Virtual Tour: Carvings and Quandaries

Join Boston Athenæum Docent Carolyn Hilles-Pilant for an exploration of the life and work of Horatio Greenough and Thomas Crawford, two American Neoclassical sculptors who expatriated to Italy in the early nineteenth century despite quarantines and other misadventures. The politics and popular aesthetics of their day provide a context for understanding the importance of these artists to their time, as well as ours. The tour will spotlight three sculptures in the Athenæum’s collections: Venus Vitrix and Judgement of Paris by Greenough and Adam and Eve by Crawford.

“Made me want to revisit the Athenæum, specifically to focus on the sculptures.”
“Fascinating topic; excellent and lively presentation, well researched, and presented with a charming sense of humor.”