Dr. Jill Vaum Rothschild, Associate Curator of Fine and Decorative Art at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, will deliver a public lecture on George Washington at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) on November 5, 2026. The event, titled “George Washington Talk with Jill Vaum Rothschild,” is scheduled from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at PAFA, located at 118-128 North Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Event Details and Registration
The hour-long midday presentation carries a ticket price of $25. For inquiries regarding the lecture, the institution can be contacted by phone at (215) 972-7600 or via email at info@pafa.org. The venue is fully equipped with AudioEye accessibility tools, allowing visitors to use site features by pressing "shift + =" or utilizing the explore accessibility options menu.
Curatorial Background and Research Focus
Rothschild specializes in the art and material culture of the 18th- and 19th-century Atlantic world, with specific academic emphasis on the visual histories of slavery and freedom in the United States. Working alongside experts at Mount Vernon and descendants of individuals enslaved by George and Martha Washington, she curated the ongoing exhibition Lives Bound Together: Slavery at Mount Vernon, which opened in June 2025. The exhibition utilizes archival, archaeological, and visual records to introduce visitors to the landscape of slavery on the 18th-century estate.
In addition to curating object rotations within Mount Vernon’s museum exhibitions, Rothschild is currently planning the interior furnishing of the estate’s mansion cellar, scheduled to open to the public in October. Her career includes a Luce Curatorial Fellowship held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., from 2022 to 2025. She has published academic research examining portrait painter Joshua Johnson and potter Josiah Wedgwood I, alongside contributing catalog essays and exhibition content for major cultural organizations including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the American Folk Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and PAFA.
>