This week’s news includes: The Walters hires Dr. Katherine Larson as its Chief Collections and Curatorial Affairs Officer, BMA announces Matisse / Fratino exhibition, Turnstile wins a Grammy, Tola’s Room rowhouse museum, Brewer’s Art closes after 30 years, NGA post on Joshua Johnson, BJC’s Ornamenta fundraiser, the glory days of filmmaking in Baltimore, and NGA acquires Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy.
Walters Art Museum Appoints New Chief Collections and Curatorial Affairs Officer
Press Release :: February 4
The Walters Art Museum announced today that it has hired Dr. Katherine Larson as its Chief Collections and Curatorial Affairs Officer and Senior Curator of Ancient Art, overseeing curatorial, collections, conservation, and research at the museum, following a national search process. Larson, a museum professional with a decade of curatorial and leadership experience, will shape and advance the artistic vision of the museum.
“We are thrilled to welcome Katherine Larson into this role. Katherine’s deep expertise and commitment to community engagement, scholarly excellence, and collections stewardship reflect the museum’s own commitment to access, research, and creating engaging, meaningful experiences for all visitors. I look forward to working alongside her as we continue to bring innovative exhibitions and installations to Baltimore and Maryland with this extraordinary collection,” said Kate Burgin, Andrea B. and John H. Laporte Executive Director and CEO.
BMA Brings Modern Icon Henri Matisse into Conversation with Celebrated Contemporary Artist Louis Fratino
Press Release :: February 3
This March, the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) will explore the enduring influence of Henri Matisse through a compelling exhibition that juxtaposes the modern icon’s work with that of celebrated contemporary artist and Maryland native Louis Fratino. Fratino and Matisse: To See This Light Again will feature approximately 15 works by each artist presented in dynamic pairings and groups, revealing a unique intergenerational dialogue. The exhibition includes iconic paintings and intimately scaled drawings and sketchbooks with figure studies, interiors, still lifes, and self-portraits. Among the works are two new paintings by Fratino—September flowers and Studio nude—as well as several other works by the artist that have not been previously exhibited. Fratino and Matisse will be on view March 11–September 6, 2026, and is part of a suite of Matisse exhibitions opening at the BMA in the same month, including Matisse and Martinique: Portraits and Poetry and Matisse in Vence: The Stations of the Cross.
Turnstile thanks Baltimore after first Grammy win. Here’s how other Marylanders fared.
by Hannah Yasharoff and Wesley Case
Published February 1 in The Baltimore Banner
Maryland had 11 chances to take home a Grammy Award on Sunday night. Local artists wound up winning three.
Rock band Turnstile, “KPop Demon Hunters” singer Rei Ami, country singer Maggie Rose, producer Dijon and spoken word poet Marc Marcel were nominated for Grammys, which celebrate the best music and recording of the year.
Here’s everything you need to know about Maryland representation at the 68th Grammy Awards.
Tola’s Room Pays Homage to Baltimore’s Puerto Rican Story
by By Ron Cassie
Published February 3 in Baltimore Magazine
“Both of my parents were eclectic music lovers, but my father really loved all kinds of music, from boleros to all the famous salseros—Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, El Gran Combo—to Michael Jackson, Rick Astley, and Hall and Oates,” says Christina Delgado, the founder of Tola’s Room, the northeastern Baltimore rowhouse museum dedicated to her Puerto Rican heritage.
“My dad was born in New York in 1954 to Puerto Rican-native parents and he came of age in the 1970s when salsa became a thing. Music has always been a connective thing in our family and to our heritage, like food, like language,” she continues. “When he died, he had all this stuff, including his vinyl records, which meant so much to him and so to me, too. But dealing with the trauma, I paid for an additional year of storage until I could handle going through it.”
The Brewer’s Art, a Mount Vernon mainstay, abruptly closes after 30 years
by Julie Scharper
Published February 2 in The Baltimore Banner
The Brewer’s Art, the Mount Vernon brewpub and restaurant that has been an anchor of the Charles Street corridor for 30 years, closed abruptly Monday, according to employees.
Owner Volker Stewart informed employees by text message Monday that he was closing effective immediately due to financial problems, according to screenshots shared with The Banner.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I need to inform you that Brewer’s Art will be closing its doors permanently as of today,” Stewart wrote to employees.
Who Is Joshua Johnson? 7 Things to Know
Published January 21 by National Gallery of Art
Who is Joshua Johnson? This question has fascinated historians for nearly a century. Johnson’s unsigned and undated portraits of Maryland’s merchant class were first attributed to white artists—or to no artist at all—until the 1930s, when a historian began to piece together the Black painter’s contributions to early American art.
While many details of Johnson’s life remain unknown, over the past three decades researchers have located records that confirm his remarkable arc from enslavement to a successful career as one of America’s earliest-documented professional Black artists.
The Baltimore Jewelry Center Announces Artists for Annual Benefit Auction and Party, Ornamenta!
Press Release :: January 30
The Ornamenta 2026 auction opened on Monday, January 26, and will close at 10:30 p.m. on February 7, the night of the benefit. Participation in the auction is open to everyone, even those unable to attend the party. Simply create an account on our auction platform, BetterWorld, to place your bids. […]
The ’80s and ’90s Were a Golden Era of Filmmaking in Baltimore. Can it Happen Again?
by Max Weiss
Published January 30 in Baltimore Magazine
JACK GERBES, then the location and project manager of the Maryland Film Office, was driving in a van with Jodie Foster. The Academy Award-winning actress was in her director mode that day, scouting locations for her upcoming film, Home for the Holidays, that would be filmed in Baltimore and star Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr.
She admired the classic, American-style homes in north Baltimore and knew she wanted to use one of the exteriors for her movie.
She landed on a house with a big porch that she really liked in Homeland and sent Gerbes to inquire about its availability. He knocked on the door and an elderly man answered.
The National Gallery of Art Acquires “Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy,” A Defining Masterwork by Artemisia Gentileschi
Press Release :: February 4
The National Gallery of Art today announced the acquisition of Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy, a rare painting from circa 1625 by renowned Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–circa 1654). This is the first singular work by Gentileschi to enter the National Gallery’s collection. Its acquisition meaningfully expands the museum’s holdings of Italian Baroque paintings by adding a defining artwork by one of the 17th century’s most celebrated artists.
The painting will be on view beginning late February in gallery 29 on the main floor of the West Building. This acquisition is made possible by a gift of funds from Nina J. Cohen in honor of her father Emanuel Cohen and Patrons’ Permanent Fund.
Become a Member
Print Journals, Invitations, and Newsletter – Oh My!
