News Release
Office of News and Information Johns Hopkins University 901 South Bond Street, Suite 540 Baltimore, Maryland 21231 Phone: 443-287-9960 | Fax: 443-287-9920 |
March 3, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Heather Egan Stalfort (410) 516-0341 ext. 17 hestalfort@jhu.edu |
The inaugural The House Beautiful Lecture Series at The Johns Hopkins University's Evergreen Museum & Library focuses on 20th-century tastemakers whose work promoted the idea that life could be improved through artful design of everyday objects.
The series presents notable experts and authors in the field of modern design. A book signing and special reception with the speaker follows each lecture.
The lectures will be held in the Bakst Theatre at Evergreen Museum & Library, 4545 N. Charles Street, Baltimore. Tickets are $20 each lecture; $15 for Evergreen members and students with valid ID. Series tickets are available for $48; $33 for Evergreen members and students with valid ID.
Advance pre-paid reservations are recommended as seating is limited. Tickets are available online through MissionTix at www.missiontix.com, by phone at 410-516-0341, or in person at the museum (handling charges apply for phone and online orders).
"Ultramodern Samuel Marx: Architect, Designer, Art
Collector" by Liz O'Brien
Wednesday, March 26 - 6:30 p.m.
Art expert and dealer Liz O'Brien is a leading force in
rediscovering the work of many mid-century designers and is
widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in the
field. She became interested in the work of American
architect Samuel Marx more than 10 years ago when she began
exhibiting his work at her Fifth Avenue gallery in New
York. Although Marx was born at the end of the 19th
century, he had the eye of a modernist — as an
architect, furniture designer, connoisseur and collector.
"Rooms designed by Samuel A. Marx have so satisfying a
feeling of oneness that it's frequently hard to say where
the architecture ends and the furniture begins," said
House Beautiful in 1948. O'Brien will discuss many
of Marx's undiscovered projects and his range of furniture
designs.
"Mastering Tradition: The Residential Architecture of
James Russell Pope" by James B. Garrison
Wednesday, April 23 - 6:30 p.m.
John Russell Pope designed several hundred buildings and
monuments, including more than 100 houses, from a series of
jewel-like mausoleums to vast estates with integrated
ensembles of living, work, and leisure buildings. Architect
James B. Garrison takes as his starting point several of
Pope's key residential projects in Baltimore and
Washington, such as the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, to show how
these relate to his better-known public works. Garrison has
more than 20 years of experience in architecture and
historic preservation, including research and restoration
work on many National Historic Landmark structures. In
addition to his architectural practice, he writes and
lectures extensively on the history and architecture of
southeastern Pennsylvania, where he lives on the Main
Line.
"Fit for a King: The Furniture and Design of Maison
Jansen" by James Archer Abbott
Wednesday, May 28 - 6:30 p.m.
Maison Jansen was the most celebrated decorating firm in
the world throughout the 20th century, with a client list
that included the duke and duchess of Windsor, the shah and
shahbanou of Iran, and John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy. The
firm designed custom furnishings for interiors that
celebrated its signature aesthetic — a heady
combination of Bourbon historicism combined with Hollywood-
style glamour. Evergreen curator and independent author
James Archer Abbott will talk about his recently published
books Jansen and Jansen Furniture, and present
highlights of some of the firm's most alluring commissions.
Abbott has previously held the positions of curator of the
Woodrow Wilson House in Washington, and curator of
decorative arts at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
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About Evergreen Museum & Library
Housed in a former Gilded Age mansion surrounded by
Italian- style gardens, Evergreen Museum & Library is at
once an intimate collection of international fine and
decorative arts, rare books and manuscripts assembled by
two generations of Baltimore's B&O Garrett family and a
vibrant, inspirational venue for contemporary artists. The
museum contains more than 50,000 of the Garretts'
belongings — including post- Impressionist paintings
and drawings, Asian decorative arts, and the John Work
Garrett Library — and one of the largest private
collections of Louis Comfort Tiffany glass. For
information, visit
www.museums.jhu.edu.