SHERIDAN LIBRARIES & UNIVERSITY MUSEUMS
Exhibitions & Events FALL/WINTER 2025
Dean's Greeting Dear Friends,
Table of Contents 3
Exhibitions
6
Talks & Workshops
12
Performances
14
Special Events
15
Giving
Johns Hopkins’ sesquicentennial (or 150th anniversary, if you prefer) kicks off this fall and runs through 2026. As the division that stewards the university’s archives, we have been deeply involved in preparations for this milestone, and we are excited to share what we’ve found. From Homewood Museum’s new exhibition chronicling the house’s 224year history to an October 3 talk by librarian Mack Zalin about JHU’s debt of inspiration to Germany’s Heidelberg University, there is so much to discover, even for the most devoted Hopkins aficionado. For example, when I saw the cover image, I wondered, “What is this?” The answer was in the archives. Created by William H. Mason in 1951, the colored drawing is based on the university’s original plan for Homewood campus. That’s why a building that looks nothing like the Eisenhower Library stands at the top of the Beach. Even more delightful is Mason’s backstory. A retired steelworker who moved to Baltimore to live with his daughter, Mason spent his free time walking the Homewood campus and rooting for Hopkins’ sports teams, so much so that he was awarded a varsity “H” in 1946. Just imagine how many more stories like that are in the archives. Sincerely,
SCAN HERE for complete details, event registration, or to join our community of Friends.
Elisabeth M. Long Sheridan Dean of University Libraries, Archives, and Museums
EXHIBITIONS
OCTOBER 21–JANUARY 10, 2027 TUES–SUN, 11 AM–4 PM
If Homewood’s Walls Could Talk: A History of an American House Homewood Museum, Johns Hopkins Homewood campus / FREE–$12
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n conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the United States and the 150th anniversary of Johns Hopkins University, this house-wide exhibition explores Homewood’s 224-year history, from its 1801 construction for the family of Declaration of Independance signer and enslaver Charles Carroll of Carrollton, through its 1902 acquisition by Johns Hopkins University, to its 1980s restoration and launch as a historic house museum. Using archival photography, textiles, student diaries, historic documents, furniture, oral histories, and more, the exhibition amplifies the voices of those who lived or worked on site, allowing visitors to experience how individual histories contribute to a larger story of the university and the United States. This exhibition and related programming are made possible, in part, by the Johns Hopkins University Sesquicentennial Celebration, with additional support from John Guess, A&S ’71, SAIS ’76 (MA); Hopkins Retrospective; and the Program in Museums & Society at the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences.
NOVEMBER 6, 6–8 PM
RELATED PROGRAMS
Exhibition Opening: If Homewood’s Walls Could Talk Homewood Museum, Johns Hopkins Homewood campus / FREE Celebrate the opening of If Homewood’s Walls Could Talk: A History of an American House with a panel discussion featuring curator Michelle Fitzgerald, students who participated in research and performance aspects of the exhibition, JHU alumni, and more. Following the panel, visitors may explore the exhibit and enjoy refreshments. For details on a September 18 Lunch with the Libraries & Museums talk, see page 10. 3
EXHIBITIONS
THROUGH FEBRUARY 12, 2026 MON–THURS, 10 AM–5 PM
A Cathedral of Books: A Selection of Rare Books from the George Peabody Library Exhibition Gallery, George Peabody Library / FREE
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hart the history of the George Peabody Library—aka Baltimore’s “Cathedral of Books”—through a selection of rare volumes and facsimile reproductions spanning the Renaissance to the 19th century. Begun in 1860, the library’s collection now exceeds 300,000 volumes, with notable strengths in archeology; British and American history, literature, art, and architecture; biography; Romance languages and literature; Greek and Latin classics; and the history of science, geography, exploration and travel. Highlights also include recent acquisitions that continue to shape the library’s scholarly and cultural legacy.
THROUGH DECEMBER 7 TUES–SUN, 11 AM–4 PM
Art Glass at Evergreen North Wing Gallery, Evergreen Museum & Library / FREE–$5
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vergreen Museum & Library possesses one of the world’s largest private collections of 19th- and 20th-century art glass, including many important pieces by American and European makers such as Tiffany, Steuben, Durand, Loetz, and Émile Gallé. This installation gathers these highlights, showing off the breadth and depth of the collection and contextualizing its history at Evergreen.
