Washington, DC Embassy Events & Museum Meetups

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Niagara - Marilyn Monroe 100th Birthday Film Fest – Livestream Hosted by Robert Kelleman

Marilyn Monroe was born 100 years ago - June 1, 1926.
Let’s celebrate by watching some of Marilyn’s best films.
This is just one in a series of screenings we’ll have over the coming months.

This film history program will have two parts. The first portion, approximately 15-20 minutes, will be an introduction to the film, including the historical context, plot summary, and things to look for. The second portion will be a full screening of the film.

During the program you’ll have the opportunity to discuss the film with your fellow history lovers via Zoom.

Niagara is a 1953 American noir thriller film directed by Henry Hathaway and produced by Charles Brackett. Brackett also wrote the screenplay alongside Walter Reisch and Richard Breen. Among the top-billed stars are Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, and Jean Peters. Denis O'Dea, and Max Showalter (credited as Casey Adams) are among other stars appearing in the film. Set in Niagara Falls, the film tells the story of two couples: one, a pair of newlyweds on their honeymoon, and the other, a husband and wife whose turbulent marriage is wracked by jealousy and deceit.
Unlike other films noir of the time, which were typically black-and-white, Niagara was shot in "three-strip" Technicolor (one of the last films to be made at 20th Century Fox in that format, as a few months later the studio began converting to CinemaScope, which had compatibility problems with three-strip but not with Eastmancolor).
Niagara was a box office success and received positive reviews from film critics. It was one of 20th Century Fox's biggest box office hits that year. Monroe was given top billing in Niagara, which elevated her to movie star status. Monroe's next two films, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Marry a Millionaire (both 1953), were even bigger successes commercially.

Frank Lloyd Wright Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick - Art History Livestream
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Frank Lloyd Wright - American Homes - Art History Livestream
Hosted by Robert Kelleman

We invite you to a special two-part art history program on the life and career of famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Part 1, on Friday, June 5, will be a screening of the PBS film “Frank Lloyd Wright” by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick.
Part 2, on Saturday, June 6, will be an art history lecture on some of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most noteworthy American home designs including Falling Water (Pennsylvania), Robie House (Chicago), Pope-Leighey House (Virginia), Taliesin (Wisconsin), Taliesin West (Scottsdale)

During and after both programs you’ll have the opportunity to discuss the topics with your fellow art lovers via Zoom.

Frank Lloyd Wright
A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick
Frank Lloyd Wright tells the story of the greatest of all American architects. Wright was an authentic American genius, a man who believed he was destined to redesign the world, creating everything anew. Over the course of his long career, he designed over eight hundred buildings, including such revolutionary structures as the Guggenheim Museum, the Johnson Wax Building, Fallingwater, Unity Temple and Taliesin. His buildings and his ideas changed the way we live, work and see the world around us.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural achievements were often overshadowed by the turbulence of his melodramatic life. In ninety-two tempestuous years, he fathered seven children, married three times, and was almost constantly embroiled in scandal. Some hated him, some loved him, and in the end, few could deny that he was the one of the most important architects in the world.

Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements of the twentieth century, influencing architects worldwide through his works and mentoring hundreds of apprentices. Wright believed in designing in harmony with humanity and the environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. This philosophy was exemplified in Fallingwater (1935), which has been called "the best all-time work of American architecture".
Wright was a pioneer of what came to be called the Prairie School movement of architecture and also developed the concept of the Usonian home, his vision for urban planning in the United States. Wright also designed original and innovative offices, churches, schools, skyscrapers, hotels, museums, and other commercial projects. Wright-designed interior elements (including leaded glass windows, floors, furniture and even tableware) were integrated into these structures. He wrote several books and numerous articles and was a popular lecturer in the United States and in Europe. Wright was recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as "the greatest American architect of all time". In 2019, a selection of his work became a listed World Heritage Site under the name The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Raised in rural Wisconsin, Wright studied civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin and later apprenticed in Chicago, first briefly with Joseph Lyman Silsbee, and then with Louis Sullivan at Adler & Sullivan. Wright opened his own successful Chicago practice in 1893 and established a studio in his Oak Park, Illinois home in 1898.

