Winter Speaker Series 2026 Season Tickets

Since 1928, the Winter Speaker Series has been a cornerstone of the Newport Art Museum’s annual programming. Each year the Winter Speaker Series Committee and Museum staff curate this series to reflect the ideas of our times and to educate, illuminate, delight and inspire.

Join us for these in person and live streamed thought provoking talks, accessible to you wherever you happen to be! All Lectures will be recorded for later viewing by subscribers and ticket holders

Each lecture will be followed by audience Q&A, and continued conversation in the galleries over hot tea, coffee, light fare, and desserts.

January 24: Nick Benson

Third Generation Stone Carver and Owner of The John Stephens Shop

Inscriptions in the Information Age

January 31: Dr. Robert Quinn

Founder and Executive Director of Scholars at Risk

Because life is not a yes/no question: Why academic freedom matters to everyone.

Academic freedom is an often misunderstood and contested concept. At its essence, it’s the freedom of research professionals and educators, to seek the truth, to follow their research, their teaching, their ideas, and to share them in accordance with professional and ethical standards. Dr. Quinn will discuss the role of Scholars at Risk, which works to defend the research of academics nationally and internationally, and to clarify and explain academic freedom alongside freedom of expression.

February 7: Stephanie Plunkett

Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge, Massachusetts

The Life and Work of Norman Rockwell

Beyond the legendary status that he had achieved some forty years before his death in 1978, illustrator Norman Rockwell was an accomplished painter and a complex man. A gifted storyteller and masterful technician with a distinct, personal message to convey, Rockwell created images that described universal human experiences within a particularly American context. Norman Rockwell Museum Chief Curator Stephanie Plunkett will present on the artist’s long and prodigious career, and the complex working methods that helped him bring his subjects to life, and his impact on popular culture.

February 14:  Dr. Steven Tuck

Archaeologist and Professor in the History Department at Miami University

Escape from Pompeii: Tracing survivors from the 79 CE eruption of Vesuvius

Dr. Tuck will change the story of Pompeii from one of death and destruction to one of survival and hope. Through his research, he has traced those Romans who escaped the eruption of Vesuvius and discovered how and where they rebuilt lives, families, and businesses, while carrying with them reminders of their former lives.

February 21: Dr. Charles Clarkson

Director of Avian Research for the Audubon Society of RI

Conserving Birds in an Age of Biodiversity Loss: The Tools for Recovery

 Birds are facing an uncertain future. Despite being on this planet for nearly 160 million years, birds are experiencing steep and rapid declines – with North America losing approximately 30% of its total bird abundance in just a 50-year period. This talk will discuss the amazing evolutionary history of birds, the growing threats they now face, and what we must do to slow their loss and contribute to population growth. In this “all hands on deck” period of conservation, we all have a role to play in saving our birds and biodiversity.

February 28: Asako Katsura

Ishibashi Assistant Curator of Japanese Art at MFA Boston

Japanese Treasures in the Collection at MFA Boston

Established in 1876, the Japanese art collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston has been nurtured by numerous collectors, scholars, curators, and visitors. Asako Katsura, MFA’s Ishibashi Assistant Curator for Japanese Art, will talk about the history of the Japanese art collection of the MFA by introducing Bostonian collectors of the late-19th century and some highlight objects. The lecture focuses on how the Bostonians contributed to the establishment of one of the earliest collections of Asian art in the United States, how the Japanese art gallery has developed for the last 150 years, and how we envision its future.

WINTER SPEAKER SERIES CORPORATE SPONSORS

Platinum:

Gold:

Bronze:

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WINTER SPEAKER SERIES INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS

Lockett Ford Ballard, Jr.
Johanna Becker
Gabe & Eleanor Doumato
Angela Fischer
Mary M. Jennings Fund
Kathleen & Joseph Gallichio
Robert & Susan Kieronski
Chas A. Miller III
Santiago & Maureen Neville
Edwina Sebest
Cynthia Sinclair
Brian Zanghi

In-Kind Sponsors

Winter Speaker Series Committee

Johanna Becker, Chair
Eleanor Doumato
Joseph Gallichio
Susan Kieronski
Santiago Neville
Emilia Sywolski
Susan Pasquarelli
Thomas Palmer

Contact Susan Hanley, Senior Advisor Sponsor & Donor Engagement at 631-599-1950 (shanley@newportartmuseum.org) for more information on sponsoring the Winter Speaker Series.

Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor