Writer Megan Marshall describes the lives of the Peabody sisters—Elizabeth, Mary, and Sophia—three women who contributed to the Transcendental movement of the 1800s. Elizabeth worked as an educator; Sophia, eventual wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne, wrote, painted, and illustrated; and Mary also worked for reform. All had connections with major intellectual figures of this period.

This lecture's audio is available in mp3 format.

Art historian and curator David Dearinger traces the birth and development of the Hudson River School of American landscape painting, beginning in 1820, using key examples of paintings; gives an overview of the movement's historiography; discusses contemporary critical responses to it; and comments on the waning and eventual demise of the style in the 1870s. His presentation includes slides.

Curator Erica Hirshler introduces the Bostonians who collected and supported the work of French Impressionist painters including Jean-Francois Millet, Jean-Baptiste Corot, and Claude Monet. Hirshler examines the basis for this enthusiasm for Impressionism. Her presentation includes slides.

Audio and video options are available.

National Portrait Gallery curator Ellen Miles looks at painter Gilbert Stuart's 1796 portraits of George and Martha Washington, covering their creation by Stuart, Stuart's relationship with the presidential couple, and the impact and reception of the portraits since their creation. The presentation includes slides.

Audio and video options are available.

Modern-day curators focus on reversible restoration techniques. Conservator Shelley Svoboda describes the renewal of the Carolina Room.

Cultural resources manager of the Anacostia Museum Portia James displays and discusses a tool box painted in 1891, depicting a plantation owner and his family riding down into Hell and their slaves ascending to Heaven.

To view this video, select "Scholars," followed by "Portia James." From there, select one of the Windows Media viewing options.

Curator Richard Murray examines Emanuel Leutze's painting Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way, looking at the mythological view of U.S. westward expansion it represents and how the painting's composition and individual elements justify Manifest Destiny.