I recently reread Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut and it felt more profound now than the first time I read it. My first reading of Bluebeard was when I was in college, deep in the throws of becoming a baby art historian. This novel entering my sphere of existence seemed to line up perfectly with my […]
Read more "Bluebeard"I just finished The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr and if you are at all interested in art historical research, the art restoration process or the artist Caravaggio, then you should probably read this book. Harr novelizes the sometimes frustrating and agonizing journey dozens of academics and scholars took to determine if the painting The […]
Read more "The Lost Painting"I want to make you aware of this incredible book just recently released titled Great Women Artists. While some may see this gorgeous and epic tome as a mere coffee table book, I would argue that it is so much more and so, so necessary at this time. From the not-so-subtle design of its cover […]
Read more "Great Women Artists"The 2019 edition of the Art Lovers Book Club concluded this past Saturday with a discussion of A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline. I was really moved by this book as it is told from the perspective of Christina Olson, the subject of Andrew Wyeth’s most famous painting, “Christina’s World.” The author […]
Read more "A Piece of the World"This book was brought to my attention by one of my students during summer classes. She loaned me her copy and after reading two pages of the foreword I knew I had to have my own copy of this book. Women Who Read Are Dangerous is an exquisite art book featuring an assortment of images […]
Read more "Women Who Read Are Dangerous"I guess the theme for this week’s blog posts is art-related books because I had someone who attended my class on Frida Kahlo send me a picture of this board book for babies and kids. It is titled Frida Catlo and tells the story of artist Frida Kahlo as if she were a cat. It […]
Read more "Frida Catlo"This past Saturday I kicked off the 2nd annual Art Lovers Book Club at SoBo Gallery hosted by the Winter Garden Art Association. We had an amazing time discussing June’s book, Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriett Scott Chessman. You may remember that I posted about this book on the blog back in […]
Read more "Art Lovers Book Club 2019"A few months ago I went in search of books that could potentially be included in my summer series, the Art Lovers Books Club, at the Winter Garden Art Association. I asked people who attended my events and I requested recommendations on social media. Thankfully, I received a ton of suggestions and Donna Tartt’s The […]
Read more "The Goldfinch"Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriet Scott Chessman offers the reader a new and somewhat surprising look at the life of Impressionist Mary Cassatt. Told from the perspective of her dear sister, Lydia, and inspired by five paintings for which Lydia posed, Chessman provides an intriguing look at Paris on the cusp of […]
Read more "Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper"I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino is a young adult novel about the artist Diego Velazquez (of “Las Meninas” fame) told from the point of view of his assistant, Juan de Pareja. Honestly, the book is more Juan’s story than it is Velazquez’ story because it provides an intimate look at slavery […]
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The Wandering Art Historian 
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