The Object

The Return of the Owl

In the 1940s, an heir to the Pillsbury flour fortune acquires an ancient Chinese bronze vessel, thousands of years old, in the form of an extremely charming owl. An instant visitor favorite at the Minneapolis Institute of Art—until, a couple of years ago, it falls from its perch. A story of the things we carry through time, what survives and what does not, and the recent miraculous resurrection of the Pillsbury Owl.
You can see the charismatic owl here, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and now once again on display in the museum itself.
You can read more about oracle bones, an ancient fortune-telling practice that plays an important role in this story, here.
Leave us a review, in stars or words, wherever you listen—it really does mean a lot. And please subscribe so you never miss an episode!

Encore Episode: The Photographer in Hitler's Bath

When World War II begins, Lee Miller is one of the most sought-after women in the world—a celebrated model, an irresistible muse, and an emerging photographer in her own right. So why does she trade the high life for the front line, risking everything to become the only female photojournalist allowed in combat?
You can see photographs of Lee Miller in her modeling days—and photographs taken by Miller—here in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
You can read more about Miller in this recent New York Times profile based on a huge new retrospective of her work at the Tate in London: "The 9 Lives of Lee Miller."
You can explore more art from the World War II era in "Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910–1945," a special exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, through July 19, 2026. 
Tickets are now *sold out* for the next live taping of The Object podcast on May 21, 2026, at 7 p.m. at our home museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art. BUT walk-ups are welcome, no cost, for general admission: simply come a little early, grab a seat and enjoy the show. It's “The Object LIVE! Talk Dürer to Me!” with musical guests Philip Brunelle and members of the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, curator conversation with Mia Director Katie Luber, quizzes, and of course storytelling. An irreverent romp through the Renaissance, featuring the art and life of the groundbreaking painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer on his 555th birthday. 

The Exile Who Never Left

In the early 1930s, Max Beckmann is the biggest thing in Germany, the übermensch of art with his larger-than-life paintings and ego to match, peering over a champagne glass at the beautiful free spirits in the cabarets. But when Hitler takes over, Beckmann is in his crosshairs, forced to choose between creative freedom and the country he loves. An epic story of war and resilience, the sweep of history and the struggle to realize our destiny.
You can see some of Beckmann’s biggest, most electrifying work in the special exhibition “Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910–1945: Masterworks from the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin,” on view at Mia through July 19. 
Tickets are now *sold out* for the next live taping of The Object podcast on May 21, 2026, at 7 p.m. at our home museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art. BUT walk-ups are welcome, no cost, for general admission: simply come a little early, grab a seat and enjoy the show. It's “The Object LIVE! Talk Dürer to Me!” with musical guests Philip Brunelle and members of the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, curator conversation with Mia Director Katie Luber, quizzes, and of course storytelling. An irreverent romp through the Renaissance, featuring the art and life of the groundbreaking painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer on his 555th birthday. 

Encore Episode: The Ghost of Hokusai

It is the stuff of legend: Claude Monet discovers Japanese art in the late 1800s, something clicks, and he goes on to become the most famous artist in the world. But one of his greatest influences on the other side of the earth is a mystery, the artist behind the “great wave” and hundreds of other iconic images. The artist who calls himself Hokusai (at least for a time)—and won't be nearly as lucky as Monet.
You can see one of Monet’s paintings of the Japanese footbridge he built at Giverny here, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. You can see hundreds of Hokusai’s prints in the collection, including the “great wave,” here.
BIG NEWS! A new series of The Object LIVE!, our free live tapings of The Object podcast begins May 21 with "Talk Dürer to Me!" With fun quizzes, music, and of course storytelling, all about the quirky German genius Albrecht Dürer—on his 555th birthday—and the splendid weirdness of the Renaissance. Recorded live in the historic Pillsbury Auditorium at our home museum in Minneapolis. Tickets are absolutely free but you do need to have them, available starting April 21 on the Tickets page at Artsmia.org.

