Past Programs & Events

Jewelry in Perspective Virtual Conference

June 1 and 2, 2024

In conjunction with the exhibition Chicago Collects: Jewelry in Perspective, opening May 24, this virtual conference will feature exhibition curator Elyse Zorn Karlin among other experts to discuss late 19th and 20th century American and European jewelry.

Virtual Tour of Sif Itona Westerberg: Twin Flame, Double Ruin

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Enjoy a free virtual tour of our latest A Tale of Today exhibition, Sif Itona Westerberg: Twin Flame, Double Ruin.

Virtual Tour for Glass to Garden: Tiffany Inspired Floral Designs SOLD OUT!

Wednesday, January 3, 2024

Visit Garden to Glass: Tiffany Inspired Floral Designs virtually before the exhibition closes on January 7.

This tour is now sold out.

Gilded Age Influencers: American Women and French Fashion

Friday, November 3, 2023

Inspired by the return of HBO’s The Gilded Age this fall, art historian Elizabeth Block will describe the wealthy Gilded Age American women who, as high-volume customers and as pre-Internet influencers, were active participants in the era’s transnational fashion system.

Live Virtual Tour for Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism SOLD OUT!

Tuesday, October 24 , 2023

Join us for a live virtual tour of Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism.

This event is sold out.

Midwest Museum Talks Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Join Midwest Museum Talks for an online virtual conversation between three Art Nouveau specialists who will highlight Hector Guimard’s work, his influences, his impact, and the resolutely modern dimension of his work.

Le Style Métro: Guimard, Subways, and the Modern City

Thursday, September 14, 2023

What makes subways so important to modern cities, what did they mean to the people that used them, and how did Hector Guimard’s famous entrances for the Paris Métro help create those meanings? In this illustrated lecture, scholar and author David Pike will take you on a virtual tour of subway culture, with Guimard as our guide.

Louis Sullivan’s Architecture and Chicago’s Labor Movement

Thursday, March 23, 2023

In this online program, scholar Joanna Merwood-Salisbury will describe the complex relationship between industrialization and Louis Sullivan’s rhetoric about ‘democratic’ architecture, and how a labor movement took root in the shadows of some of his best-known buildings.

Investigating Richard Nickel’s Photographs To Design a House for the Future

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Richard Nickel’s photographs may endure as an archive of Adler & Sullivan’s architecture, but for the interdiscliplinary experimental design collective Riff Studio, they were both eyes to the past and a bridge to the future.

Louis Sullivan and Cultural Memory in Chicago’s South Side

January 25, 2023, 2022

The story of the Kehilath Anshe Ma’ariv Synagogue is remarkable in so many ways. Tune in for this fascinating program on the history of a Chicago building and what it tells us about the lost voices and influences of Chicago’s Jewish and African American congregants connected to the building, Louis Sullivan’s democratic ideals, and his architectural legacy.

Inventing the Gilded Age: Decorating a Modern World

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Join decorator Thomas Jayne and curator Rebecca Tilles as they survey the aesthetics of the Gilded Age interiors in the Nickerson Mansion and other turn-of-the-century grand homes and examine their spaces for living and entertainment.

Inventing the Gilded Age: Dinner at the Nickerson Mansion

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

In this virtual conversation, food stylist Rick Ellis and Metropolitan Museum of Art Curator Medill Higgins Harvey will take us on a course-by-course tour through the sumptuous dinners hosted in Gilded Age palaces like the Nickerson Mansion.

Inventing the Gilded Age: Art and Scandal — Sargent’s "Madame X"

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Scholar Debra N. Mancoff takes us into the world of American expats and their demi-monde across the ocean in Paris through the lens of one very famous painting.

Inventing the Gilded Age: Chicago Goes Shopping 

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

A Virtual Visit with Santa

Thursday, December 16, 2021

VIRTUAL FUNDRAISER Strangers in a Strange Land Collaborative Works Festival Concert in partnership with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago

October 22- October 30, starting at 7 pm CDT, 2021

PAN and the Art of Printmaking - Part 1: Virtual Lecture

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Chicago's Great Fire

Thursday, October 7, 2021

From PAN to Bridge: Avant-Garde Publications in Perspective

Thursday, September 23, 2021

A Tale of Today: Nate Young and Mika Horibuchi - Virtual Tour + Catalogue

Includes access to virtual tour featuring both artists + the exhibition catalogue, 2021

Virtually experience each gallery in the exhibition as Nate Young and Mika Horibuchi share the stories behind the works created specifically for the historically and architecturally significant space.

Chicago Encounters Japan: The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition

Wednesday, June 9 (SOLD OUT), 2021

Dr. Janice Katz will explain how Japan’s presence at the exposition of 1893 in Chicago was tactful, inspirational, and enduring.

(Virtually) Meet the Author - Neil Harris, Chicago Apartments: A Century of Lakefront Luxury

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Featuring a conversational tour through the history and architecture of some of the Windy City’s most magnificent abodes followed by Q & A with the author.

Tea is Served! with Leslie Goddard, Ph.D.

Saturday, May 8, 2021

Please join us this Mother’s Day Weekend as we discuss a wonderful tradition that dates back to 1840 British royalty and quickly began to take root with people of all social classes - the afternoon tea.

