Lectures
Courtesy of Caitlin Cunningham Photography.
Courtesy of Caitlin Cunningham Photography.
Join us online and in person for lectures from artists, experts, and other compelling voices on wide-ranging topics.
Upcoming Courses
Making and Memory: María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Martin Puryear
September 17–October 8, 2025
From Edo to Tokyo
October 9–30, 2025
Rachel Ruysch: Art, Science, and Society
October 15–November 5, 2025
Homer in Context: Coastlines and Cultural Legacy
November 12–December 10, 2025
Upcoming Lectures
Looking Together
Explore South Asian and Islamic Art
Wednesday, September 10–Wednesday, September 17, 2025
2:30 pm–4:00 pm
2:30 pm–4:00 pm
Occurring Wednesdays
In Person
Lecture
María Magdalena Campos-Pons: A Portrait
Wednesday, September 17, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
In Person 1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Lecture
Ana Mendieta and María Magdalena Campos-Pons: A Shared Portrait
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
In Person 1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Lecture
Martin Puryear’s Liberties
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
In Person 1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Lecture
Martin Puryear and Craft
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
In Person 1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Looking Together
Ancient China: Supply Chains and Precious Metals
Wednesday, October 8–Wednesday, October 29, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Occurring every Wednesday
In Person
Looking Together
Conversations with Contemporary Art
Thursday, October 9–Thursday, October 30, 2025
10:30 am–12:00 pm
10:30 am–12:00 pm
Occurring every Thursday
In Person
Lecture
Edo and Tokyo: Built, Inhabited, and Represented
Thursday, October 9, 2025
2:00 pm–3:30 pm
In Person 2:00 pm–3:30 pm
The Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Celebrity Lectures
Daveed Diggs: Storytelling Across Stage and Screen
Thursday, October 9, 2025
7:00 pm–8:00 pm
In Person
7:00 pm–8:00 pm
Lecture
Rachel Ruysch: The Making of an Exhibition
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
In Person 1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Lecture
Asserting Power Through Art: Shōgun and Emperor
Thursday, October 16, 2025
2:00 pm–3:30 pm
In Person 2:00 pm–3:30 pm
Looking Together
Art and Empathy: Step Inside Portraits
Monday, October 20–Monday, November 3, 2025
2:30 pm–4:00 pm
2:30 pm–4:00 pm
Occurring every Monday
In Person
Lecture
What Early Modern Women Knew
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
In Person 1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Lecture
Art for Everyone: Print Culture and the Floating World
Thursday, October 23, 2025
2:00 pm–3:30 pm
In Person 2:00 pm–3:30 pm
Lecture
Worlds within Worlds: Portraying Nature as Microcosms
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Lecture
Tokyo Never at Rest: Japanese Art Responds to Disasters in the 20th and 21st centuries
Thursday, October 30, 2025
2:00 pm–3:30 pm
In Person 2:00 pm–3:30 pm
Lecture
Rediscovering Rachel Ruysch
Thursday, October 30, 2025
7:00 pm–8:30 pm
In Person
7:00 pm–8:30 pm
Lecture
Flower Painting, Flower Madness, and Rachel Ruysch
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
In Person 1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Lecture
Winslow Homer and the MFA
Wednesday, November 12, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
In Person 1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Deborah and Martin Hale Visiting Artist Lecture
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Her ‘History of a People Who Were Not Heroes’
Thursday, November 13, 2025
7:00 pm–8:00 pm
In Person
7:00 pm–8:00 pm
The Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Celebrity Lectures
Padma Lakshmi: Padma’s All American
Friday, November 14, 2025
7:00 pm–8:00 pm
In Person
7:00 pm–8:00 pm
Lecture
Winslow Homer as Printmaker
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
In Person 1:00 pm–2:30 pm
The Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Celebrity Lectures
Jenny Slate: Lifeform
Friday, November 21, 2025
7:00 pm–8:00 pm
In Person
7:00 pm–8:00 pm
Lecture
Homer’s Boston, Framed by Pointed Firs
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
In Person 1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Lecture
Winslow Homer at the Shore
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
In Person 1:00 pm–2:30 pm