In conjunction with the exhibition Tarot! Renaissance Symbols, Modern Visions, join artists, conservators, curators, and conservation scientists for an afternoon symposium centered on the making of tarot cards.

The first session will examine and discuss the elaborate techniques used to make fifteenth-century tarot cards for the court of the Dukes of Milan. Conservators Frank Trujillo, Lydia Aikenhead, and Marie-France Lemay will detail the material techniques of the cards and conservation scientist Elena Basso will convey how cutting-edge technology reveals and confirms the materials used in the Renaissance. A curatorial overview by Joshua O’Driscoll will explore the art historical precedents for tarot cards. The second session will feature a lively conversation between curator Claire Gilman and artist Kim Krans focusing on a contemporary artist’s approach to creating tarot art.

2:30 PM Frank Trujillo, Drue Heinz Book Conservator, and Lydia Aikenhead, Assistant Book Conservator, Thaw Conservation Center, Morgan Library & Museum

3 PM Marie-France Lemay, Head of Paper and Photograph Conservation, Yale University Library

3:30 PM Elena Basso, Associate Research Scientist, Department of Scientific Research, Metropolitan Museum of Art

4:00 PM Joshua O’Driscoll, Melvin R. Seiden Curator and Department Head, Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts, Morgan Library & Museum

4:30 PM Roundtable Discussion

5 PM Claire Gilman, Acquavella Curator and Department Head, Morgan Library & Museum in conversation with artist Kim Krans

This symposium takes place in Gilder Lehrman Hall on the Ground Floor. Doors to the Hall will open 30 minutes before the program begins. Attendees are encouraged to view the exhibition Tarot! Renaissance Symbols, Modern Visions during their museum visit. The museum is open until 8pm after the Symposium so attendees will have ample time to view the exhibition following the event.

This program is presented with support from The Drawing Foundation and The Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.

Image: Bonifacio Bembo, Death from the Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards (detail). Italy, Milan or Cremona, ca. 1456–58. The Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.630.12. Remedios Varo (Spanish, 1908–1963), El Otro Reloj (The Other Clock), 1957 (detail). Gouache on cardboard, 15 3/16 × 9 1/8 in. Private Collection, New York. © 2026 Remedios Varo, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VEGAP, Madrid. Courtesy of Wendi Norris Gallery