Driehaus Museum Announces September 2014 Lineup

CHICAGO -- The Driehaus Museum offers fascinating lectures, concerts, tours, and more!

The lineup for September 2014 follows:

Book Club: I am Madame X, by Gioia Diliberto (September 6) The Driehaus Museum presents the first selection in our Fall Book Club. In this remarkable novel, author Gioia Diliberto tells the story of American beauty Virginie Gautreau, the subject of John Singer Sargent's famous 1884 painting, Portrait of Madame X. Immerse yourself in Belle Epoque Paris as Diliberto presents Virginie's life in vivid detail illuminating the struggle between the painter and his subject.

2014 Samuel M. Nickerson Lecture Series: The Achievements of the Low Art Tile Company (September 18) Author Richard Pennington, Former Librarian, The Boston Globe. John Gardener Low, talented tile artist and savvy businessman, established the Low Art tile Company, which produced some of the finest ceramic tiles ever made in the United States. These exquisite tiles feature prominently in the historic Aesthetic movement interiors of the Driehaus Museum, gracing elegant fireplace surrounds and luxurious bathrooms throughout.

One Day Excursion: Ruthmere: An Eclectic Beaux Arts Mansion Tour (September 27): Enjoy a fascinating day trip to Elkhart, Indiana to experience the magnificent Ruthmere Museum. Led by art historian Rolf Achilles, you'll explore Ruthmere's exceptional fine and decorative arts collection housed in an elegantly restored 1910 Beaux-Arts mansion as well as the historic 1831 Beardsley House. En route back to Chicago, stop in South Bend at the Joseph D. Oliver House, also known as Copshaholm. Built in 1895, this 38-room Romanesque Queen Anne house features all original furnishings.

An Enchanting Evening with Mozart and Bartk (September 29) Performed by Rembrandt Chamber Players. Delight your senses with Mozart's effervescent Quartet for Flute and Strings, as well as Bartk's intricate and intense Romanian Dances in the Museum's historic Ballroom. Rembrandt Chamber Players welcomes Grammy Award-winning artist Howard Levy, who will premiere his commissioned Sonata for Oboe and Piano, a kaleidoscope of jazz, abstract blues, and Brazilian rhythms and melodies.

Mansions and Millionaires: The McCormickville Walking Tour (First and third Saturdays, through November 15) Step back in time to enjoy a special walking tour of Chicago's River North district, led by historian Sally Sexton Kalmbach.

For more upcoming programs, including exhibition-related events and guided tours, visit DriehausMuseum.org.

About the Driehaus Museum - Steps away from Chicago's Magnificent Mile, the Richard H. Driehaus Museum is a fascinating and rare example of the palatial homes erected by the wealthy of America's Gilded Age. The galleries are elegantly furnished with pieces from the most celebrated designers of the late 19th and early 20 th-century, such as Louis Comfort Tiffany and Herter Brothers. These objets d'art are presented in harmony with the immaculately-restored interiors and surviving furnishings of the Samuel M. Nickerson Mansion. For more information about the Museum, visit DriehausMuseum.org.