The Boston Athenæum: Past, Present, Future

When:
Saturday, May 14, 2016 1:00p -
2:00p

Where:
Boston Athenæum
10 ½ Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108

EventScheduled OfflineEventAttendanceMode

Admission:
FREE

Categories:
< 21, Art, Date Idea, Lectures & Conferences, Meetup

Event website:
https://www.bostonathenaeum.org/events/3748/boston-athen%C3%A6um-past-present-future

The Boston Athenæum holds a position of undisputed importance in the history of American libraries and museums. But what lies in store? Can an illustrious institution that came of age amidst the intellectual flowering of 19th-century New England remain relevant in an age of digital devices, in a region now known for biotech?


Athenæum director Elizabeth Barker will explore these and other questions in a richly illustrated lecture that ranges across the Boston Athenæum’s history and identifies several key factors likely to shape its future—a prospect, she will argue, that appears no less brilliant than its glorious past.


Elizabeth E. Barker came to the Boston Athenæum in October 2014, where she is leading an effort to reinvigorate member programs, strengthen research, enhance collections, and preserve an unparalleled environment for study and reflection. A graduate of Yale College, and of NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, where she specialized in British art of the late 18th century, Barker previously served as Director of Amherst College’s Mead Art Museum and Colgate University’s Picker Art Gallery, and Associate Curator of Drawings and Prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A recipient of various fellowships and awards, Barker’s publications have ranged from the Italian Renaissance to contemporary American art.


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The Athenæum's five galleried floors overlook the peaceful Granary Burying Ground, and, as Gamaliel Bradford wrote in 1931, "it is safe to say that [no library] anywhere has more an atmosphere of its own, that none is more conducive to intellectual aspiration and spiritual peace." The building was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

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05/14/2016 13:00:00 05/14/2016 14:00:00 America/New_York The Boston Athenæum: Past, Present, Future The Boston Athenæum holds a position of undisputed importance in the history of American libraries and museums. But what lies in store? Can an illustrious institution that came of age amidst the in...

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