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Frank Lloyd Wright Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick - Art History Livestream
&
Frank Lloyd Wright - American Homes - Art History Livestream
Hosted by Robert Kelleman

We invite you to a special two-part art history program on the life and career of famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Part 1, on Friday, June 5, will be a screening of the PBS film “Frank Lloyd Wright” by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick.
Part 2, on Saturday, June 6, will be an art history lecture on some of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most noteworthy American home designs including Falling Water (Pennsylvania), Robie House (Chicago), Pope-Leighey House (Virginia), Taliesin (Wisconsin), Taliesin West (Scottsdale)

During and after both programs you’ll have the opportunity to discuss the topics with your fellow art lovers via Zoom.

Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements of the twentieth century, influencing architects worldwide through his works and mentoring hundreds of apprentices. Wright believed in designing in harmony with humanity and the environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. This philosophy was exemplified in Fallingwater (1935), which has been called "the best all-time work of American architecture".
Wright was a pioneer of what came to be called the Prairie School movement of architecture and also developed the concept of the Usonian home, his vision for urban planning in the United States. Wright also designed original and innovative offices, churches, schools, skyscrapers, hotels, museums, and other commercial projects. Wright-designed interior elements (including leaded glass windows, floors, furniture and even tableware) were integrated into these structures. He wrote several books and numerous articles and was a popular lecturer in the United States and in Europe. Wright was recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as "the greatest American architect of all time". In 2019, a selection of his work became a listed World Heritage Site under the name The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Raised in rural Wisconsin, Wright studied civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin and later apprenticed in Chicago, first briefly with Joseph Lyman Silsbee, and then with Louis Sullivan at Adler & Sullivan. Wright opened his own successful Chicago practice in 1893 and established a studio in his Oak Park, Illinois home in 1898.

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YouTube Recordings of Our Previous American Artist Programs …

In Search of Mozart - Music & Film History Livestream Hosted by Robert Kelleman

Let’s meetup and celebrate Mozart’s 270th birthday (January 27, 1756) belated with an encore two-part music and film history program.

Part 1 will be a full screening of the excellent documentary In Search of Mozart, 2006.
Part 2 will be a full screening of the iconic film Amadeus, 1984, with Tom Hulce in the title role.

The two films will be shown separately, at different times, but with the same Zoom link, join us for either or both.
During and after the program you’re invited to discuss the films with your fellow music lovers via Zoom.

In Search of Mozart - Documentary
An unmissable biography narrated by Juliet Stevenson and featuring interviews and performances with over 70 of the greatest exponents of Mozart’s music. A valuable addition to any music lovers education.
Produced in association with the world’s leading orchestras, opera houses and musicians. Told through a 25,000 mile journey along every route Mozart followed; IN SEARCH OF MOZART is a detective story that travels to the heart of old Europe… and the heart of genius itself.
The most comprehensive and illuminating film about Mozart that you are likely to see... A remarkable achievement... Strikingly original... The result is gloriously entertaining as well as revelatory. One reason for that is Grabsky's camerawork. I know far too little about cinematic techniques to explain how he does it - but somehow, by focusing so closely on face and fingers, he manages to convey the intensity of the musical experience more grippingly than anything I have seen on film or television... --The Times
No more important, or beautifully filmed documentary about Mozart's life and music has emerged than Phil Grabsky's 'In Search of Mozart' ... What emerges is a far more accurate, complete and endearingly human portrait of Mozart than any documentary has ever painted. If all you know of him are the glossy lies disseminated by Amadeus, don't miss In Search of Mozart. It's a must see for tyros and cognoscenti alike... --Chicago Tribune