 16, 2018.

Join us for a conversation about the letters compiled for a new publication The Luck of Friendship: The Letters of Tennessee Williams and James Laughlin.
Held on Wednesday, April 11, 2018.

Fran Lebowitz speaks with Joel Smith, Richard L. Menschel Curator and Department Head of Photography. Held on Thursday, February 8, 2018.

Join Ilona van Tuinen, curator of the exhibition Power and Grace: Drawings by Rubens, Van Dyck, and Jordaens, for a discussion of the spectacular works on display and the story behind the show. Held on Friday, January 19, 2018.

Jean Strouse, biographer of Alice James, and Colm Tóibín, author of The Master, discuss Henry James’s relationship to the visual arts. Presented on Wednesday, June 28, 2017.