Museum Tours & Art Talks
Diana Turnbow leads private and group tours, and gives art talks on the themes listed below. Adapted to the needs of each group, tours move through the museum at a comfortable pace, allowing participants to discover and discuss the unique pieces that are often located just off the main paths.
Art talks take place in a variety of settings, both in-person and virtual, and are always accompanied by a visual presentation and time for questions. In addition, Diana leads small-group discussions and presents to book groups.
Museum tours and art talks last between 45-90 minutes depending on the needs of the audience. Diana welcomes invitations to lead custom tours and speak on new topics.
Art in the Age of Jane Austen
Discover the art and culture of the late 18th and early 19th centuries at the National Gallery of Art through the lens of Jane Austen’s novels. Both image and word bring to life an era that seems to hold endless fascination. Austen enthusiasts, art lovers, and the merely curious are invited to enjoy an hour of good company, astute wit, and fine art.
John Hoppner, The Franklin Sisters, 1795. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
The Grand Tour
In past centuries, students, artists, and restless romantics set out on The Grand Tour, taking in the stunning architecture, classical ruins, and celebrated art of Europe’s cultural capitals. The Grand Tour of the National Gallery of Art’s West Building mirrors the journey of the past, moving through each of the museum’s European collections to recount intriguing stories of outstanding individual works of art.
Auguste Renior, Pont Neuf, Paris, 1872. Courtesy the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Fashionable Alliances: Portraits and Influence
Explore the alliance between artist and patron in a selection of fascinating portraits at the National Gallery of Art. Long before YouTube and Instagram, artists and their patrons understood the power of influencer culture in creating images of power and beauty, often employing fashion to enhance the sitter’s character and accomplishments. The resulting portraits evidence sophisticated taste, ingenious art, and colorful personal histories.
John Singer Sargent, Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherfurd White (Mrs. Henry White), 1883. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Art Talk Only
Dorothea Lange’s Three Mormon Towns
Published in the September 6, 1954 issue of LIFE magazine, the series of photographs by the celebrated American photographer looks at the southern Utah communities of Gunlock, Toquerville, and St. George. Utah first caught Dorothea Lange’s attention in the 1930s, and she originally intended to photograph the pioneer communities as part of her unfinished Guggenheim Fellowship project begun in 1941. When Lange finally returned to southern Utah to work alongside her long-time friend, Ansel Adams, her enthusiasm for the distinctive towns yielded hundreds of photograph detailing the people, their relationship with the land, and the transformation of the West in post-war America.
Dorothea Lange, Couple Seated on Porch, Gunlock, Utah, 1953. Copyright Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of California, City of Oakland. Gift of Paul S. Taylor.
Pricing
Group Tours
$15 per person with a minimum of 6 people. Maximum group size of 15.
Private Tours
$100 per hour with a maximum of 4 people.
Art Talks
Price contingent on setting and size of audience. Contact Diana with details for quote.