The Object

The man behind "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" was one of the richest, most popular authors in the world—an adventurous celebrity who could fight as well as write. But many of Alexandre Dumas’ readers today don’t know that he was Black—or that his best story may have been his own.
A portrait of Alexandre Dumas, widely reproduced in his day, was recently acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Art:
https://collections.artsmia.org/art/142671/portrait-of-alexandre-dumas-pere-pierre-francois-eugene-giraud
Another portrait of Dumas in Mia’s collection—younger, dashing, looking a little like Prince: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/54426/portrait-of-alexander-dumas-achille-deveria

In the 1970s, Georgia O’Keeffe is supposedly the hermit savant of the New Mexico badlands, rarely heard and seldom seen, even as the outside world can’t get enough of her enigmatic art. But when curators, journalists, and even the FBI come calling, it seems the head ghost of Ghost Ranch is the host with the most—and hardly ever alone. A fresh look at a myth we can’t stop believing.
You can see one of O'Keeffe's badlands pictures, "Black Place I," in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/119128/black-place-i-georgia-okeeffe
Also, one of her iconic views from Ghost Ranch, "Pedernal--From the Ranch #1": https://collections.artsmia.org/art/1554/pedernal-from-the-ranch-1-georgia-okeeffe
And a photograph of her with husband Alfred Stieglitz: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/1973/stieglitz-and-okeeffe-arnold-newman

(Season 4 premiere) It’s one of the largest jade sculptures in the world, a 640-pound mountain commissioned by the Chinese emperor. But in 1901, in the ugly aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion, it ends up leaving China with an American diplomat—only to resurface on the dinner table of a lumber baron. It’s a story of power and scandal, a story as old as stone: can anyone be king of the hill for long?
You can see "Jade Mountain Illustrating the Gathering of Scholars at the Lanting Pavilion" here: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/4324/jade-mountain-illustrating-the-gathering-of-scholars-at-the-lanting-pavilion-china

In 1852, Harriet Hosmer packs her pistol, her anatomy degree, and two pictures of a sculpture she made and moves to Rome. There, among other “emancipated women” in the expat colony, she becomes one of the world’s most famous artists. But it’s the spirit world that truly calls to her, the realm of the dead that she channels through clairvoyance and seances. So what happens when she answers? (This episode first aired in June 2021. New season begins March 14.)
You can see Hosmer's remarkably tender sculpture of Medusa, now on view in the "Supernatural America" exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, in the online collection: collections.artsmia.org/art/81074/med…oodhue-hosmer

Elizabeth Catlett, the granddaughter of enslaved African-Americans, is a struggling artist at the height of Jim Crow. But when she moves to Mexico City in 1946, she finds love, inspiration, and eventually fame. There's just one catch: she can't come home. (This episode first aired in March 2020.) New season begins March 14.
Check out her work in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/7890/sharecropper-elizabeth-catlett

“It’s never too late to have a happy childhood,” wrote Tom Robbins, the novelist. He could have been referring to Henri Rousseau, the fin de siècle autodidact who begins painting seriously in retirement: storybook-style scenes of exotic animals and jungles that eventually catch the eye of Picasso and Matisse. A story worth remembering as you contemplate a new year, same as the old year—or not.
You can see a print of Rousseau’s “War,” a possible inspiration for Picasso’s “Guernica,” in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/7859/la-guerre-henri-rousseau
You can see one of Rousseau’s most iconic works, “The Dream,” in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79277
A new season of The Object starts soon. Subscribe now and be among the first to hear it.

It’s good to be the pope in the 1600s. But staying pope is not so easy, as the famous Barberini family finds out when one of their own takes up the tiara in 1623. As Rome fills up with their art, and dungeons fill up with their enemies, can they survive the forces of change threatening their worldview—and the forces of the occult threatening to kill the pope on Christmas Day?
You can see some of the art commissioned by the Barberini family, including Pope Urban VIII, all over Rome—in the Piazza Barberini, the Palazzo Barberini, and of course St. Peter’s Basilica—and also in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art: https://collections.artsmia.org/search/pope%20urban
Look closely and you may see the curious Barberini family crest—a trio of bees—on fountains, frames, and even the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica. Read about its symbolism and ubiquity here: https://theframeblog.com/2017/08/22/bees-in-the-frame-part-1-the-barberini-bee/

Rembrandt and Lievens were friends and foes, two of the most promising artists of the Dutch Golden Age. But like Mozart and Salieri, one is remembered as an all-time great, the other is mostly forgotten. Only now is the true story of Rembrandt’s rival being told--a story of ego and admiration, tragedy and triumph, forgery and greed. And it’s rewriting everything we know about the master and the nature of genius.
You can see one of Rembrandt's etchings made after his rival's original here: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/55345/the-second-oriental-head-rembrandt-harmensz-van-rijn
Here you can see Rembrandt's reworking of his image of Christ presented for judgement, after suffering the wrath of the Church: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/115357/christ-presented-to-the-people-rembrandt-harmensz-van-rijn

When Gordon Parks becomes the first Black photographer at LIFE magazine, in 1949, he’s determined to show the full measure of Black lives in America. Whether the magazine, and the rest of America, is ready or not.
You can see "American Gothic," Parks’ photograph of Ella Watson that is featured in this episode, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/100557/american-gothic-gordon-parks
You can see a variety of other work by Parks, who began his career in Minnesota, here: https://collections.artsmia.org/search/artist:%22Gordon%20Parks%22

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?