Category Archives: Collections

Tiffany interprets Elizabeth Gossom Roberts’ sampler, comparing it to a recent interpretation from her forthcoming book.

The woman in this icon is a mysterious figure. Thought to have lived in the 3rd century, in present-day Lebanon, no reference was made to her until the 7th century and, even then, doubts continued to the present day. Yet hagiographies (biographies of the saints) continued to mention her, possibly filling in details of herContinue reading “The Girl in the Tower”

Listen, lords, in bower and hall, I sing the wonderous birth Of brave St. George, whose valorous arm Rid monsters from the earth -“The Birth of St. George” as recorded by Thomas Percy in Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765) St. George is celebrated across Europe, hailed as a religious martyr, dragon-slayer, and knight inContinue reading “Dragon Slayer”

On this day, sixty years ago, the youngest man was elected to our nation’s highest office. His name was John F. Kennedy. John was a born-and-bred American, of Irish descent, who had been educated at Harvard and served in the United States’s Navy in World War II. In 1943, when his PT boat was rammedContinue reading “Remembering President Kennedy”

Knowing Teresa’s life helps to interpret this painting, held by the Kentucky Museum.

Columbus Day, or Indigenous Peoples Day? This lithograph print in our collections helps discuss the controversy.

When we think of women in the eighteenth century, we don’t often think of professional success and freedom. Yet between 1780 and 1810, many French women defied the domestic stereotype, reaching artistic success despite being denied admittance to classes on life drawing or the artistic academies.

Do you recognize the woman in the painting? This is Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Récamier – more commonly called Juliette or Madame Récamier – at the age of 28. She was a European celebrity in the early 19th century, known across Paris for her salon where leading literary and political circles gathered. Her story wasContinue reading “Who art thou, Juliette?”

Did you know Pistol Packin Pearl? Discover the first Kentucky woman elected to a four-year term as sheriff and the first Kentucky woman appointed by a president to a national post.