Paintings Hung in Parlors: May Alcott and Other Nineteenth Century Women Artists - Tuesday, November 17 at 7 pm - Jones Library

[Janet Ryan]

Please join us on Tuesday, November 17 at 7 pm in the Woodbury Room for an illustrated presentation about women artists of the 19th century, especially May Alcott, as local author Jeannine Atkins shares some of what she learned as she researched materials for her recent book, Little Woman in Blue.

May Alcott was one of many women who took art classes in Boston after the Civil War, then painted in Paris. This illustrated talk will feature May and other women whose work never found its way to museum walls, as well as one who did: Mary Cassatt, May's American friend in Paris. What inspired May to keep painting when her work received limited acclaim? What issues of rivalry did she face with her sister, Louisa, whose novel Little Women swiftly became a best seller? In this talk, Jeannine Atkins will draw from what she learned writing Little Woman in Blue: A Novel of May Alcott to explore why the work of artists who push past being amateurs, but never reach the level of greatness, matters. What can they teach us about ways to balance creative work, family, and love today?

Jeannine Atkins' debut novel for adults is Little Women in Blue.  She is the author of several books for young readers, including Borrowed Names:  Poems about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, Marie Curie, and their Daughters.  She is an adjunct professor at Simmons College and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

 

Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Free & open to the public.

********

Janet Ryan

Head of Programming & Outreach

Jones Library