Two Recent Books
The History of Western Art, Art Essentials series, Thames & Hudson, London , 2023 (176 pages, 117 illustrations).

How to Understand Art, Art Essentials series, Thames & Hudson, London, 2021 (176 pages, 101 illustrations).

Upcoming Lecture Series:
♦ 92NY (92^nd Street Y), New York, NY, Roundtable
Four Great Post-Impressionists: Cézanne, Gauguin, van Gogh, Tanner
Four Fridays, September 6 thru 27, 2024, 12 noon-1:00 pm, on Zoom
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American Artists: Whistler and Cassatt; Homer and Eakins
Two Fridays, March 7 and 14, 2025, 12 noon-1:00 pm, on Zoom
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♦ Smithsonian Associates, Washington, DC
Fortresses and Fantasies: The Châteaux of the Loire Valley
Two Saturdays, October 19 and 26, 2024, 1:30-4:00 pm, on Zoom
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Jackson Pollock (1912-56) and Abstract Expressionism
Wednesday, November 20, 2024, 7:00 pm, on Zoom
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Why, Oh Why, Do We Love Paris? The Timeless Charm of the City of Light
Two Saturdays, March 22 and 29, 2025, 1:30-4:00 pm, on Zoom
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Upcoming Tours
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Smithsonian Associates, Washington, DC

Fortresses and Fantasies: The Châteaux of the Loire Valley
From forbidding fortresses to charming châteaux and castles, the splendid structures of the Loire Valley reflect lives of opulence and intrigue. Medieval fortresses built for defense with moats and towers gradually gave way to spectacular Renaissance pleasure palaces. Sumptuous elegance, not comfort, was the primary design principle. Ornamented with paintings and sculptures and surrounded by reflecting pools and perfectly manicured gardens, they make the mansions of today’s rich and famous seem austere by comparison. Art historian Janetta Rebold Benton, Ph.D. showcases these historic places and sets them in the context of French history.

October 19, 1:30-4:00 pm, on Zoom
1. The Days of Knights. Step into the medieval and Renaissance eras at the Château of Saumur, featured in the Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry; Sully-sur-Loire, a prison for Joan of Arc; Langeais, a medieval stronghold that became a Renaissance château; and Chȃteaudun, built over three centuries.

2. Country Life and Court Life. Visit little La Devinière, rural home of Rabelais; the Clos-Lucé, Leonardo da Vinci’s last home; Azay-le-Rideau, one of the earliest French Renaissance palaces, built on an island in the Indre River; and the Château Royal of Blois, a unique example of the development of French architecture from the 13th through the 17th centuries.

October 26, 1:30-4:00 pm, on Zoom
3. Luxury and Liaisons. Enjoy the high life along the Loire: Château of Chambord, with a miniature village on its roof, is the largest castle in the valley; Chenonceau, the “château of the ladies,” was Henri II’s gift to his mistress Diane de Poitiers; when Henri died, his wife Catherine de Medici forced her to move to the less lavish château of Chaumont.

4. Renaissance Gardens. Examine plantings, plans, and meaning at Chenonceau, Villandry, and other sumptuous medieval and Renaissance gardens in the Loire Valley.

Link to Smithsonian website

Jackson Pollock (1912-56) and Abstract Expressionism
November 20, 7:00 pm, on Zoom
Action Painting, Jackson Pollock’s personal version of Abstract Expressionism, refers to his physical activity as he dripped and splattered paint onto large canvases unrolled on the floor of his studio barn in East Hampton, NY. For this unique technique, Pollock was dubbed “Jack the Dripper.” The results were expansive non-figurative webs of variously colored paint. His wife, the Abstract Expressionist painter Lee Krasner (1908-84), was key to promoting his art and his subsequent fame. Suffering from emotional problems and alcoholism, Pollock crashed his car, killing one of his passengers and himself at the age of 44.
Link to Smithsonian website

Why, Oh Why, Do We Love Paris? The Timeless Charm of the City of Light
Paris has long exerted a powerful appeal as one of the world’s most important locations for art and culture. What has set it apart over the centuries? Does it come from the soaring Gothic cathedral of Notre- Dame or the delicate Sainte-Chapelle with walls of sparkling stained-glass? Perhaps it’s the Art Nouveau entrances to the Paris Metro or the inside-out Pompidou Center. Could it stem from the city’s propensity to transform itself: For example, the Louvre--a medieval fortress, then royal residence, then world-class museum--most recently remade itself with I.M. Pei’s controversial glass pyramid-shaped entrance. Join Distinguished Professor of Art History Janetta Rebold Benton, a former resident of Paris and the Expert on Smithsonian Journeys trips to Paris and throughout France, to discover the secrets of the City of Light on a vicarious visit to her favorite city.

March 22, 2025, 1:30-4:00 pm, on Zoom
1. Early Years, Middle Ages, and Renaissance. A brief history of France and of Paris sets the stage. The cathedral of Notre-Dame and the Sainte-Chapelle are two of the marvels of Gothic architecture. Meet King Francois Ier, dashing patron of the arts in 16th-century France. One of the greatest art museums of the world, the Louvre, also has one of the longest histories.

2. Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism. Visit the Luxembourg Palace and gardens. Follow the change from the serious paintings of Charles Le Brun, praised by Louis XIV, to depictions of Rococo romance by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Important events in French history, as the Revolution, and people, as Napoleon, are documented in the paintings of Jacques-Louis David. Neoclassical architecture is represented by the Panthéon, the Madeleine, and the Arc de Triomphe.

