Ken Burns
The Esther Elson Memorial Lecture
Acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns comes to Palm Beach for a special discussion of The American Revolution, his six-part PBS series which premiered in November 2025. The series captures the story of the 13 colonies that rose against a global empire and reshaped the world. Ken Burns will share insights into the people, ideas, and struggles that defined the Revolution and continue to influence America’s identity today.
Ken Burns has been making documentary films for almost fifty years. Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, he has directed and produced some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, such as The Civil War; Baseball; Jazz; The War; The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, Prohibition; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; Country Music; The U.S. and the Holocaust; The American Buffalo; and most recently Leonardo da Vinci. Future film projects include Emancipation to Exodus and LBJ & the Great Society.
Ken Burns’ films have been honored with major awards, including 17 Emmys, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations. In September of 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, he was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In November 2022, Ken Burns was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
The Esther Elson Memorial Lecture
Susie Elson is a former chairman of the Board of Trustees at The Four Arts. Her husband, Ambassador Edward Elson, is a former vice chairman of the board. Both have a long history of service and generosity to The Four Arts. Ambassador and Mrs. Elson created this memorial lecture in 2005 to honor Ambassador Elson’s mother Esther, a gifted artist and a long-time member of The Four Arts. Often the Elson speaker is selected from the arts, and past speakers have included Catherine Zeta-Jones, Christopher Plummer, Itzhak Perlman, Placido Domingo, and actor Jim Carter from Downton Abbey.