Seeing History Through Objects with Ulysses Grant Dietz

Based on the extraordinary decorative arts collections at the Newark Museum, which range from the Renaissance to the present day, this lecture will offer a look at how history is reflected in the things people choose for their own homes—whether in Puritan New England, Gilded Age New York or post-War Los Angeles. Carved oak chests, solid gold coffee sets, ornate jewelry and decorated porcelain: all of this reflected not only the lives of the people who used it every day, but the times in which they lived and the values of their nation. ULYSSES GRANT DIETZ has been the curator of Decorative Arts at The Newark Museum since 1980 and was appointed Chief Curator in 2012.