Enjoy the fascinating history of early American public art museums and the role art collectors played in their creation. We’ll explore the origins of the Wadsworth Athenaeum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Worcester Art Museum, the New Britain Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the National Gallery of Art and their special contributions to our understanding of the history of art.

Presenter Martha Chiarchiaro has brought history to life through the art of the times for more than 30 years. She received her Masters’ degree in the History of Art from Williams College and provides a variety of art history presentations at the Worcester Art Museum, for WISE (the Worcester Institute for Senior Education), libraries, garden clubs, and other organizations. As noted on her Seeing History website, Martha's specialty presentations related to specific periods, artists, and activities provide an in-depth look at the life and times of people through their art.

Claude Monet, Waterlilies, 1908, Oil on canvas, Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA First Monet to be bought by an American Museum, 1910.

Virtual Program. Registration Required. This program will NOT be recorded.