Lectures
For more information on lectures or for a reservation, please call 800.448.3883 or make a reservation online. All lectures will take place in Copeland Lecture Hall.
Influencer Lecture Series
Every Tuesday in March and April, 6:00–7:00 pm, $15; $10 per Member.
March 10: “Jacqueline Kennedy and H. F. du Pont”
View the 1962 video of Jackie Kennedy touring the newly designed White House, followed by remarks by Estate Historian Jeff Groff on the relationship between H. F. du Pont and Jackie Kennedy's Fine Arts Committee. Buy tickets online or call 800.448.3883.
March 17: “Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life in Politics”
Although she never held an elected office, Eleanor Roosevelt laid the groundwork for contemporary women in government and revolutionized the role of First Lady. Christopher Brick, editor and principal investigator for the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project at The George Washington University, illuminates the characteristics that Roosevelt shares with a few of our female lawmakers, and what they might learn from her. Teachers can earn up to 3 hours of re-certification credit. Buy tickets online or call 800.448.3883.
March 24: “Resurrecting Eve: Shaker Women over Two Centuries”
Christian Goodwillie, director and curator of special collections and archives, Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, discusses whether Shaker women were just plainly dressed and celibate religious devotees, or whether they were really radical change makers on the cutting edge of social progress. You be the judge as you wind your way through the experiences of women in Shaker communities from the 1780s to the present. Buy tickets online or call 800.448.3883.
March 31: “Influence and Impact: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Transformative Words”
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a runaway best seller when it was published in 1852. Though modern readers may dismiss it as sentimental fiction, and some scholars criticize it for codifying racial stereotypes, the influence and impact of this novel can't be underestimated. Beth Burgess, director of collections and research, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Hartford, Connecticut, discusses this important literary work. Buy tickets online or call 800.448.3883.
April 7: “Portrait of a Woman in Silk”
Discover how the lives of an eighteenth-century woman textile designer and a wealthy merchant’s wife are interwoven in this talk based on the recent book by University of Delaware Associate Professor of History and Art History Zara Anishanslin. Book signing to follow. Buy tickets online or call 800.448.3883.
April 14: “The Lady Was a Spy: Female Operatives in WWII”
Throughout World War II, a group of fearless and committed patriots risked their lives to achieve victory in Europe. Their work was crucial to the war effort, yet their stories have only recently been revealed. “The Lady Was a Spy” highlights the unconventional contributions of these brave women to victory in World War II. Presented by Linda De Roche, professor of English and American Studies at Wesley College, Dover, Delaware. Buy tickets online or call 800.448.3883.
April 21: “Stitching Resistance”
What are the roots of today's interest in political stitching? Mariah Gruner, a doctoral candidate in American Studies at Boston University, examines the uses of needlework in both the abolitionist and suffrage movements and explores the ways in which activists exploited its associations with domesticity, femininity, and sentiment for their own ends. Buy tickets online or call 800.448.3883.
April 28: “The Incomparable Louise du Pont Crowninshield”
Estate Historian Jeff Groff illuminates H.F. du Pont's older sister Louise, who was the last private owner of Eleutherian Mills (later known as Hagley Museum and Library), and a pillar of the preservation community in her own right. Buy tickets online or call 800.448.3883.
Mother's Day Weekend Lecture
May 9, 3:00 pm: “Mothers and Daughters” with Pauline Lord, granddaughter of Henry Francis du Pont, $15; $10 per Member. Buy tickets online or call 800.448.3883.
Lecture and Film Screening
May 30, 10:00 am–12:30 pm
“What’s It Really Like to Work with Meryl Streep?” with Jane Petrie, Emmy-Award winning costume designer (speaks after film screening of Suffragette (2015), starring Meryl Streep, Carey
Mulligan, and Helena Bonham Carter). $15; $10 per Member
Autumn Author Series: Creators, Thinkers, Influencers, and Disrupters
Saturdays in fall with book signings, 11:00 am; $15; $10 per Member
September 26: “Behind the Scenes at the White House” with Sally Bedell Smith
October 24: “Landscape Designs during the Golden Age of American Gardens” with Marta McDowell
November 21: “The Beneficiary: Fortune, Misfortune, and the Story of My Father” with Janny Scott