Art Talks: Bringing the Museums to You

Art Talks are now available onsite and live online!

Schedule a presentation for your audience here.

Art Talks are entertaining, educational, multi-media art presentations delivered by museum speakers. These talks can be presented to your group either onsite at your venue or using online (Zoom) technology. Select Art Talks are offered in Mandarin or Spanish.  Onsite talks are $200 and live online talks are $150.

Please note: If you request a talk to be presented online (Zoom), we ask that you host this on your platform and provide technical support during the program.  

Below you will find descriptions of the Art Talks currently available.

To learn more and to reserve talks we have available now, email us at AT@famsf.org.

Manet & Morisot  NEW

October 11 2025 – March 1, 2026, Legion of Honor

This is the first major exhibition dedicated to the artistic exchange between two groundbreaking artists ––French Impressionists Édouard Manet (1832-1883) and Berthe Morisot (1841-1895). Manet was the 19^th century’s great pioneer of modern painting, and Morisot, the sole female founding member of the Impressionist group. They were friends, colleagues, and eventually family. The story of their relationship has often been told through Manet’s early portraits of Morisot, with Morisot’s own artistic work seen as an offshoot of Manet’s. While Morisot looked to Manet for inspiration and approval during her early career, new scholarship reveals that in his final years Manet was increasingly influenced by Morisot’s views on subject matter, color, and technique.  Rich in new research, this exhibition offers a fresh look at this celebrated artistic friendship, revealing that Manet learned at least as much from Morisot as she had from him. Manet & Morisot

Legion of Honor 100: An Unconventional Woman’s Vision for a Museum  

November 2024 – November 2025, Legion of Honor

Embark on a captivating journey through time and discover how one woman’s bold vision brought European art to the heart of San Francisco. Driven by relentless passion and an indomitable spirit, Alma de Bretteville Spreckels laid the foundation for the Legion of Honor’s art collection. Join us for an engaging talk that reveals the collection’s incredible evolution over the past century, from ancient Greek masterpieces to vibrant French Impressionism. Explore the intriguing twists and turns, landmark pieces, and cultural milestones that have made the Legion of Honor an enduring treasure of art and history. An Unconventional Woman’s Vision for a Museum in San Francisco and the Story of its Collection is presented as part of the museum’s 100^th anniversary celebration. Legion of Honor 100

Legion of Honor 100: Innovation and Invention 

November 2024 – November 2025, Legion of Honor

Have you ever wondered where artists found all the beautiful colors they use? Or why paintings are so often done on canvas? This fascinating talk will answer these questions and many more. You will learn how ingenuity, inventiveness or sometimes just a surprising turn of events gave artists over the centuries an ever-increasing array of materials and methods to use in the creation of their art, from painting, sculpture and decorative arts to works on paper and textiles. Innovation and Invention: A Behind the Scenes Look at How Art Was Made Through the Ages is presented as part of the Legion of Honor’s 100^th anniversary celebration. Legion of Honor 100

Legion of Honor 100: Global Connections 

November 2024 – November 2025, Legion of Honor

What does an ancient Greek goddess have in common with an 18^th century British noblewoman? How did a fusion of Islam and Christianity create a unique Spanish style of art? This talk will explore how contact between different people and cultures resulted in exchanges of ideas, resources, philosophies, and spiritual beliefs. And whether it was migration, trade, or conquest, these cultural exchanges are reflected in the art seen at the Legion of Honor. Global Connections: Art, Cultures, and Stories in the Legion of Honor’s Collection is presented as part of the museum’s 100^th anniversary celebration. Legion of Honor 100

The Legion of Honor Turns 100: Its Origins, Architecture, and Inaugural Art 

November 2024 – November 2025, Legion of Honor

2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Legion of Honor, home to one of the world’s outstanding collections of Rodin sculpture and European art. The Legion of Honor owes its existence to the vision of enterprising San Franciscan Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, who set out to build a museum to showcase French art and dedicated to the California men who died in France during World War I. This talk tells the fascinating story of how the museum was modeled after the Legion of Honor in Paris and would come to be built on a hill with a breathtaking view of the San Francisco Bay. Featuring a treasure trove of historic images, the talk highlights some of the building’s beautiful original architectural features as well as renovations undertaken over the past 100 years. The Legion of Honor’s moving inaugural ceremonies of 1924 and the art objects that were on display in the galleries on opening day will also be discussed in this exploration of an important chapter of San Francisco history. Legion of Honor Turns 100

Behind the Scenes at Bouquets to Art

Join us for a stroll through the British galleries of the Legion of Honor as we explore the world of beloved English author Jane Austen. We’ll see paintings that Austen herself would have seen; portraits of ladies, gentlemen, and military officers by famous artists such as Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds.  We’ll look at trends in fashion, country estates, and gardens, and talk about how “new money” was changing society.  You will gain a fresh perspective of Jane Austen’s life and times, and a deeper understanding of her ever-popular novels.

Dressed to Thrill: Fashion in Art at the Legion of Honor

It’s often said that you can’t judge a book by its cover. But can a person’s clothing tell us something about who they are, or the world they lived in? This informative and entertaining talk explores the fashions seen in the vast art collections of the Legion of Honor. Hear how revolution, religion, and politics have shaped the way people dress. From ancient Greece to the court of Versailles, this presentation gives you a front row seat at a fashion show 2000 years in the making