Art and science meet in the garden. Plants were perhaps the first object of man’s curiosity, and women have long been at the forefront of that inquiry. Maria Sibylla Merian, who with her daughter left Europe for Suriname in 1699 to study and draw the metamorphosis of insects (and their relationship to their floral habitat), stands at the beginning of a series of women as scholars, artists, patrons and collectors through to the modern era. Using books, prints and watercolors as our guide, we’ll explore how these pioneering women advanced science and art alike to deepen our engagement with the natural world.

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Drawing on over 40-plus years working with major museums and public and private collections, frame historian and consultant Suzanne Smeaton will share a range of stories of specific frames and interesting 'behind the scenes' details regarding their design, how they were selected, who made the choices, how they were removed or repatriated. Examples include the quiet, unassuming black frame by a known maker that encloses a Rembrandt portrait, an Italian Renaissance frame that went empty for years and ended up enclosing a masterpiece, a frame that was chosen for John Singer Sargent's 'Madame X' and how and why it was selected, frames designed by artists for their own artwork and many more.

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Anne Higonnet, the Barbara Novak Professor of Art History at Barnard College, Columbia University. the widely reviewed Liberty, Equality, Fashion; the Women who Styled the French Revolution

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