March 29, 2025, 1:30-4:00 pm, on Zoom
3. Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism. Paris saw a major renovation under Georges-Eugene Haussmann. Cartoons drawn by Honoré Daumier document daily reality. The Baroque Revival opera house known as the Palais Garnier would be well-suited to the ballerinas depicted by Edgar Degas. The engineer Gustave Eiffel designed the huge tower bearing his name, now the symbol of France.

4. The Twentieth Century. Art Nouveau entrances were built to the Paris Metro. Among the famous artists working in Paris were Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Georges Rouault, Constantin Brancusi, Fernand Léger, Marcel Duchamp, Alberto Giacometti, Victor Vasarely, and Niki de Saint Phalle. The Pompidou Center and the Louis Vuitton Foundation vie for the title of Paris’s Most Unusual Museum.
Link to Smithsonian website

92NY (92^nd Street Y), New York, NY, Roundtable

Four Great Post-Impressionists: Cézanne, Gauguin, van Gogh, Tanner
Post-Impressionism was less a reaction against Impressionism than a desire to improve upon it. Turning away from Impressionism’s intentionally objective recording of what the eye sees to a more personal interpretation, some Post-Impressionists painted slowly, methodically, using color for pictorial structure, while others used vivid unnatural colors to convey their own emotion--and to stimulate emotion in the viewer. Unlike the Impressionists who exhibited together in Paris, the Post-Impressionists did not coalesce as a group.

1. September 6, 2024   Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), perhaps the slowest painter ever, took up to 20 minutes between brushstrokes, which he referred to as “little planes.” Yet his methodical approach would lead to Picasso’s Analytical Cubism in the early 20^th century. 

2. September 13, 2024   Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) abandoned a successful life in finance in Paris (as well as his wife and five children) for an exotic life of travel, especially to Martinique and Tahiti, seeking an unspoiled, non-European life. His colorful paintings evoke his tropical surroundings. 

3. September 20, 2024   Vincent van Gogh (1853-90) painted highly charged images executed with pure brilliant colors, thick paint, and rapid brushstrokes. His paintings reflect the severe emotional swings he suffered; his life would end tragically in suicide.

4. September 27, 2024   Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) was born in Pittsburgh, PA, but moved to Paris to paint. An African American, his paintings, often of Christian subjects portrayed with profound spirituality (his father was a bishop), brought him international success.

Link to Roundtable website

American Artists: Whistler and Cassatt; Homer and Eakins
The United States produced some of the world's most creative, innovative artists. In richly illustrated lectures, Distinguished Professor of Art History Dr. Janetta Rebold Benton takes an in-depth look at the life and work of great American painters who display widely varying aesthetic styles, artistic philosophies, and, especially, personalities.

1. March 7, 2025   James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) and Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), two Americans who made their artistic careers abroad, in England and France, respectively. Audacious Whistler authored The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, whereas Cassatt favored refined Impressionist domestic scenes.

2.  March 14, 2025   Winslow Homer (1836-1910) and Thomas Eakins (1844-1916), two Realists who documented life in America. Homer created factual records of the Civil War and his surroundings, whereas Eakins, teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, took his lesson on male anatomy too far and scandal ensued.

Link to Roundtable website

Smithsonian Journeys, Washington, DC

I will serve as the Smithsonian Expert Lecturer on the following trips:

2024
♦The Life and Work of Van Gogh in France, May 29-June 4, 2024
Retrace the life and works of Vincent Van Gogh from cradle to grave, exploring his haunts from Paris to Remy-de-Provence in the south of France and enjoying private tours of renowned collections and exhibitions.
Link to Smithsonian Journeys website

2025
♦Treasures of the Alps: Swiss Trains and Italy's Lake District, May 29, 2025 - Jun 11, 2025, 14 days
Immerse yourself in the majestic mountain scenery of Switzerland, Italy, and Austria as you explore the history, arts, traditions, and classic trains of the Alps.
Link to Smithsonian Journeys website

♦A River Cruise through Burgundy and Provence , Jul 8, 2025 - Jul 16, 2025, 9 days
Cruise from Burgundy wine country to picturesque Provence along the Saône and Rhône Rivers aboard an elegant river ship, exploring charming villages, World Heritage sites such as Lyon’s Old City and the Papal Palace in Avignon, and the wine regions of the Rhône Valley and Burgundy. 
Link to Smithsonian Journeys website

Lectures in China
American Embassy, Beijing, Art and Environment in America, public lecture with translators, April 20, 2022, online.

American Embassy, Beijing, Public Art in America, public lecture with translators, May 13, 2021, online.

Hangzhou: China Academy of Art, public lectures with translators: 1) Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages, 2) Holy Terrors: Gargoyles on Medieval Buildings, 2018.

Beijing: Tsinghua University, Broadcast of my lecture on Andy Warhol, watched by more than 3,600 people, 讲座回顾 | “波普教皇”安迪·沃霍尔的一生, 2018.
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/h-2bsou72YW26O85biwNtQ

Shanghai: Shanghai University, Winslow Homer; American Consulate, Winslow Homer, 2018.

Nanjing: Nanjing University, 1) Georgia O’Keeffe, 2) Andy Warhol, 2018.

Conference Papers
Invited keynote speaker, “Extreme Architecture around the World,” Fulbright Annual Symposium, Yale University, New Haven, December 3, 2023.

Invited plenary speaker, "Medieval Mischief: Wit and Humor in the Art of the Middle Ages," International Society of Humor Studies Conference, University of Texas - Austin, June 26, 2019.