Okay, I used the Italian word rather than the French to describe the jewelry of iconic designer Suzanne Belperron (1900-83), but you’ll excuse the license when you hear our guest. Daphne Lingon, Head of Jewelry at Christie’s Americas, will highlight the upcoming Magnificent Jewels auction at Christie’s, in New York (December 5), featuring a superlative diamond, platinum, and 18k gray gold ‘tube’ bracelet created by Belperron in 1948. How did this singular genius transcend Art Deco design and the horror of war to propel haute joaillerie to post-war magnificence? We’ll find out!

More at: Christies.com

November 24 • 3:30 – 4:00 p.m. on WAAM • Ann Arbor

Join Ed as he welcomes back Brian Leigh Dunnigan, Associate Director and Curator of Maps, the William L. Clements Library of the University of Michigan. Brian will highlight the Clements’ superlative collection of maps detailing the growth of Detroit during the 1700s. Of special note will be a stunning, previously unknown, hand-colored map of the City and its fort drawn by a British officer in 1790 (when Detroit was still in British hands). A recent acquisition, the map helps fill in “another piece of the [American historical] puzzle.”

More at: clements.umich.edu

Martin J. Nolan, Executive Director and CFO of Julien’s Auctions, returns to spotlight an extraordinary auction taking place November 16-17 in Julien’s’ Los Angeles galleries. Featured is the pristine, raven-black 1956 Thunderbird owned by Marilyn Monroe from 1955 to 1962. In addition, a collection of couture and other personal property from the collection of designer Bob Mackie will be sold, along with art, costumes, and other personal property once belonging to actress Sharon Tate.

More at: juliensauctions.com

Yes, you read correctly. This Saturday, Dr. Mary Chinery, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Georgian Court University, returns to highlight her discovery (with University of Glasgow professor Laura Rattry) of two complete typescripts of Edith Wharton’s 1901 play, The Shadow of a Doubt. – “the only extant original full play by Wharton.” Renowned for her short stories and novels delineating the challenges facing women during the Gilded Age (The House of Mirth, The Age of Innocence, etc.), Edith Wharton was also a playwright, particularly during her early career. Join Mary and Ed as they flesh out the origins of this phantom work and what the discovery means to American literature.

Ed welcomes back noted soprano Elizabeth Mitchell, who will be joined by Emeritus Teacher of Music Joseph DeMarsh. They will describe the historic Dodworth Saxhorn Band and its upcoming concert October 16, 7:00 p.m., at Watkins Lecture Hall, U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Founded in the 1840s in New York City, the DSB was America’s premiere all-brass band through the Civil War years. Reformed in 1985, the Band, now headquartered in Ann Arbor, features 50 professional musicians who perform on original period instruments. Also joining the discussion will be the distinguished professor Lester Monts, Director of the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments. Listen as ‘ancient’ music – and instruments – come alive again!

More at: dodworth.org

Ed welcomes curator Emma Capron of The Frick Collection. She will highlight her exhibition, The Charterhouse of Bruges: Jan van Eyck, Petrus Christus, and Jan Vos, on view through January 13, 2019. What confluence of artistic genius, patronage, and economic stability enabled Bruges to launch the Northern Renaissance in the 1400s? Who was Jan Vos, and why did he commission two of the greatest painters of the era to produce these exquisite works? We’ll find out!

More at: juliensauctions.com

Ed describes the migration of European Romanticism to America, circa 1790-1880, and the changes it underwent to attract art buyers in the U.S. Works such as Caspar David Friedrich’s The Monk by the Sea and William Blake’s engravings for Songs of Innocence and Experience will be compared to Washington Allston’s Moonlight and Martin Johnson Heade’s salt marsh paintings. Find out how ‘American Gothic’ was embraced long before Grant Wood!

UMMA Assistant Curator of Photography, Jennifer Friess, returns to spotlight the exhibitions See Through: Windows and Mirrors in Twentieth-Century Photography and LIFE Magazine1947 Homecoming Photographs [at the University of Michigan].

More at: UMMA

Join Jeffrey McGranahan, Executive Director of the Ocean City Historical Museum, as he describes the decades-long association of Grace Kelly and her family with the historic Jersey Shore community. Jeffrey will highlight the recent exhibition I Remember Grace as well as the City’s unique architecture and tales of shipwreck and treasure. As Princess of Monaco, Kelly would continue her family’s tradition by returning every summer with her children to enjoy the sand and surf at what is called “America’s Greatest Family Resort.”

More at: ocnjmuseum.org