Podcast
Why’d they put that in a museum?
Art. Objects. Museums. Ideas. Questions.
What happens when you put things on display and invite people in to look? Have you ever seen something on display and wondered, “Why’d they put that in a museum?”
In each episode, museum curator Sarah Lees and author Beth Bacon start the conversation with one item, in one specific place. The discussion takes off from there. We explore the thing, its history, and the cultural ideas surrounding it. We eventually come back to the original thing… almost every time, in the end, that object seems different as a result.
Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear by Vincent Van Gogh
Artist: Vincent van Gogh (Zundert, Netherlands, 1853 – Auvers-sur-Oise, France, 1890)
Item: Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear
Details: 1889. Oil on canvas, 60.5 x 50 cm. The Courtauld Gallery, London. https://gallerycollections.courtauld.ac.uk/object-p-1948-sc-175
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold
Artist: Faith Ringgold (New York, 1930 – New Jersey, 2024)
Item: Woman on a Bridge #1 of 5: Tar Beach, 1988.
Details: Acrylic paint, canvas, printed fabric, ink, and thread, 189.5 x 174 cm. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. © 2023 Faith Ringgold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Courtesy ACA Galleries, New York. https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/3719
Cage Crinoline by Unknown Maker
Artist: Unknown maker
Item: cage crinoline, “A Favorite of the Empress”
Details: c. 1860 – 65. Spring steel, woven wool, linen, cotton, and brass, 93 cm diameter, 80 cm high. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O58867/a-favorite-of-the-empress-cage-crinoline-unknown/
04
Mona Lisa By Leonardo Da Vinci
Artist: Leonardo da Vinci (Florence, 1452 – Amboise, France, 1519)
Item: Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, called Mona Lisa
Details: 1503 – 1519. Oil on wood, 79.4 x 53.4 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris. https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010062370
05
Storage Jar by Dave the Potter
Artist: Dave, later recorded as David Drake (American, c. 1801 – 1870s)
Item: storage jar
Details: 1858. Stony Bluff Manufactory, Old Edgefield, South Carolina. Alkaline-glazed stoneware, 55.7 cm high, 68.6 cm diameter, approx. 25 gal. capacity. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/747045?pkgids=789
06
Joe by Richard Serra
Artist: Richard Serra (San Francisco, 1938 – New York, 2024)
Item: Joe
Details: 1999. Cor-ten weathering steel, approx. 13 ½ ft. high, 48 ft. wide. Pulitzer Art Foundation, Saint Louis. (photo credit: Beth Bacon) https://pulitzerarts.org/collection/
07
Photos by Vivian Maier
Artist: Vivian Maier (New York, 1926 – Chicago, 2009)
Item: photographs
Details: Vivian Maier (New York, 1926 – Chicago, 2009), photographs, The Maloof Collection. © 2024 Maloof Collection, Ltd. https://www.vivianmaier.com/
08
Dolley Madison daguerreotype by John Plumbe, Jr.
Artist: John Plumbe, Jr. (1809 – 1857)
Item: Dolley Madison
Details: c. 1846. Daguerreotype, approx. 15 x 12 cm. National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC.
09
Photos by Lusha Nelson
Artist: Lusha Nelson (Latvia, 1907 – New York, 1938)
Item: photographs of Katherine Hepburn (above), Jesse Owens, and others
Details: Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa.
https://philbrook.emuseum.com/objects/19255/marian-anderson?ctx=b043c91b2ac26cc1b13daa46440e6515799e6963&idx=10
10
What is a museum?
Details: In this episode, we explore the history and evolution of museums, from their ancient origins to Renaissance collections and modern institutions. This conversation highlights how museums have shifted their missions, especially after 2020, adapting to serve diverse audiences and focusing on community engagement.
11
Under construction
Artist: to come
Artwork: to come
Item:to come
12
Under construction
Artist: to come
Artwork: to come
Item:to come
Contact Us
Say helloAbout the Podcasters
Sarah Lees
Sarah is a museum curator and researcher who has worked in organizations both large and small, and who remembers her first assignment for an art history class – to look into Rembrandt’s eyes and describe what she saw there. She believes everyone can find those kinds of connections to some form of creative expression, whether it’s a painting, a grandmother’s quilt, or a perfectly formed pen-stroke in a manuscript.
Beth Bacon
In addition to being an avid museum-goer, Beth Bacon is an author for young readers. Her books empower today’s kids to learn about themselves and the world through reading. She is also a teacher and branding consultant and a volunteer at the Missouri History Museum. Beth holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, an MA in Communication Arts from NYU, and a BA in Literature from Harvard University.
Music Credit
The music you hear in the intro and outro was composed by Edward Whelan. We appreciate his contribution to our podcast.
Stay up to date
Stay up to date with our news