Gallery Talk: Beneath the Surface of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux’s Why Born Enslaved!

Join us for a close look at a painted plaster version of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux’s 1868 sculpture Why Born Enslaved!, which is on display for the first time in the exhibition The Solomon Collection: From Dürer to Degas and Beyond (May 24–August 17, 2025). Conservator Susan Costello and exhibition curator Marina Kliger will discuss the bust’s conservation treatment and its mysterious origins.

The Solomon Collection: Dürer to Degas and Beyond celebrates a significant recent bequest to the Harvard Art Museums from passionate collectors Arthur K. and Mariot F. Solomon. The exhibition spotlights over 135 works, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints by some of the most significant artists from the Renaissance to the 20th century, and offers visitors an intimate view into the highly personal yet inherently collaborative nature of art collecting.

Led by:
Susan Costello, Conservator of Objects and Sculpture, Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies
Marina Kliger, Rousseau Curatorial Fellow in European Art, 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 gallery talk. Space is limited, and talks are available on a first-come, first-served basis; no registration is required.

You may also like the following events from Harvard Art Museums:

• This Tuesday, 29th July, 12:00 pm, Exhibition Tour: The Solomon Collection: From Dürer to Degas and Beyond in Cambridge
• This Friday, 1st August, 12:30 pm, Gallery Talk: Conserving Karma in Cambridge
• This Saturday, 2nd August, 02:00 pm, Summer Spotlight Tour in Cambridge

Also check out other Arts events in Cambridge, Exhibitions in Cambridge, Fine Arts events in Cambridge.