Hope Diamond Expert and Smithsonian Under Secretary, Dr. Richard Kurin, to lecture as part of The Steven & Dorothea Green Critics’ Lecture Series

According to folklore, the Hope diamond with its brilliant gray-blue color was cursed when it was snatched from an idol in India. This curse bestowed bad luck and even death not only for the owner of the diamond, but for anyone who even touched it.

Whether or not you believe this, its beauty and story have survived centuries. With its rich history- owned by King Louis XIV, stolen during the French Revolution and eventually donated to the Smithsonian Institution- the infamous diamond draws thousands of visitors each year to its home in Washington, D.C.

After over a decade of research, Dr. Richard Kurin wrote Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem (HarperCollins/Smithsonian Books, 2006). Kurin, expert on the Hope Diamond and Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture for the Smithsonian Institution, will speak on Friday, March 4, 2011 at 7 p.m. as part of The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum’s Steven & Dorothea Green Critics’ Lecture Series.

With his background as a cultural anthropologist, Kurin will discuss the impact that the presence of the diamond created across different cultures and societies throughout history. Replicas of the Hope Diamond will be on view in The Museum prior to the lecture.

Dr. Kurin is a former Fulbright-Hays fellow and earned his Ph.D in cultural anthropology from the University of Chicago. As Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture for the Smithsonian Institution,he oversees the Anacostia Community Museum; Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art; Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (New York City); Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; National Museum of African American History and Culture; National Museum of African Art; National Museum of American History; National Museum of the American Indian and its George Gustav Heye Center (New York City); National Portrait Gallery; National Postal Museum; and Smithsonian American Art Museum and its Renwick Gallery. He has worked with the Smithsonian Institution since 1976 when he was a consultant for the Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife.

Dr. Richard Kurin’s lecture will be held in the Wertheim Performing Arts Center across from The Frost Art Museum on FIU’s Maidique Campus. The Museum will be open prior to the lecture. This event is free and open to the public.

The replica of the Hope diamond will be on display in The Frost Art Museum’s Permanent Collection galleries from February 24, 2011 through March 4, 2011.

What: The Steven & Dorothea Green Critics’ Lecture Series presents

Dr. Richard Kurin

Where: Florida International University – Modesto A. Maidique  Campus

The Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Performing Arts Center

11200 SW 8th St.

Miami, FL 33199

When: 7 p.m. Friday, March 4, 2011

Spread the love!