Museum Talks | Washington, DC #14 The Walters Art Museum

Villa Albertine DC is honored to host Julia Marciari-Alexander, PhD, Andrea B. and John H. Laporte Director, and Jo Briggs, Jennie Walters Delano Curator of 18th- and 19th-Century Art at the Walters Art Museum, for a virtual talk on the current exhibition celebrating Léon Bonvin “Quiet Beauty: The Watercolors of Léon Bonvin”. This event will take place on July 10th at 6:00 pm.

This conversation will be moderated by Faya Causey, former Head of academic programs at the NGA, and followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Julia Marciari-Alexander, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Walters Art Museum

Dr. Julia Marciari-Alexander has served as Executive Director & CEO of the Walters Art Museum since 2013. The fifth director of the Walters, she is the first woman to hold the post. During her tenure, she has overseen the award-winning, $11 million refurbishment of the historic Hackerman House at 1 West Mount Vernon Place, launched a series of initiatives that examine the institution’s origins and map steps to embed diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) in the organization, and broadened and diversified the board of trustees and leadership team at the museum. She is inspired by the collaborative work that she and the team at the museum do to create exhibitions and public and educational programs that connect with the wide-ranging and diverse communities in Baltimore and beyond. In addition, Marciari-Alexander serves as President of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) Board of Trustees. In Maryland, she serves on the boards of the Maryland Citizens for the Arts, the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, and the Center Club, among others.

Prior to joining the Walters, Marciari-Alexander was Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs at the San Diego Museum of Art where she served from 2008 to 2013, as Interim Co-Director (2009–2010) and Interim Deputy Director for Education (2010–2011). Before moving to San Diego, she spent more than 10 years at the Yale Center for British Art, first as Assistant/Associate Curator of Paintings & Sculpture, then as Associate Director of Programmatic Affairs and Associate Director of Exhibitions and Publications. During her tenure there, she also taught numerous courses for the University’s History of Art department. Marciari-Alexander earned her BA in art history and French at Wellesley College; her MA in French at NYU; and her MA and PhD in the history of art at Yale University.

Jo Briggs, Jennie Walters Delano Curator of 18th- and 19th-Century Art at the Walters Art Museum

Jo Briggs is the Jennie Walters Delano Curator of 18th- and 19th-Century Art at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, where she has worked since 2011. Jo’s published work focuses on European academic art and the history of collecting in 19th-century America. She is the author of four articles on Léon Bonvin, including a chapter in the catalogue raisonné that accompanied the recent exhibition of Bonvin’s work at the Fondation Custodia in Paris. She holds degrees from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, the University of Oxford, and Yale University.

The Walters Art Musem

Dive into history at the Walters Art Museum, which includes collections spanning more than seven millennia, from 5,000 BCE to the 21st century. The museum is located in the Mount Vernon Cultural District, one of Baltimore’s most iconic neighborhoods—which includes other art museums, theaters, concert venues and historic landmarks. The museum’s remarkable permanent collection features ancient Asian art, textiles and furniture, jewelry, arms and armor, and 19th century European art from masters including Millet, Rousseau, Monet, and Manet.