Colorful, compelling, and thought provoking! In January 2016, Vanessa Badré enthralled her audience at the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum with a lecture that provocatively reinterpreted art history by showing how, through imitation and adaptation, Chinese aesthetics and influence are at the heart of classical French art. Titled “Far West, Far East: From China to Versailles”, this lecture was presented as a complement to our exhibition of photographs showing nineteenth-century landscapes, architecture, and customs displayed alongside contemporaneous Qing-dynasty textiles. This sumptuously illustrated lecture convincingly demonstrated how works of art can heighten understanding of contemporary challenges, in both trade and culture. This innovative approach provided valuable insight into current debates about the relationship between China and western countries.