An Art History Lecture to smarten up your next event.
Ever consider hirring an art historian to speak at your next event? I have 40+ years of public speaking about art history.
History of Public Art Lecture, Topsfield Town Library.
Garden paintings in the History of Art, Boxford Town Library.
Why art history? And why me.
We love to learn new things. We crave new information, an expansion of our knowledge, and the thrill of an educator sharing their years of knowledge with us.
After graduating with an MFA in studio art in 1989, I taught my first art history lecture that same year. Realizing there was much more about the subject I didn’t know, I earned a PhD in art education in 2000 and went on to become the chair of art education at Salem State University.
In 2012, I added architecture history to my lineup of historical research and teaching.
After 40+ years of teaching and researching art history, I am as enthusiastic as ever about this subject and love sharing my extensive knowledge with new audiences.
How long are your lectures?
Most lectures go for 45-50 minutes with a 15-20 question and answer session at the end.
How far will you travel for a lecture?
I will travel any distance. An additional fee of 2.00 per miles is required for travel over 40 miles from my Topsfield, MA. home. Most lectures are in the evening or on weekends.
What is your speaking fee for a lecture?
I charge a rate of 250.00 U.S. dollars for each lecture. Average audience numbers range from 25-200 people.
How do I contact you about giving a lecture to my organization?
Please take a moment to complete the enclosed contact form. I will reach out you once I receive your inquiry.
Some of the museums I have visited to study art history.
Andy Warhol, 1962. Campbell's Soup, Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Adelaide Labille-Guiard, 1785. Self-portrait with two pupils, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Emancipation, the unfinished project of liberation, Williams College Museum.
Portal of the Kings and Queens, Chartres Cathedral, 1194, Chartres, France,
Thomas Gainsborough, Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, 1748. National Gallery, London.
A sampling of my Tabloid Art History Blog posts.
Watch my Art History videos on my YouTube Channel.
185. The story behind the Walker Hancock sculptures at Trinity Church, Topsfield. Presented by Meg Black, PhD
A PDF of the slides from this lecture are available via the download button. Walker Hancock Lecture PDFDownload Print of Gethsemane Garden available in print gallery. Sign up for my mailing list and receive updates about future lectures, new artwork, and...
183. The connection between cotton, slavery, and handmade paper.
As a papermaker who uses cotton linters in my artwork, I need to address a topic that is often overlooked in our community. That topic concerns the historical connection between slavery in America, cotton production, and the design of the cotton gin itself. The...
176. The worlds first truly modern building, London’s Crystal Palace.
The Chrystal Palace, c. 1874, Sydenham, England Built in 1851 for the Great Exhibition of London, a precursor of the Centennial Exhibition, held in Philadelphia in 1876, the Chrystal Palace at 1,851 x 800 square feet was 4X the length of St. Peter's Basilica and...
168. An example of a picturesque garden in Topsfield
An example of a picturesque garden in Topsfield, located at the corner of Prospect Street and River Road. The seemingly arbitrary plantings appear as though the garden sprang up on its own without human involvement. This is similar to the way Humphrey Repton would...
167. The picturesque movement arrives in the city, 1752-1835.
The Regency in Great Britain refers to the time period when King George III (1760-1820), the guy blamed for losing the colonies to the original guerrilla warriors in the American Revolution, was deemed unfit to rule; his son ruled as Prince Regent. On his...
164. Did Adolf Loos’ Ornament and Crime kill the artist/architect relationship?
In his 1908 manifesto Ornament and Crime, Adolf Loos laments the use of ornament as a means of architectural decoration at the expense of simple lines and plain white walls-walls he associates with Zion, the holy city (reprinted in K. Smith, Introducing Architectural...
163. The picturesque comes to America, and George Washington gets in on the act
Thomas Gainsborough, Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, c. 1750, oil on canvas, 69.8 x 119.4 cm (The National Gallery, London). George Washington arrives home to Mount Vernon, Virginia. Despite overthrowing the British Government in the Revolutionary War, early settlers such...
161. Ha-ha! The picturesque movement enters the 18th century.
By the 18th century, the picturesque movement had taken hold in England and Germany as people grew weary of the more rational ideas associated with the enlightenment. Picturesque inspired paintings, sculpture, and landscape design featured asymmetrical compositions,...
160. The Picturesque Movement gets its start with Ursula and 11,000 of her closest friends.
Claude Lorrain (1641). Seaport with the Embarkation of Saint Ursula. Oil On canvas, National Gallery, London. St. Ursula, a British princess (in yellow), who refuses to marry a pagan king, holds the flag with her emblem. She is returning to...
151. Dear Claude Monet, you won’t believe what your painting just sold for!
Claude Monet is famous for painting many subjects, water lilies, cathedral facades, footbridges, and of course, hay stacks. It is his hay stack painting, Meules, that captured a huge sum of money at auction recently 110 million dollars to be exact. What makes these...
Lecture attendees testimonials
Hi Meg, thank you for intro to art in the gardens 101. It was fascinating and makes me want to learn more about the meanings of things found in paintings over the centuries.
Carol, President, North Shore Horticultural Society,
Outstanding! You are such a gifted speaker. Your knowledge, enthusiasm and sense of humor come through with every slide. I could have listened to you all night.
Jen, lecture attendee, Walker Hancock and the Monument’s Men lecture
Do you have an event that would benefit from an art history lecture? Contact me and let’s talk.
Email Us
Address
Topsfield, MA. Just north of Boston.
Call Us
Quick Links
Contact Us
- Meg Black Studio 48 Prospect St. Topsfield, MA. 01983
- 978 887 8670