The Other Monet

It's the Season 8 premiere! Claude Monet, by the 1900s, is the most famous artist in the world, a singular genius (if not exactly genial). But there is another Monet: Blanche Hoschedé Monet. The only artist Claude Monet takes under his wing—and almost completely forgotten, until now.
A story of what it means to be an artist, and what happens when your story is not your own. You can see Hoschedé Monet's 1888 Snow Effect landscape, recently acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, here. 
BIG NEWS! A new series of The Object LIVE!, our free live tapings of The Object podcast begins May 21 with "Talk Dürer to Me!" With fun quizzes, music, and of course storytelling, all about the quirky German genius Albrecht Dürer—on his 555th birthday—and the splendid weirdness of the Renaissance. Recorded live in the historic Pillsbury Auditorium at our home museum in Minneapolis. Tickets are absolutely FREE, available starting April 21 at Artsmia.org.
Leave us a review wherever you listen and subscribe so you never miss an episode as Season 8 gets rolling.

Encore Episode: Finding Fanny, the Model who Disappeared

New season begins March 16! Now, an encore episode that was our most popular story a few seasons ago. About a woman who was once of the most recognizable  in the world, her long copper hair filling painting after painting, even if few people knew her name: Fanny Cornforth. Model, muse, and mistress to the most influential artists of the Victorian era, who she still had to fight for everything she got. Until, in the end, she lost the one thing she could count on for sure: herself.
You can see her in this 1868 painting, "I know a maiden fair to see," in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. 
Subscribe now so you never miss an episode of the upcoming season, leave us a review, and visit our home museum if you're in the Twin Cities area: the Minneapolis Institute of Art, now showing "Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910–1945." 

Fireside Stories: Bursting, Twisting, Sticking, Spilling

Season 8 of The Object begins March 16! All-new episodes, bonus content, and more about the almost famous, the nearly lost, and more surprising true stories at the intersection of art and history. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode!
Now, enjoy the second in our bonus series of Fireside Stories: The incredible, fast, and forgotten life of painter Bob Thompson. The original Basquiat, seeming to come out of nowhere with sold-out shows of his colorful remixes of Old Masters. Riding with the Beat poets in the race to live all of life all at once. And leaving behind several lifetimes' worth of work—in just a few years.
You can see Thompson's Homage to Nina Simone, a reimagining of Nicolas Poussin's Bacchanal with Lute-Player, from about 1630, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

The Object LOVE! Don't Go Breaking My Art!

This rollicking, sold-out live show of The Object podcast was recorded February 7, 2026, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art with host Tim Gihring and musical guest jeremy messersmith. It's our Valentine's show, with quizzes, storytelling, and curator conversation all about the gods in—and often out of—love. 
Messersmith, a NPR Tiny Desk alum whose new song F••• This has become a viral hit, performs a choice selection of tunes about our tragicomic relationship with the heart, plays a quiz, and talks about the ideal love song. European art curator Rachel McGarry explains why we remain enamored of classical myths. And Gihring spins a story of Eros and Psyche across thousands of years.
A big thank-you to messersmith, McGarry, and show runner Dexter Carlson, who donned an inflatable plastic cupid-bear costume for her welcome remarks that probably should have remained petroleum. 
Our season 8 premiere is just weeks away in mid-March! Subscribe so you never miss an episode and keep an eye out for the next live taping sometime in May. 

Encore Episode: The Curious Celebrity of God's Sculptor

One month to go until the new season of The Object premieres! Subscribe so you don't miss it, and in the meantime enjoy bonus and encore episodes like this one from early in The Object archives.
William Edmondson is a middle-aged laborer in Nashville, Tennessee, at the height of the Great Depression, when God tells him to carve a tombstone. Soon, he's the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York. But his celebrity is strangely short-lived, and only much later does the real story of his rise and fall from the heights of the art world come to light. You can see one of his many sculptures of a ram, of the Dorset sheep variety local to Tennessee, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Encore Episode: A Woman Called Wanda

Free tickets are going fast for the next live taping of The Object podcast with special guest jeremy messersmith on February 7 in Mia’s historic Pillsbury Auditorium. A Valentine's show with jeremy performing live, storytelling, and "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" style quizzes, all about the art of love. It’s The Object LIVE!—everything you love about the podcast, live on stage. Reserve your free tickets here or at the Tickets page at artsmia.org.
Now on with the show: Wanda Gág was the original celebrity cat mom. The talented, bob-sporting, fiercely independent illustrator and author of Millions of Cats, a book that essentially invented the children’s genre and made her famous. She was every woman who liked men just fine but refused to build her life around them. Guest host Lizzi Ginsberg looks back at the surprising life and work she did create in the 1920s and ’30s, as she moved between Minnesota and New York.
You can see Gág’s marvelous self-portrait now on view at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, along with Roaring Twenties art in “Gatsby at 100.” And many other prints by her in the collection.