Canadian Friends of the Hermitage presents Winter/Spring 2011 Lectures and Lancheon

Winter/Spring 2011

Alison Smith is an associate professor in the Department of history at the University of Toronto.
History and Russian Foodways
These two lectures look at the development if Russian foodways, focusing on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries but moving beyond them, by examining how agriculture and culinary developments interacted with local and religious traditions to form a modern cuisine
Wed., Jan 26th, 2011, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Wed., Feb 16th, 2011, 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Dr. Francis Brown received a doctorate from Princeton in Art History. For fifteen years he worked at the AGO as a teacher and organizer of special exhibits. Today Dr. Brown is a popular lecturer and tour guide.
Treasures of the Hermitage
There are approximately three million objects in the Hermitage, so if you look at each one for 30 seconds it would take you about eight years to get through the lot. Instead of that we have two lectures to discuss the history of the collections and to look at some of the greatest paintings in St.Petesburg – from Leonardo and Raphael, through Caravaggio and /Rembrandt to the Impressionists and Matisse.
Wed., March 9th, 2011, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
and Wed., March 23rd , 2011, 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Dr. Julia Zarankin is a Russian specialist and a teacher, writer, editor, and resident of the MacDowel artist colony
Drama and the Russian Soul
1800-1917
We will trace the development of Russian drama over the course of the 19th century and until the October Revolution in order to examine how playwrights use the medium of theatre to depict and subvert societal tensions. We will discuss seminal plays by Griboedov, Gogol, Ostrovsky and Chekhov
Wed., April 13th, 2011, 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Drama and Theatre in Soviet Russia
The Russian Revolution of 1917 ushered in a host of innovations and experiments in the field of acting, directing, design and stagecraft. We will examine how creativity was stunted and transformed under Stalin, and the ways in which Russian theatre revived in the postwar years. We will discuss how avant-garde directors Meyerhold, Vakhtangov and Stanislavsky helped shape our notions of modern theatre. In addition, we will look at plays by Bulgakov, Mayakovsky, among others.
Wed., May 4th, 2011, 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Please note: All lecture sessions are held at the Women’s Art Association, 23 Prince Arthur Avenue, Toronto

Spring Luncheon and Lecture:
Wed., April 6th, 2011, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
The Tsar’s cabinet
Charles Mason, Chief Curator at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, will be the guest speaker at the 2010 annual spring luncheon. Mr. Mason will discuss the Gardiner’s upcoming fall exhibit featuring a selectionof Russian porcelain and decorative arts from an important private American collection. The lecture will examine the majesty and luxury of imperial Russian culture during the two hundred years of Romanov reign.

Please note: Luncheon will be held at the Women’s Art Association, 23 Prince Arthur Avenue, Toronto

Canadian Friends of the Hermitage
3007 Kingston Road, Suite 317, Toronto, Ontario M1M 1P1
Tel 416-979-0932
e-mail Toronto@hermitagemuseum.ca