WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — This autumn, the Clark Art Institute hosts a series of free talks and book signings by writers in the Manton Research Center auditorium.

 

Oct. 30, 6 pm

SEBASTIAN SMEE: PARIS IN RUINS

Pulitzer Prize-winner Sebastian Smee, art critic for The Washington Post, makes a special appearance to introduce his new book "Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism."

 

From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871 Paris and its people were besieged, enduring bloody street battles, the burning of central Paris, and widespread starvation. It was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born?in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of the leading figures of Impressionism. At the heart of it all is a love story between artists Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot, as Smee poignantly depicts their complex relationship, their tangled effect on each other, and their great legacy, while bringing overdue attention to the woman at the heart of Impressionism. In the aftermath of the conflict, these artists all developed a newfound sense of the fragility of life. That feeling for transience?reflected in Impressionism's emphasis on fugitive light, shifting seasons, glimpsed street scenes, and the impermanence of all things?became the movement's great contribution to the history of art.

 

Nov. 8, 6 pm

SRIKANTH REDDY: THE UNSIGNIFICANT

Poet, scholar, and Paris Review poetry editor Srikanth Reddy joins novelist and RAP Special Projects Coordinator Sara Houghteling to discuss his latest book, "The Unsignificant: Three Talks on Poetry and Pictures" (Wave Books, 2024).

 

Nov. 16, 3 pm

SARAH ELIZABETH LEWIS: THE UNSEEN TRUTH

Author and art historian Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, an associate professor at Harvard University, reads from her new book, "The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America." The book examines how the Caucasus' fight for independence and the end of the U.S. Civil War exposed the instability of racial hierarchies.

 

Free. Accessible seats available; for information, call 413 458 0524. A book signing follows each talk. Copies of these books will be available for purchase at the talks and in the Museum Store.