EXHIBITIONS
OCTOBER 28–MARCH 7, 2026 TUES-FRI, 11 AM–6 PM; SAT 11 AM–5 PM
Ceremony Irene and Richard Frary Gallery, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center / FREE
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eremony engages with formal and conceptual notions of togetherness in the work of contemporary painter Lindsay Adams. Featuring selections from the Sheridan Libraries’ Special Collections, Adams’ new works are placed in conversation with remnants of the people, thoughts, and movements that inform her practice. Ceremony is also a locus for fellowship. Rare books and personal correspondence from historical figures like Langston Hughes and Billie Holiday, alongside ephemera from souls unknown, are woven into resounding dialogue as testaments to the unending journey for solace, safety, a place to frolic, a moment to grieve, or a chance to dream. This exhibition is organized by the Irene and Richard Frary Gallery and curated by Claudia M. Watts.
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TALKS & WORKSHOPS
SEPTEMBER 17, 6–7 PM
Glitter and Gloom: Gilded Age America, 1870–1900 Bakst Theatre, Evergreen Museum & Library / $5–7
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n the years following the Civil War, U.S. wealth, power, and borders grew at fantastic rates. But the new money, land, and power were distributed inequitably, leading to stark disparities between rich and poor, black and white, American and Indigenous, men and women, native-born and immigrant, the powerful and the masses. In this illustrated talk, Akim Reinhardt, professor of history at Towson University, will probe the Gilded Age’s rotten underbelly and the quest for reform.
OCTOBER 9, 6:30–7:30 PM
Homewood After Dark: The 19th– Century Lighting Revolution Homewood Museum, Johns Hopkins Homewood campus / $5–7
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n February 7, 1817, Baltimore became the first city in the United States to have an outdoor gas street light, cementing its place in the revolution of lighting that occured over the course of the 19th century. Using examples from Homewood’s collection, JHU Museums Curator of Collections Michelle Fitzgerald will demonstrate the evolution of 19th-century domestic lighting—from candlelight to oil and gas lamps—exploring how these technological developments changed how daily life was experienced.
TALKS & WORKSHOPS
OCTOBER 20–NOVEMBER 24 (6 SESSIONS), 6–7:30 PM
Heaven on Earth: The History, Art, and Architecture of the Vatican from Antiquity to the Renaissance Online / $36–180
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xplore the history, art, and architecture of the Vatican in Rome in this sixsession Odyssey course led by Earle Havens, the Nancy H. Hall Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts and director of the Virginia Fox Stern Center for the History of the Book in the Renaissance. Encompassing the history of St. Peter’s basilica, the Belvedere Courtyard and Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and Apostolic Palace, and the Vatican Library, the course will draw heavily from the Sheridan Libraries’ rare book and manuscript collections.
OCTOBER 22, 6–8 PM
Nosferatu at Night Bakst Theatre, Evergreen Museum & Library / $7–10
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ust in time for spooky season, Evergreen will host a screening of the 1922 classic Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. Directed by F.W. Murnau, this adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula was at the forefront of the horror film genre and would go on to inspire countless films. After the movie, join Linda DeLibero, senior lecturer in the Film and Media Studies program at the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, for a discussion of the film’s themes and legacy.
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TALKS & WORKSHOPS
OCTOBER 28, 5–6:30 PM
Paradise: A Meditation on Trees and Placemaking in the Roland Park Company Records Macksey Seminar Room, Brody Learning Commons, Johns Hopkins Homewood campus / FREE
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oin Savannah G. M. Wood, 2024–25 Tabb Center Public Humanities Fellow, for a talk on her creative engagement with the Roland Park Company records. Noticing the recurring presence of trees in deeds, marketing materials, and imagery, Wood will examine how they serve to mark boundaries while also suggesting expansiveness in both imagined and lived conceptions of place. In a conversation moderated by Tabb Center Director Joseph Plaster, Wood will discuss her creative process and reflect on the role of the arts and public humanities in reimagining historical interpretation. OCTOBER 29, 6–8 PM
Restoring Fells Point’s Ship Caulkers’ Houses Gilman 50 with reception in Gilman Atrium, Johns Hopkins Homewood campus / FREE
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omewood Museum’s 25th annual architectural lecture will explore recent work to restore the Ship Caulkers’ Houses in Fells Point. The two houses, built around 1798, are contemporaries of Homewood, but tell a very different story of the free Black families who occupied them centuries ago. Courtney Capute and Sarah Groesbeck, board members of the Friends of the Ship Caulkers’ Houses, will discuss the group’s mission to rehabilitate the houses and shine a light on their significant but little-known social history. A reception will follow the talk. This program is made possible with support from C&H Restoration, Myers Greene Architects, and Forbes and Sara Maner.
