Paris in Ruins: what links Impressionism, trauma and politics | Presentation by Sebastian Smee

Thursday, February 5th *SOLD OUT

Presentation: 7:00pm, followed by a light reception 8:00-9:00pm.

Generously supported by The Marilyn Lichtman Fund

Sebastian Smee by Amber Davis Tourlentes

This program is now sold out. 
Complimentary valet parking will be provided.

Sebastian Smee delivers an illustrated talk about the Terrible Year in Paris (1870-71) and discusses the themes of his book, Paris in Ruins, focusing on intimacy, war and the birth of a new, democratic vision of art.

Sebastian Smee is an art critic for the Washington Post who will be speaking about his recent book, "Paris in Ruins: Love, War and the Birth of Impressionism," which tells the story of the impressionist painters who lived through a catastrophic year in Paris in 1870-71. Smee won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2011 while at the Boston Globe and taught non-fiction writing at Wellesley College from 2010-2022. He was awarded the Rabkin Prize for art journalism in 2018 and was a MacDowell Fellow in 2021. He wrote “The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art" (2016), which was translated into a dozen languages, as well as several books on Lucian Freud and one on Mark Bradford. 

The Marilyn Lichtman Fund

Established in 2019, the Marilyn Lichtman Fund enhances the museum's mission by supporting dynamic programs that connect people with art in thoughtful and engaging ways. It reflects Marilyn's dedication to learning, dialogue, and cultural enrichment. The Fund helps ensure that the Kreeger continues to inspire curiosity, spark creativity, and serve as a welcoming space for the community.

Past events supported by The Marilyn Lichtman Fund:

Anonymous Was a Woman: Jae Ko | linn meyers | Joyce J. Scott | Renée Stout
Exhibition curated by Dr. Vesela Sretenovic
October 16-January 31, 2026

Braque Unveiled
Presentation by Joanna Baker and Erin Stephenson
June 7th, 2025

Cultural Practice as an Act of Citizenship. Democracy Needs Us!
Presentation by Dr. Dorothy Kosinski
October 17, 2024

Time Flows Around It: Reflecting on Anne Truitt's Sculpture
Presentation by Kristen Hileman
November 4, 2023

Understanding The Kreeger Museum's South Asian Art Collection
Lecture by Dr. Robert DeCaroli, Professor of Asian Art History, GMU
April 8, 2023

Artists in Exile
Lecture by Sabry Amroussi, Art Historian and Curator, Amsterdam
September 21, 2022

Organizing a Picasso Exhibition
Lecture by Susan Frank and Kenneth Brummel, Co-Curators
May 28, 2022

Mozart, Bartok, and Porat (Ladino Songs)
Ariel String Quartet (Israel)
April 28, 2022

Van Gogh and Gauguin: A Turbulent Creativity
Lecture by David Gariff, National Gallery of Art
November 17, 2021

Joan Mitchell: In a New Light
Conversation with Kary Siegel, Baltimore Museum of Art, and Sarah Roberts, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
December 4, 2019

About Marilyn Lichtman

Marilyn has always been involved in education. She taught first grade, remedial reading at the GW Reading Clinic, and quantitative and qualitative research at Virgina Tech. She writes about Qualitative Research in Education (now in its 4th edition). Her most recent work for Nova Science is Understanding Qualitative Inquiry (2025).