National Gallery of Art | Audio

April 2010 - Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., curator, northern baroque painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Bianca du Mortier, curator of costume, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. In the second of this two-part podcast series, produced on the occasion of the first exhibition dedicated to Avercamp, Arthur Wheelock talks with curator Bianca du Mortier about Avercamp's 17th-century theatrical settings on ice, which not only depict a tremendous diversity of subjects but also record daily life during the Dutch Golden Age.

April 2010 - Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., curator, northern baroque painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Pieter Roelofs, curator of 17th-century paintings, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The vibrant and colorful paintings of Hendrick Avercamp transport us back to a time when Dutch rivers and waterways regularly froze in the cold of winter. In the first of this two-part podcast series, produced on the occasion of the first exhibition dedicated to Avercamp, Arthur Wheelock talks with curator Pieter Roelofs about Avercamp's winter landscapes, which bring to life the lively pastimes and day-to-day bustle of the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic.

April 2010 - Nicholas Penny, director, The National Gallery, London. On March 7, 2010, the National Gallery of Art welcomed back former senior curator of sculpture Nicholas Penny, now director of the National Gallery, London. In this podcast, Penny discusses the sculptural masterpieces in the exhibition The Sacred Made Real�in particular, Francisco Antonio Gij�n's magnificent Saint John of the Cross, which the Gallery purchased during Penny's tenure in Washington.

March 2010 - Xavier Bray, assistant curator, European paintings, National Gallery, London. The groundbreaking exhibition The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture, 1600�1700, a landmark reappraisal of religious art from the Spanish Golden Age, contains masterpieces created to shock the senses and stir the soul. In this podcast recorded at the National Gallery of Art on February 28, 2010, curator Xavier Bray discusses the conception and realization of The Sacred Made Real, which includes 11 paintings by Diego Vel�zquez, Francisco de Zurbar�n, and others, displayed for the very first time alongside 11 of Spain's remarkable polychromed (painted) sculptures. Many of the sculptures have never before left Spain and are still passionately venerated across the Iberian Peninsula in monasteries, churches, and processions.

March 2010 - Xavier Bray, assistant curator, European paintings, National Gallery, London, and David Brown, curator of Italian and Spanish painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington. In the second of this two-part podcast series, produced on the occasion of the exhibition, David Brown talks with curator Xavier Bray about the painters of 17th-century Spain and their quest for realism.

March 2010 - Xavier Bray, assistant curator, European paintings, National Gallery, London, and Mary Levkoff, curator of sculpture and decorative arts, National Gallery of Art, Washington. In 17th-century Spain, a new kind of realism in art emerged. In order to revitalize the Catholic Church, painters and sculptors worked together in an attempt to make the sacred as realistic and accessible as possible. In the first of this two-part podcast series, produced on the occasion of the exhibition, Mary Levkoff talks with curator Xavier Bray about the history, uses, and techniques of polychromed sculpture.

February 2010, Notable Lecture - Robert Darnton, Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and Director of the University Library, Harvard University. In this podcast, recorded on January 22, 2010, at the National Gallery of Art, Robert Darnton speaks on the occasion of the publication of The Accademia Seminars: The Accademia di San Luca in Rome, c.1590�1635 and launch of the Web site "The History of the Accademia di San Luca, c. 1590�1635: Documents from the Archivio di Stato di Roma." He applies the concept of pairing a scholarly book and a Web site to his own research on the clandestine book trade in prerevolutionary France.

February 2010, Art Talk - Kimberly A. Jones, associate curator, department of French paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, and chef Michel Richard of Citronelle and Central in Washington, DC. Inspired by the exhibition From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection, renowned chef Michel Richard created a special menu of classic French dishes for the National Gallery's Garden Caf�. In this podcast, produced to celebrate the Garden Caf� Fran�ais, Richard talks to Jones about the paintings that inspired this menu and his lifelong love of art.

February 2010, Art Talk - Kimberly A. Jones, conservateur, d�partement des peintures fran�aises, National Gallery of Art, Washington, et Chef Michel Richard de Citronelle et Central, � Washington, DC. Inspir� par l'exposition � De l'impressionnisme � Modernisme : La Collection Chester Dale �, le chef c�l�bre Michel Richard a cr�� un menu sp�ciale des plats classiques de la cuisine fran�aise pour le Garden Caf� de la National Gallery. Dans ce podcast, produit pour c�l�brer le Garden Caf� Fran�ais, Richard parle � Jones au sujet des peintures qui ont inspir�es ce menu et son amour endurant de l'art.

January 2010, Art Talk - Maygene Daniels, chief of Gallery Archives, National Gallery of Art, and Franklin Kelly, deputy director, National Gallery of Art. The 1962 bequest of Wall Street investor Chester Dale made the National Gallery of Art one of the leading repositories in North America of French art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibition features some 80 of the finest European and American paintings that Dale and his wife Maud, an artist and critic, avidly assembled from the 1920s through the 1950s.. In the second of this two-part podcast series, produced on the occasion of the exhibition, Franklin Kelly talks with archivist Maygene Daniels about the personalities behind this important collection.

January 2010, Art Talk - Wall Street investor Chester Dale's 1962 bequest made the National Gallery of Art one of the leading repositories in North America of French art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibition features 81 of the finest European and American paintings that Dale and his wife Maud, an artist and critic, avidly assembled from the 1920s through the 1950s. In the first of this two-part podcast series, produced on the occasion of the exhibition, Franklin Kelly talks to curator Kimberly Jones about how these masterpieces come together as an extraordinary collection.

December 2009, Notable Lectures - Using a handheld 35 mm camera and available light, American photographer Robert Bergman spent nearly a decade making a series of large color portraits that address not only his subjects' physical presence but also their psychic states. On the occasion of the November 1 opening of Bergman's first solo exhibition, Toni Morrison read her essay "The Fisherwoman," which was originally written for Bergman's book A Kind of Rapture.

December 2009, Behind the Scenes - Molly Donovan, associate curator, department of modern and contemporaryart, National Gallery of Art, Washington. In 2009 the National Gallery of Art commissioned American sculptor Roxy Paine to create a stainless steel Dendroid, as the artist calls his series of treelike sculptures, for the Sculpture Garden. In this podcast produced on the occasion of the completed work�the first contemporary sculpture installed in the Sculpture Garden in the nearly 10 years since it opened�associate curator Donovan talks to host Barbara Tempchin about Graft.

November 2009, Behind the Scenes - Sarah Kennel, associate curator, department of photographs, National Gallery of Art, Washington. The extraordinary range and complexity of the photographic process�from the origins of the medium in the 1840s to the advent of digital photography at the end of the 20th century�are explored in a comprehensive exhibition and accompanying guidebook. On the occasion of In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes before the Digital Age, Kennel talks to host Barbara Tempchin about the major technological developments in the 170-year history of photography.

November 2009, Behind the Scenes - Ruth Fine, curator of special projects in modern art, National Gallery of Art, Washington. The prints of Jasper Johns are heralded for their beauty as well as their conceptual and psychological complexity. A group of the artist's working proofs�prints pulled during the working process on which Johns made drawn and painted additions, recently acquired from the artist by the National Gallery of Art�are showcased here as independent works of art for the first time. On the occasion of the exhibition, curator Fine talks to host Barbara Tempchin about this extraordinary body of work.