Hybrid; Mergenthaler 429, Johns Hopkins Homewood campus or online / FREE
SEPTEMBER 18, 12–1:30 PM
Undate with Rebecca Sutton Koeser Rebecca Sutton Koeser, lead research software engineer at Princeton University’s Center for Digital Humanities, will discuss her work on undate—a Python library for working with uncertain or partially known dates in humanities materials—and its application to digital humanities projects.
OCTOBER 23, 12–1:30 PM
Mapping Historical Violence with Amanda Madden Amanda Madden, assistant professor of history at George Mason University, will discuss her project, Mapping Historical Violence, which uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to interrogate proximity and its effect on incidents of violence.
NOVEMBER 6, 12–1:30 PM
AI Voices with Marie Theresa O’Connor Marie Theresa O’Connor, associate teaching professor in the University Writing Program at the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, will discuss her research project, Preserving AI Voices, which captures human conversations with artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and was recently featured at the Alliance for Digital Humanities Organizations conference.
ABOUT THE SERIES The Digital Humanities Workshop series is presented by the Sheridan Libraries Digital Scholarship group in partnership with the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute (AGHI), the Center for Digital Humanities (CDH), and LifexCode: Digital Humanities Against Enclosure. The series offers monthly events highlighting the work of a researcher applying digital methods to humanities materials. 9
TALKS & WORKSHOPS
Digital Humanities Workshops
TALKS & WORKSHOPS
Lunch with the Lib Online Speaker
SEPTEMBER 18, 12–1 PM
The Curatorial Mind: An Inside Look at the Conception of an Exhibition Join JHU Museums Curator of Collections Michelle Fitzgerald, Hopkins Museums Advisory Board Chair Beth Felder, and her daughter, Grace Felder, assistant manager of the American Family Immigration History Center at the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, for a pre-recorded behind-the-scenes tour of Homewood Museum. Get a sneak peek of Fitzgerald’s curatorial process as she prepares the upcoming exhibition If Homewood’s Walls Could Talk, which examines Homewood’s history in the context of both the 250th anniversary of the United States and Johns Hopkins University’s sesquicentennial. A live Q&A will follow the pre-recorded tour.
OCTOBER 3, 12–1 PM
From Heidelberg to Baltimore: What Johns Hopkins University Owes the Oldest German University As JHU approaches its sesquicentennial year, Mack Zalin, librarian for Classics, Comparative Thought and Literature, Jewish Studies, and Modern Languages and Literatures, will reexamine the basis of Hopkins’ foundation by looking specifically at what America’s first research university derived from Heidelberg University, Germany’s oldest university.
Series | FREE
OCTOBER 24, 12–1 PM
The Ephemeral Renaissance: Rare and Unique Single-Sheet Broadsides at the Sheridan Libraries The invention of ephemeral information and the 24-hour news cycle began many centuries ago with the advent of cheap, single-sheet print. However, our knowledge of it is imperfect and deeply fragmented, since so little of it has been preserved. Earle Havens, the Nancy H. Hall Curator of Rare Books & Manuscripts and director of the Stern Center for the History of the Book in the Renaissance, will be joined by Stern Center Postdoctoral Fellow Martin Michalek to highlight how the Sheridan Libraries has become a leader in the recovery and exploration of the nascent ephemeral information landscape, from the late Middle Ages to the Enlightenment.
NOVEMBER 11, 12–1 PM
Adopt-a-Book Highlights Experts from the Sheridan Libraries will spotlight some of the most interesting, beautiful, and rare items recently purchased to support Hopkins research and teaching. Explore these materials available for adoption and learn why these items are crucial for researchers today.
ABOUT THE SERIES Presented in partnership with Lifelong Learning and Hopkins at Home, Lunch with the Libraries & Museums is a series of free, online, public lectures through which staff from the Sheridan Libraries & University Museums discuss ongoing research, teaching, and curatorial work. 11
TALKS & WORKSHOPS
raries & Museums
George Peabody Library | Free, suggested admission $10
SEPTEMBER 18, 6:30–7:30 PM
Maryland Opera Join Maryland Opera for a program of vocal music based on autumnal themes featuring soprano Colleen Daly, baritone Timothy Mix, and pianist James Harp. Selections will include Purcell’s “Come see my many coloured fields” from The Fairy Queen and “Warm as the Autumn Light” from Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe.
OCTOBER 16, 7–8 PM
Luis Ozoria’s Candor Collective In the Stacks welcomes Luis Ozoria’s Candor Collective, a vibrant Pan-American jazz ensemble, for an evening of original compositions inspired by Dominican folklore that blend rhythms of merengue, bachata, and dembow. Performance artist Nicoletta Daríta de la Brown will bring Panamanian folktales to life through movement and film, and a selection of Kara Walker’s striking artist’s books will be on display.