In Conversation with the Driehaus Museum’s A Tale of Today: Emerging Artist Fellows

Originally Presented on
Sunday, April 11, 2020, 2021

This virtual discussion will explore how the history and architecture of the Driehaus Museum inspired the works on view in the Fellowship’s pop-up exhibition as well as the key insights the Fellows have gained from their experience.

A Tale of Today: Up From the Ashes – A Visit with Jane Addams

Monday, March 8, 2021

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we are hosting a very special engagement with Jane Addams herself! Actress Betsey Means will perform Democracy in America: A Social Gathering with Jane Addams based on Addams’ life and writings.

“Sweet” Home Chicago with Leslie Goddard, Ph.D.

Saturday, February 13, 2021, 2021

Chicago’s legacy as a “candy capital” has its roots in the late 19^th century. Spend part of your Valentine’s Day weekend learning more about the city’s “sweet” history.

PAN: The Avant-Garde Point of View with Dr. Max Koss

Saturday, February 6, 2021

Join us as art historian Dr. Max Koss explores a new era of printmaking and the transition from the more conservative art and ideas of the nineteenth century towards the progressive expressionism of the twentieth as revealed through the pages of PAN.

A Tale of Today: A Slice of Culinary History - Betty Crocker Celebrates 100 Years SOLD OUT

Saturday, January 30, 2021

Long before Martha Stewart and Ina Garten, home cooks turned to Betty Crocker. This lecture by historian Leslie Goddard, Ph.D., looks at how Betty Crocker was invented and what makes her so iconic.

Virtual Holiday Story Time and Sing-a-long with Aunt Holly

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Let’s get jolly with our dear Aunt Holly! Aunt Holly is a Driehaus Museum holiday favorite, and she is so excited to lead us in festive songs and a story.

A Virtual Visit with Santa at the Driehaus Museum

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Experience a virtual hangout with Santa, live from the Front Parlor of the Driehaus Museum. First, Santa will tell a festive story and then he will engage with the children and answer their questions.

Remembering Marshall Field’s at Christmas with Leslie Goddard

Friday, December 11, 2020

This illustrated talk traces Marshall Field’s beloved holiday traditions, including the Walnut Room Christmas tree, the holiday window displays, the toy department, and more.

Expressions of Illusion: The History and Creativity of Trompe L’oeil

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Discover how trompe l’oeil, the use of visual illusions in art, has enticed viewers for centuries with art historian Paul Neumann.

From Hand to Hearth: The Untold Story of American Mosaic Fireplaces
SOLD OUT

Saturday, November 14, 2020

Fine craftsman and designer Ted Ellison will bring a historical perspective as we explore how Giannini & Hilgart, alongside the celebrated architects of their day, approached the language of mosaic with fresh experiments in material and decorative design.

WATCH | Opening Day Virtual Panel Discussion - A Tale of Today: Nate Young and Mika Horibuchi

Originally Presented on
Saturday, September 26, 2020, 2020

Presented on the opening day of our exhibition A Tale of Today: Nate Young and Mika Horibuchi featuring the artists, exhibition curator, and three guest panelists.

WATCH | Live From the Drawing Room: The Art of Entertaining

Originally Presented on
Wednesday, September 16, 2020, 2020

The Gilded Age raised the practice of entertaining at home to an art form. Join us for our next episode of “Live From the Drawing Room” for an evening of entertainment at the Nickerson Mansion.

WATCH | Live From the Drawing Room: The Transcendence of Form

Originally Presented on
Thursday, July 23, 2020, 2020

“The Transcendence of Form,” welcomes you back into the Nickerson Mansion for a musical evening focused on the late 19th-century Aesthetic Movement’s far reaching influence on design.

WATCH | Virtual Story Time at the Museum: Exploring Architecture

Originally Presented on
Thursday, July 9, 2020, 2020

Join Miss Valerie and Miss Abby as we read a book and learn about architecture during the Gilded Age! We will also be building houses out of found objects.

WATCH | Virtual Story Time at the Museum: Art Museum Etiquette and Origami

Originally Presented on
Thursday, June 25, 2020, 2020

Miss Valerie reads a book about visiting an art museum and the rules we all have to follow in order to enjoy the art. Miss Abby tells us a little bit about origami and shows us how to make some folded paper creations.

WATCH | Live From the Drawing Room: The Language of Flowers

Originally Presented on
Thursday, June 18, 2020, 2020

Patrick Donley is back in the house for another episode of “Live From the Drawing Room,” our virtual events inspired by the variety shows of the 1940s and 50s.

WATCH | Virtual Story Time at the Museum: Exploring an Art Gallery

Originally Presented on
Thursday, June 4, 2020, 2020

Meet Miss Valerie in the gallery as she reads a book about visiting an art gallery. She also talks about how you can create your own gallery at home!

WATCH | Live From the Drawing Room: Prime Time Gilded-Age Style

Originally Presented on
Thursday, May 14, 2020, 2020

Allow the stunning interiors of the Driehaus Museum to once again transport you to another time and place - now, from the comfort of your own living room.

WATCH | Virtual Tour of Eternal Light: The Sacred Stained-Glass Window of Louis Comfort Tiffany

Originally Presented on
Friday, April 10, 2020, 2020

A virtual tour of our recent exhibition, Eternal Light: The Sacred Stained-Glass Windows of Louis Comfort Tiffany.