"Deck the Halls: Female Abolitionist Societies and the Evolution of Christmas" with Ken Turino December 21, 2021 In the mid-nineteenth century, what we think were the Christmas celebrations of today were actually just beginning. In this virtual lecture, Historic New England’s Ken Turino narrates the history of female abolitionists ...Read More

"The Land of Beautiful Flowers and Birds: The Journey of Frederic Edwin Church through New Granada" with Dr. Verónica Uribe December 9, 2021 Frederic Edwin Church arrived in New Granada on April 28th,1853 seeking inspiration from the tropical landscape that was previously recorded by Alexander von Humboldt in ...Read More

"Behind the Butler's Pantry: OLANA and the Lives of Irish Servants in the Hudson Valley" with Dr. Elizabeth Stack and Daniel W. Bigler November 18, 2021 Join Dr. Elizabeth Stack, Executive Director of the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany, and Daniel W. Bigler, Historic Site Assistant at ...Read More

"Animated Interiors: Frederic Church's Experiments with Space and Light" with Julia B. Rosenbaum November 4, 2021 As a renowned landscape painter, Frederic Church had long grappled with how to capture the vibrantly animated world around him. His paintings and drawings attest to both the heights he achieved in these ...Read More

"Martin Johnson Heade: A Strange Art Life Brought Up To Date" with Dr. Theodore E. Stebbins October 19, 2021 Join us in welcoming Dr. Theodore E. Stebbins, former curator at the Museum of Fine Arts and Harvard’s Fogg Museum for a virtual lecture on what he calls Martin ...Read More

"Living with Pollinators: Biodiversity and Artistic Practice in the Hudson Valley" with Lisa Sanditz, Paula Hayes, and Fox Farm Apiary September 15, 2021 The Thomas Cole National Historic Site and The Olana Partnership at Olana State Historic Site present a discussion with artists Paula Hayes, Lisa Sanditz, and beekeeper Chris ...Read More

"The Natural Histories of Marianne North and Frederic Church" by Allegra K. Davis August 24, 2021 Olana’s collection contains two paintings, boldly rendered studies of exotic flowers, that remained unattributed until research published in 2010 connected them to Marianne North (1830-1890). North, an intrepid British botanical artist who ...Read More

"Fragility and Resilience: Art, Ecology, and our Contemporary Moment" with Sayler/Morris, Rachel Sussman and Dr. Scott Manning Stevens July 27, 2021 Join artists Sayler/Morris, Rachel Sussman, and Dr. Scott Manning Stevens as they discuss the connections between art, ecology, and climate change. Sussman’s photographic series The Oldest Living Things ...Read More

a-Historical Landscapes: Olana and the Color of Freedom June 23, 2021 Join Jean-Marc Superville Sovak, multidisciplinary artist and teaching professional and professor Myra Armstead for a virtual presentation and conversation about the lives of black Americans during the time of Olana’s creation. During this program, Sovak will introduce his series, ...Read More

Memento Mori Mandalas and Birds in the Hudson Valley June 8, 2021 Join artist Portia Munson and conservationist Kathryn Schneider as they discuss Munson’s artwork onsite at Olana, Memento Mori Mandalas. During this presentation, learn more about Munson’s work, which memorializes and honors creatures that have paid the price of ...Read More