S5 | Episode 3 | Past is Present: Painting the Gilded Age in Philadelphia

Written By Amber Manning

Photograph by Christopher Tyler, 2025 

What can a portrait reveal?

In this episode, we welcome Bill Valerio, the Patricia Van Burgh Allison Director and CEO of the Woodmere Museum, for a rich conversation about the work of Cecilia Beaux, one of the most celebrated portrait painters of the Gilded Age. Known for capturing the personalities and inner lives of her subjects, Beaux’s work offers a window into the social and cultural fabric of her time.

We also explore how portraiture features within the DEAR JOHN installation, where selected works by Beaux appear alongside letters, objects, and other ephemera. Artist John Wind returns to discuss how these painted faces contribute to the installation’s themes of identity, memory, and emotional connection.

Join us as we delve into the layered meanings of portraiture, and how the human face continues to speak across time.

Amber Manning

I founded AmberCo. when I was five years old. Over the years, it has offered a variety of services from house cleaning, babysitting, car washing, travel planning, interior design and more. After college, I serendipitously fell into working for a web development company and I never looked back. I am happy that AmberCo. has finally settled on a mission that helps people in a meaningful way. I am also happy that some of the original services AmberCo. offered (cleaning and organizing) have carried through into its current iteration. I have been lucky enough to work for significant nonprofits such as the Sierra Club and the International Committee of the Red Cross and small local companies such as Hinkel Equipment Rental and Indars Stairs. My favorite part of working in technology is finding creative solutions for people and making their day to day work easier.

https://amberco.co
Previous

S5 | Episode 4 | Collectors & Creators: Contemporary Art at the Rosenbach
Next

S5 | Episode 2 | Layers of Legacy: John Y. Wind, John Frederick Lewis & the Rosenbach Brothers