Materials Lab Workshop: Landscape Drawing with Optical Devices
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Fee: Note new pricing as of July 1, 2026: $75 paid at registration; $60 for current Fellows, Friends and Partners, paid at registration. Materials are included. Your purchase helps support the educational mission of the Harvard Art Museums.
Age restrictions: Age 14 and older
Where to go: Materials Lab, Lower Level
Accessibility accommodations: If you would like to request accommodations for your visit, please contact Visitor Services at [email protected] or 617-495-9400. For more details about accommodations at the museums, please see the Accessibility page.
Join curatorial assistant for special exhibitions and publications Meghan Grady and Harvard physics professor Aravinthan Samuel for a workshop focused on art and science. You’ll first experiment with physical drawing aids, such as perspective frames and camera lucidas, which have helped artists translate complex spaces and details into two dimensions for centuries. Through making, close looking, and a focused gallery visit, participants will explore how such tools work.
Grady will share how scientific imaging can inform our understanding of artistic process, accuracy, and style. She researched these techniques for On Location: Drawing the Outdoors, an exhibition featuring 19th-century European drawings and watercolors, and will offer a focused tour explaining how such tools were used in the works on view. Harvard physics professor Aravinthan Samuel will provide an overview of the history of optics in art.
During our time together, you’ll create your own gridded frame and take part in a plein air landscape drawing session. You’ll also get the chance to try your hand at applying the devices explored in the workshop.
This workshop is one of four offered this fall that explore different media through the lens of art and science. Take one or take them all!
The four workshops are:
Saturday, September 19: Landscape Drawing with Optical Devices
Wednesday, October 7: Color Alchemy—Pigments and DIY Paint
Friday, November 6: Making an Impression
Friday, November 20: Casting Connections—Molds, Replicas, and Questions of Authorship
Age restrictions: Age 14 and older
Where to go: Materials Lab, Lower Level
Accessibility accommodations: If you would like to request accommodations for your visit, please contact Visitor Services at [email protected] or 617-495-9400. For more details about accommodations at the museums, please see the Accessibility page.
Join curatorial assistant for special exhibitions and publications Meghan Grady and Harvard physics professor Aravinthan Samuel for a workshop focused on art and science. You’ll first experiment with physical drawing aids, such as perspective frames and camera lucidas, which have helped artists translate complex spaces and details into two dimensions for centuries. Through making, close looking, and a focused gallery visit, participants will explore how such tools work.
Grady will share how scientific imaging can inform our understanding of artistic process, accuracy, and style. She researched these techniques for On Location: Drawing the Outdoors, an exhibition featuring 19th-century European drawings and watercolors, and will offer a focused tour explaining how such tools were used in the works on view. Harvard physics professor Aravinthan Samuel will provide an overview of the history of optics in art.
During our time together, you’ll create your own gridded frame and take part in a plein air landscape drawing session. You’ll also get the chance to try your hand at applying the devices explored in the workshop.
This workshop is one of four offered this fall that explore different media through the lens of art and science. Take one or take them all!
The four workshops are:
Saturday, September 19: Landscape Drawing with Optical Devices
Wednesday, October 7: Color Alchemy—Pigments and DIY Paint
Friday, November 6: Making an Impression
Friday, November 20: Casting Connections—Molds, Replicas, and Questions of Authorship
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Where is it happening?
Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherHarvard Art Museums
