Paris Museum Soirée (4/4)
Thursday, December 16th at 5 PM Eastern Time

Inheriting a fortune upon the death of his father, Paul Marmottan gave up a career in law to dedicate himself to art history and collecting. With a passion for the Napoleonic Consulate and Empire periods, he converted a mansion acquired by his father into a mini Napoleonic world which he bequeathed to the Académie des Beaux-Arts as a museum when he died. Over the decades, a seemingly never-ending series of further donations and bequests has transformed this small house-museum. Today, stacked up on the original Napoleonica like a deck of cards, the world’s largest collection of works by Claude Monet, one of France’s most important collections of illuminated manuscripts and a retrospective of the paintings of Berthe Morisot all vie for space.

Paris Museum Soirée (3/4)
Monday, December 13th at 5 PM Eastern Time

The hôtel particulier that houses the Musée Jacquemart-André was built at the end of the 19th century in Hausmann’s new Paris as a sort of extravagant bachelor pad for over the top society parties hosted by born-into-money banker’s son Edouard André. Then, somewhat unexpectedly, when he was almost 50, the bachelor married 40-year old Nélie Jacquemart. Together, they travelled and pursued their shared passion for collecting art, amassing one of the most astonishing private collections in the whole of France. It has been described as a mini Louvre in terms of the scope and importance of its works.

(in) Famous Women (5/5)
Thursday, December 9th at 5pm Eastern Time

Six decades after her death, Edith Piaf remains one of the best-known and most iconic of French popular singers. We will meander together through the story of her life, a fabulous tapestry of fact, fiction and myth, filled with triumphs and tragedies, which reads like a novel and is every bit as enthralling as her songs.

(in) Famous Women (4/5)
Thursday, December 2nd at 5pm Eastern Time

Superlatives are not enough for Simone Veil. When she died on 30th June 2017, at the age of 89, she was generally regarded as one of France’s most popular politicians, widely admired on both sides of the political spectrum. One year later, she became only the fifth woman to receive the ultimate honour of being buried with the nation’s heroes in the Pantheon in Paris. An exemplary role model for future generations, her extraordinary life parallels the major moments of 20th century European history.

(in) Famous Women (3/5)
Tuesday, November 23rd at 5pm Eastern Time (RESCHEDULED)

Known the world over for her crime fiction, Agatha Christie spent almost half a century deeply involved in the archaeology of the Middle East, working alongside her husband Max Mallowan at important excavations in Irak and Syria. This talk delves into her hands-on approach to archaeology in Mesopotamia and its influence on her writing, and looks at the parallels between detective fiction and archaeology.

(in) Famous Women (2/5)
Thursday, November 11th at 5pm Eastern Time

The line between fame and infamy is often fine and many women shamed by history sound both talented and fascinating - many others were simply victims: take Agnes Sampson, the woman accused of witchcraft by our new king, James I, in the early 17th century; the powerful Barbara Palmer, famous courtesan and royal mistress; the Ladies of Llangollen, one of Britain's earliest 'out' lesbian relationships; Margaret Whigham, later notorious as the Duchess of Argyll in a divorce case that riveted the nation; Wallis Simpson, the first American to swipe one of our princes; Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged 10 years before capital punishment here in 1965; and finally Melita Norwood, who died in 2005 and was Russia's longest-serving spy operating in Britain.

(in) Famous Women (1/5)
Thursday, November 4th at 5pm Eastern Time

Ever heard of Queen Caroline, wife of dreary King George II, and sometimes - grrrr - referred to as 'Britain's brainiest princess'? She's just one of a group of inspiring women we'll meet today: Aphra Behn, playwright and spy in Restoration England; Caroline Herschel, sister of William Herschel and a brilliant scientist in her own right; Mrs Coade, single woman and successful proprietor of her own decorative arts company in 18th-century Westminster; Amy Johnson, the pilot and explorer; Rosalind Franklin, the crystallographer generally considered to have been sidelined by Crick and Watson and their DNA discoveries; and Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut.

Paris Museum Soirée (2/4)
Thursday, October 28th at 5 PM Eastern Time

One might well question whether the Louvre’s status as the “largest art museum in the world” is actually an asset or more of a handicap. So, from the comfort of our armchairs, without the crowds, the miles of galleries and the giddying quantity of artworks, let’s take the opportunity to muse, amongst other things, on what this museum is, how it came about, and just why the Mona Lisa is so incredibly famous.

Paris Museum Soirée (1/4)
Thursday, October 21st at 5 PM Eastern Time

The story of the Walter-Guillaume collection in the Musée de l’Orangerie has all the elements of a classic thriller: a ménage à trois between a former garage-boy, an ambitious socialite and a wealthy architect; lucrative Moroccan lead mines, attempted murder, car accidents, mysterious deaths and a secretive government deal. The collection itself forms the most important overview of early 20th century École de Paris paintings in the French capital.

Provence Soirée (3/3)
Thursday, August 19th at 5 PM Eastern Time

The unique light, the beautiful scenery and the vivid colours of the South of France have drawn artists to the region for time immemorial. This talk focuses on two of the most influential painters who lived and worked in Provence in the second half of the 19th century: Paul Cézanne, who was born and died there, and Vincent Van Gogh who stayed for just over two years towards the end of his all too short life. We will walk in their footsteps in Aix, Arles and St Rémy.

Provence Soirée (2/3)
Thursday, August 12th at 5 PM Eastern Time

For the first three quarters of the 14th century, the Popes ruled not from Rome but from Avignon, a period which has become known as the Babylonian Captivity. For the last quarter of the century, Anti-Popes continued to rule from the Provençal city in defiance of the Popes in Rome – the Great Schism of the West. Power struggles, political intrigue and mysterious deaths form the backdrop to this story, and the great papal palace is the most visible legacy of this extraordinary period when Avignon was the centre of the Christian world.

Provence Soirée (1/3)
Thursday, August 5th at 5 PM Eastern Time

With its fields of lavender, picture postcard hilltop villages, herb-based cuisine and endless games of pétanque played by old men in berets sipping pastis, Provence is one of the best known and most sought-after tourist destinations in France, but what and where exactly is this elusive region? Drawing on historical, linguistic, territorial and cultural factors, this introduction to the area explores the problematic question of how to define Provence.