Thursday, March 3, 6:30 pm – Vizcaya: A Most Unusual American House, Online
Morven Museum & Garden’s exciting Grand Homes & Gardens Distinguished Speakers Series returns with another stellar lineup. This year we travel to the Roaring 20’s starting at Innisfree in New York, then south to Swan House in Georgia, down to Ca’ D’Zan on Florida’s west coast; finally arriving in Miami’s Vizcaya. Held live in Morven’s Stockton Education Center, adjacent to the Museum, and simulcast on Zoom, in February and March, this illustrated lecture series brightens winter up and down the coast.
In person program includes light refreshments tailored to the theme of each week’s featured lecturer. Online virtual program includes recipes for make-at-home fare. Tickets range from $15 – $90 (for the whole series) and may be purchased HERE.
The final talk of this year’s series is on March 3 at 6:30 with Remko Jansonius, Senior Director, Art and Artifact Stewardship, on Vizcaya: A Most Unusual American House.
Located along the shores of Biscayne Bay in Miami, Vizcaya was built to look like a centuries-old Italian estate, yet incorporated the most advanced technology of the day. It was the winter home of American industrialist James Deering from 1916 until his death in 1925. The house and gardens are filled with a wide array of European decorative art objects and furnishings, representing many styles and periods, countries and continents. The July 1917 issue of Architectural Review, entirely dedicated to Vizcaya, describes the estate as “the most ‘unusual’ of all the unusual American houses” illustrated that year. We will hear about Deering’s winter estate that holds the stories of tramps and movie stars, of rumrunners and prohibition.