NOVEMBER 6, 7–8 PM
Music from the Great Gatsby Era with Janet Paulsen and the Hotel Paradise Orchestra JANUARY 22, 2026, 6:30-7:30 PM
Jennifer Blades
ABOUT THE SERIES In the Stacks offers an informal, dynamic way for audiences to engage with music and performance art. Throughout the year, this concert series activates Baltimore’s iconic George Peabody Library with art, music, dance, film, drama, and more.
Save the Date
PERFORMANCES
In the Stacks
Bakst Theatre, Evergreen Museum & Library | $10–20
OCTOBER 5, 2–4 PM
Brian Ganz, piano Widely regarded as one of the finest pianists of his generation, Ganz will launch the 72nd season of Music at Evergreen with a program encompassing six pieces by Chopin, as well as Beethoven’s “Appassionata.” NOVEMBER 9, 2–4 PM
Nina Bernat, double bass and Eleni Katz, bassoon Praised for marrying technical prowess with aching expression, Bernat and Katz will join forces to present a program featuring works by Rossini, Bach, Piazzolla, Bernstein, and more. FEBRUARY 1, 2026, 2–4 PM
Poiesis Quartet The Grand Prize and Lift Every Voice Prize winner of the 2023 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Poiesis Quartet will perform a program of well-loved classics and newer works.
MARCH 8, 2026, 2–4 PM
Ziggy and Miles, guitar duo Music at Evergreen’s 72nd season will conclude with a performance by Australian guitarist brothers Ziggy and Miles, the first guitar duo accepted into Juilliard’s Artist Diploma Program.
ABOUT THE SERIES Evergreen Museum & Library’s popular and eclectic Music at Evergreen concert series presents concerts in Evergreen’s intimate Bakst Theatre, followed by meet-the-artists receptions. The series is made possible by the Evergreen House Foundation. 13
PERFORMANCES
Music at Evergreen
SPECIAL EVENTS
NOVEMBER 15, 11 AM–3 PM
Holiday Makers’ Market Evergreen Museum & Library | FREE
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upport local makers and get a head start on your holiday shopping at Evergreen’s Holiday Makers’ Market. This year’s market features a variety of locally made products, including jewelry, stationery, artwork, and more. Parking, self-guided tours of the gardens and grounds, and admission to the exhibition Art Glass at Evergreen are free with attendance.
DECEMBER 6, 11 AM–2 PM
An Enchanted Evergreen Evergreen Museum & Library | FREE–$7
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elebrate the holiday season with a visit to Evergreen Museum & Library! Guests can explore Evergreen’s first floor decked out for the season, make their own Evergreen-inspired ornament, enjoy discounts in the Gift Shop, and snack on festive treats.
IMAGE CREDITS All photos by Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University unless otherwise noted. Front Cover: Drawing of Original Plan of Homewood Campus by William H. Mason, 1951, Special Collections, Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries. Page 2: Elisabeth Long. Page 3: Interior View of Homewood House, undated, Special Collections, Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries. Page 4, top to bottom: Matthew Petroff; Favrile Spider Web Lamp with Upturned Mushroom Base by Tiffany Studios, around 1910, Evergreen House Foundation, bequest of Alice Warder Garrett. Page 5, top to bottom: Sheet music cover for “J’ai deux Amours,” published by Éditions Salabert Paris, 1930, Special Collections, Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries; Lotus Blossom by Lindsay Adams, 2025, Courtesy of the artist, photo by Sloane Prince/Johns Hopkins University. Page 6, top: The Bosses of the Senate by Joseph Keppler, Puck magazine, 1887. Page 7: Domenico Fontana and Natale Bonifacio, Engraving of the Moving the Vatican Obelisk (detail), 1586, Special Collections, Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries; Nosferatu by Albin Grau, 1922. Page 8: Courtesy of Tabb Center; Unidentified Roland Park Residence, undated, Roland Park Company Papers, Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries; Arnold J. Capute, Jr. Page 13, top to bottom: Michael Ventura; Titilayo Ayangade; Tamara Benavente; Eden Davis; Courtesy of ZiggyandMiles.com. Page 14: Nicolas J Leclercq. Page 15, top: Dominique Zeltzman. Back Cover: Interior View of Gilman Hall Hutzler Reading Room, approximately 1916, Special Collections, Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries.
GIVING
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FALL/WINTER 2025 EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS
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