Provenance traces the history of an artwork’s travels from artist’s studio through the hands of subsequent owners. Museum curators, collectors, dealers, art and cultural historians, attorneys–and even some novelists—track the fascinating story of ‘how things got where.’

Museum professional Dr. Lynn Federle Orr shares insights about the role of Provenance in the Art World. At times straightforward, at others tinged with the drama of war or the hype of celebrity, the study of art ownership more importantly opens a window onto larger social issues: shifting fashions in style, political power struggles, cultural identity, and the meaning and purpose of museums themselves. From conventional inheritance, to the excitement of the saleroom, to WWII Repatriations, to the vexing questions of antiquities, Dr. Orr explores the facts, controversies, and ethics in the world of Provenance.

As Curator-in-Charge of European Art, Lynn Orr oversaw the Legion of Honor’s permanent collection and galleries. Dr. Orr also served on the NEA’s Domestic Indemnification Program advisory panel. With a University of California Ph.D., she has lectured and published widely on the 17th and 19th centuries. Recent exhibitions include ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis (2013); The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde (2012); and back-to-back exhibitions from the Musée d’Orsay (2010-11).  In 2013-14, she taught at Stanford University (Continuing Studies Program), the University of San Francisco (Department of Art and Architecture), and University of California, Santa Cruz (Department of History of Art and Visual Culture).

Admission: $15 for non-members, $10 for members, and Free for members at the $500 level and above. Talk begins at 7:00pm.