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2023 Hiden Lecture – The Whole Gilded Age: Beyond New York and Newport with Ulysses S. Dietz

/ Virtual Programs

The BMA welcomed Ulysses Grant Dietz for its biennial Hiden Lecture. Dietz is the Chief Curator Emeritus of the Newark Museum of Art following his 37 year career as Chief Curator. A leading expert on fine and decorative arts, Dietz discusses the Gilded Age in the 1870s and 1880s. During this period of immense economic growth, art infused everything from furniture, lighting, ceramics, metalwork, and jewelry to fashion. Artists, designers, and craftsmen embarked on a “Quest for Beauty” within the period’s opulent interiors while the nation expanded its economy within heavy industry.

The Hiden Lecture Series was begun in 1987 to honor Robert Graves Hiden, a Birmingham native and internationally known interior designer who was also a gifted artist, photographer, and amateur architect. This series is dedicated to educate and stimulate discussion in the fine and decorative arts.