Why'd They Put That In A Museum?

In this episode of 'Why'd They Put That in a Museum,' hosts Sarah Lees, a museum curator and researcher, and Beth Bacon, an avid museum goer and children's book author, discuss Faith Ringgold's 'Tar Beach,' which is a part of her 'Woman on a Bridge' series. This colorful work defies categorization. It blends painting, quilting, and storytelling. It’s an artwork… and also a Caldecott-winn...

Sarah Lees, a museum curator, and Beth Bacon, an art enthusiast, co-host a podcast called 'Why Do They Put That in a Museum?' In this episode, talk about the cage crinoline, an undergarment from Victorian England that's currently in London's Victoria and Albert Museum. It's basically the hoop inside the hoop skirts that were popular in the 1860's. No one knows who made it. So what's it doing in a ...

In this episode of 'Why'd They Put That in a Museum?' hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss how Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, the Mona Lisa, ended up in the Louvre (hint—it was brought to the Louvre before the Louvre was a museum!). They also talk about the time the Mona Lisa was stolen from the museum and Picasso was accused of the robbery. Beth asks Sarah why art curators think Mona Lisa is such a gre...

In this episode of Why They Put That in a Museum, Sarah Lees and Beth Bacon discuss a stoneware jar made by Dave The Potter, a skilled enslaved potter from South Carolina. They discuss the inscription on the jar, which is a lighthearted description (dare we say roast?) of people in the town. They also explore other aspects of the jar, such as the clay it was made from, the history of its creation, and its various owners over the ye...

Beth Bacon visits Richard Serra's 'Joe' and talks with Sarah Lees about her experience while walking around this large steel sculpture. In this episode of 'Why They Put That in a Museum,' Beth and Sarah wrestle with the opposing thoughts and feelings that arise when encountering this enormous steel sculpture located at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis, Missouri. Beth provides an on-site description...

In this episode of 'Why They Put That in a Museum,' hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss a rare 1846 daguerreotype of Dolley Madison recently acquired by National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. Dolley Madison was the wife of the fourth U.S. President, James Madison. What is a daguerreotype? To answer that question, they do a quick overview of early photography and some of the inventor-artists who got this technolog...

In this episode of 'Why They Put That in a Museum,' hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss the unusual story of Vivian Meier, an unknown nanny whose extraordinary street photography was discovered by chance in an unclaimed storage locker. They discuss the unique and enigmatic nature of her photographs and the very unusual way her body of work came to be known. In fact, none of Meier’s powerful and thought-provoking photo...

In this episode of “Why Did They Put That in a Museum?” hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss the photographs of a little known photographer, Lusha Nelson. Nelson’s photos were found in a yard sale. Why’d they put them in a museum? These were not just any old thrifted finds. First, they are stunningly beautiful. Plus, Nelson's photographs include portraits of icons and luminaries like Jesse Owens and Katharine Hepburn. The s...

In this episode of "Why They Put That in a Museum," Beth Bacon, an author and avid museum goer, joins Sarah Lees, a museum curator and researcher, to explore the origins, history, and purposes of museums. They discuss ancient Greek philosophical institutions, the Renaissance patronage of Lorenzo de Medici, and the concept of cabinets of curiosities in the 1600s. They talk about the founding of significant museums like the...