LENOX, Mass. — Historian and author Francis Morrone via Zoom to the Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum to tell "The Story Behind the Wrightsman 18th Century French Collections at the Met."  

 

Morrone will give his visual presentation on Aug. 31 at 4:00 pm as part of the museum's Tuesday Talks.

 

Charles Wrightsman was an Oklahoma-born oil tycoon and polo player and Jayne Wrightsman was a Michigan-born beauty who for 40 years traveled the world acquiring French antiques and decorative arts for their 18-room apartment in New York, a home in London and a famed mansion in Palm Beach.

 

They eventually gave hundreds of works to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including porcelain, gilt bronzes, antique furniture, boiseries, paintings and sculpture.  Leading experts, even from beyond the Met, were approached to advise on the socially prominent couple's museum-quality acquisitions.

 

Their collections, a major lasting legacy, are exhibited in a series of recreated rooms and galleries. After her husband's death in 1986, Jayne continued to be interested in the collections, even to the point of new textiles, reupholstering and lighting for the rooms, each presented as if it were a different time of day.

 

Morrone is also the author of eleven books, including architectural guide books.  His writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New Criterion, City Journal and the New York Sun, where he was an art and architecture critic.  He teaches architectural and urban history at New York University, and is the recipient of the university's Excellence in Teaching Award.  Travel + Leisure magazine named him as one of the 13 best tour guides in the world.  He has also received an Arthur Ross Award in the category of History/Writing/Publishing from the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.

 

 The admission for the Morrone talk is $20 per person and is available via Zoom only.  To Order on Zoom visit https://ventfort08312021.eventbrite.com  The Summer 2021 series of Tuesday Talks is sponsored by Ventfort Hall board member Lucille Landa and William Landa.