Greater Boston boasts a number of art museums, each of which, naturally, has galleries for the display of art. These galleries are constructed of walls and floors and ceilings. Even more naturally, however, the city has another art museum, whose floor is the earth, whose ceiling is the sky, and whose walls are the trees. This special museum has three major galleries: the Boston Common, the Boston Public Garden, and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. These galleries display an impressive collection of public sculpture that is free and accessible 24/7, 365 days a year. In this free public illustrated lecture, David Dearinger, PhD will give a brief overview of Boston’s “museum without walls” and the role that sculpture plays in its history and aesthetics. The talk will take place at the Boston Athenaeum, 10 1/2 Beacon Street, on Tuesday, November 29, and registration is not required. For complete details visit http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/events/4142/museums-without-walls-sculpture-collection-boston-common-public-garden-and-commonwealth
David B. Dearinger is Director of Exhibitions and Susan Morse Hilles Senior Curator of Paintings & Sculpture at the Boston Athenæum. He holds a PhD in art history from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York with a specialization in nineteenth century American art. He became a member of the curatorial staff at the National Academy of Design in New York in 1985, where he served as Chief Curator from 1995 until 2004, when he joined the Boston Athenæum. He has taught art history at a number of institutions, including the State University of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, where he taught for over twenty years. He has lectured and published widely in the field of American art and has curated and organized a number of exhibitions in New York and Boston.
