Unique Exhibition Combining Pre-Raphaelite Paintings and Photographs Celebrated at the National Gallery of Art With a Variety of Related Programs

Washington, DC—On the occasion of the exhibition The Pre-Raphaelite Lens: British Photography and Painting, 1848–1875, the National Gallery of Art offers a wide range of programs exploring the interactions between Pre-Raphaelite painting and Victorian-era British photography. A lecture, several films, and a concert featuring music from the period, and a conference are among the offerings accompanying the exhibition, which is on view from October 31, 2010 through January 30, 2011.

All programs are free of charge and take place in the East Building Auditorium unless otherwise noted. Seating is available on a first-come, first-seated basis. For more information, call (202) 737-4215, visit www.nga.gov, or inquire at the Information Desks.

Lecture

Uncompromising Truth: British Photography and Pre-Raphaelitism
Sunday, November 21, 2:00 p.m.
Diane Waggoner, associate curator, department of photographs, National Gallery of Art
Signing of the exhibition catalogue The Pre-Raphaelite Lens: British Photography and Painting, 1848–1875 follows.

Public Symposium

The Pre-Raphaelite Lens: British Photography and Painting, 1848–1875
Saturday, January 22, 1:00 p.m.
Illustrated lectures by noted scholars including Duncan Forbes, Laura Henrickson, Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, and Malcolm Warner

Gallery Talks

Regular public tours of The Pre-Raphaelite Lens: British Photography and Painting, 1848–1875 are offered by the adult programs department of the education division. For times and topics, please consult the bimonthly calendar of events or the Gallery Talk section of the National Gallery of Art Web site at www.nga.gov/programs/galtalks.

The Pre-Raphaelite Lens: British Photography and Painting
Wilford W. Scott, December 6, 13, 20, 27, 1:00 p.m. (50 minutes)
West Building, Main Floor, Rotunda

Henry Peach Robinson's "She Never Told Her Love"
Wilford W. Scott, January 10–14, 2:00 p.m. (20 minutes)
West Building, Main Floor, Rotunda

Films

Dreamchild
Saturday, December 11, 1:00 p.m.
A fictionalized account of Alice Liddell's 1932 visit to America quietly portrays in flashback her childhood friendship with author Lewis Carroll. Joining her reverie are several of Jim Henson's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland creatures—the Mad Hatter, Gryphon, Caterpillar, and Dormouse. (Gavin Millar and Dennis Potter, 1985, 35 mm, 94 minutes)

Dante's Inferno
Thursday and Friday, December 16, 17, 1:00 p.m.
British director Ken Russell's early BBC biographies were among his best works. In this spare study of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Russell focused on the rift between the artist's aspirations and his day-to-day reality. Occasional surreal flourishes lend a touch of fantasy. (Ken Russell, 1967, 35 mm, 90 minutes)

The Brotherhood: The Love School
Wednesday and Thursday, December 29, 30, 1:00 p.m.
Two episodes from a vintage BBC series on the lives of the Pre-Raphaelites features Ben Kingsley as Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Kika Markham as Jane Burden. (Piers Haggard, BBC, 1975, digital beta, 150 minutes)

Concert

New York Chamber Soloists
Wednesday, November 3, 12:10 p.m.
Music by Delius, Sullivan, and Vaughan Williams
West Building Lecture Hall

Gallery Shops

In addition to the fully illustrated catalogue in hardcover, the Gallery Shops offer a selection of scholarly titles that tie in with the exhibition and a note-card set featuring Pre-Raphaelite images. Visit the Shops, browse online at www.shop.nga.gov; call (800) 697-9350 or (202) 842-6002; fax (202) 789-3047; or e-mail [email protected].

Teachers Workshop

J. Carter Brown Memorial Evening with Educators
The Pre-Raphaelite Lens: British Photography and Painting, 1848–1875
Wednesday, November 17, 4:00–7:30 p.m.
This evening event explores the vivid interaction between Victorian-era British photography and Pre-Raphaelite painting (as their name suggests, the Pre-Raphaelites drew inspiration from art preceding Raphael, master painter of the Italian High Renaissance). Photography's ability to quickly translate the material world into a permanent image challenged painters to find alternate versions of realism. Photographers, in turn, looked to Pre-Raphaelite subject matter—including medieval narratives, the natural world, and the human figure—to establish the new medium as a fine art. Together, these painters and photographers were instrumental in changing concepts of vision and truth in representation. Participants may tour the exhibition and enjoy refreshments and conversation with colleagues. Fee: $10. The fee is waived for first-time participants and for past participants registering with a K–12 teacher new to Gallery programs.

For more information and to register, please visit www.nga.gov/education/teacher.htm or call (202) 842-6796.

About the Exhibition

The first exhibition to explore the rich dialogue between Victorian-era British photography and Pre-Raphaelite painting showcases how these artists informed and inspired one another. The shared vocabulary they developed is presented through the genres of landscape, narrative subjects, and portraiture. On view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, West Building, from October 31, 2010 through January 30, 2011, The Pre-Raphaelite Lens: British Photography and Painting, 1848–1875 includes some 100 photographs and 20 paintings and watercolors by such leading artists as Julia Margaret Cameron, Lewis Carroll, John Everett Millais, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

Exhibition Support

The exhibition has been organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, where the exhibition will be on view from March 6 through May 29, 2011.

The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of the Trellis Fund and the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation and Marcella and Neil Cohen. Early support for research was provided by the Marlene Nathan Meyerson Family Foundation.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.