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Gallery Talk: A Sea of Tulips

Drawing of a tulip with a short green stem, large red and white petals, and a single green leaf.
Jacob Marrel, Dutch, Tulip (Admiral Victor). Transparent and opaque watercolor on parchment. The Maida and George Abrams Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Promised gift, 7.2019.24.

Gallery Talk

In-Person
Harvard Art Museums
32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA

This event does not require registration; see further details below.

Join curatorial research associate Susan Anderson, for a deep dive into the wondrous world of tulips, the tulip trade, and Tulipomania.

Why are there so many Dutch tulip drawings? What prompted the Dutch tulip craze in the 1630s? What are “broken tulips”? And what role did the tulip—a symbol of the Netherlands—play in Habsburg-Ottoman diplomacy? Discover all this and much more in this talk.

This talk is offered in conjunction with the exhibition Imagine Me and You: Dutch and Flemish Encounters with the Islamic World, 1450–1750 (May 18–August 18, 2024).

Led by:
Susan Anderson, Curatorial Research Associate for Dutch and Flemish Drawings, Division of European and American Art

Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the talk. Talks are limited to 18 people and are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

The Harvard Art Museums are now offering free admission every day, Tuesday through Sunday. Please see the museum visit page to learn about our general policies for visiting the museums.

Support for Imagine Me and You: Dutch and Flemish Encounters with the Islamic World, 1450–1750 is provided by the Stanley H. Durwood Foundation Support Fund and the Melvin R. Seiden and Janine Luke Fund for Publications and Exhibitions. Related programming is supported by the M. Victor Leventritt Lecture Series Endowment Fund.

The Harvard Art Museums are committed to accessibility for all visitors. For anyone requiring accessibility accommodations for our programs, please contact us at am_register@harvard.edu at least 48 hours in advance.