Scholars George Scheper and Saul Lilienstein look at the explosion of creativity in music, art, literature, philosophy, and science in late 19th- and early 20th-century Vienna. Included are Klimt, Schiele, Brahms, Strauss, Wagner, and others.

A picture is worth a thousand words if you know how to "read" the formal elements and understand the cultural, political, and social contexts. Sip a glass of wine and see what we mean with 2 paintings by Chuck Close and Willem DeKooning.

Madeleine Albright shares compelling stories linking political events and her diplomatic arsenal of decorative pins. In conversation with Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough, Dr. Albright shares her unique approach to merging personal expression and serious statecraft.

Members Only: The Lunder Conservation Center provides a unique opportunity to see all aspects of conservation work that is traditionally done behind the scenes at other museums. The Luce Foundation Center features three floors of open storage housing 3,500 paintings, sculptures, craft objects and folk art pieces not normally displayed because of space constraints in the museum’s main galleries.

Spend a day exploring the mansion and gardens of Winterthur. The former estate of Henry Francis du Pont has a world-class collection of antiques and Americana, 175 period rooms, and magnificent gardens. Leader Bill Keene has written and lectured on architecture, urban history, city planning, and the built environment.

Come take a look at the sumptuous illustrated books that are filled with interlaced patterns, fanciful animals, and astonishing detail and color. These medieval texts not only illustrated the Gospel, but offered a glimpse into medieval culture.

Experience a kaleidoscope of contrasting visions in art from Post-Impressionism to 20th-century Realism with art historian Karin Alexis. Learn what Cezanne, Dali, Pollock, Warhol, and many other artistic movers and shakers created and why.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, cantilevered over a waterfall, is the only remaining major Wright work with its setting, original furnishings, and artwork intact. This day-long bus tour includes a docent-led tour of the house, time for exploring the grounds, lunch, and a box supper.

Learn about the giants of the 18th- and 19th-century art scene including Watteau, David, Delacroix, Courbet, Monet, Toulouse Lautrec, and many more in this exploration of art from the Rococo to Post-Impressionism with Bonita Billman.

Visit Corning and time-travel through 35 centuries of glassmaking via one of the most comprehensive glass collections in the world. Tour leader Sheila Pinsker, who was mentored by Gardner, will educate and inspire with stories of these fabulous collections.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, cantilevered over a waterfall, is the only remaining major Wright work with its setting, original furnishings, and artwork intact. This day-long bus tour includes a docent-led tour of the house, time for exploring the grounds, lunch, and a box supper.

Members Only: The Lunder Conservation Center provides a unique opportunity to see all aspects of conservation work that is traditionally done behind the scenes at other museums.  The Luce Foundation Center features three floors of open storage housing 3,500 paintings, sculptures, craft objects and folk art pieces not normally displayed because of space constraints in the museum’s main galleries.

Show and Sale of jewelry and wearable art. All 36 exhibitors previously juried into Smithsonian Craft Shows. The Craft2Wear is presented by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Learn about one of the world's greatest museums and its magnificent collection of cultural and art masterpieces in this vicarious tour of The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

With an inside look at the Smithsonian's conservation efforts, this seminar offers expert advice on photograph identification, common deterioration problems and solutions, techniques for preserving personal collections, and digital preservation.

Vietnam was once two states, with very different histories, governance, and cultural practices. Art historian Robert DeCaroli and ceramics expert David Rehfuss trace imperial histories through sites, architecture, monuments, and far-reaching trade.

Peek behind the gates of Topkapi palace when it was the seat of power for the Ottomans. From the courtyard of the eunuchs to the sultan's private rooms, it is filled with priceless objects, much intrigue, and intricately tiled rooms and corridors.

The visual arts of Modernism had a great variety of stylistic and conceptual forms from Picasso's cubist breakthrough to Pollock's abstractions. Aneta Georgievska-Shine discusses these, including works in the Hirshhorn Museum.

Hitler's Nazis amassed a vast art collection, mostly by illegal means. Five decades later, we are still sorting and returning works of art to their rightful owners. Tonight, experts discuss the ongoing issues surrounding this sensitive process.

In this evening seminar, the hidden symbolism and messages embedded in the design of St. Peter's Square are revealed and demonstrate that St. Peter's Square and Basilica are much more than architectural masterpieces.

A Grecian Urn inspired Keats to write an ode, and Chevalier used a painting as inspiration for her novel Girl With a Pearl Earring. Today, author Judy Pomeranz shares how to use art as your muse in writing your own story, memoir, poem, or book.