Event—Adult Education

Artful Fictions: Collecting, Connecting, and Connoisseurship

What does it feel like to own a renowned work of art? Can it embody your legacy, even your own self worth? The answers lie partly in the history of art, but the emotional experience is more richly explored in fictional writings about the relationship of art and ownership...

Cost and Registration Information

Early Registration Price (January 8 at 9 am** – January 25 at 4 pm): $220
Regular Registration Price (January 25 at 4 pm – first day of class): $242

** Registration opens online at 9 am. Phone registration will be accepted starting at 10 am.

Members, seniors, and students get a 10% discount.

Register Online

Seminar Description

What does it feel like to own a renowned work of art? Can it embody your legacy, even your own self worth? The answers lie partly in the history of art, but the emotional experience is more richly explored in fictional writings about the relationship of art and ownership. In this seminar, we will explore that dynamic through reading and discussing “artful fictions” – stories in which desire for objects drives the narrative.
Six sessions. E - $220, L - $242

Debra N. Mancoff writes on art, fashion, and culture and is currently a Newberry Scholar-in-Residence. She is author of The Face: Our Human Experience; Fashion Muse; and Icons of Beauty: Art, Culture, and the Image of Women.

Materials List

Required:

  • Sara Houghteling, Pictures at an Exhibition, Vintage, any edition. ISBN: 978-0307386304
  • Alan Gurganus, The Practical Heart, Vintage, any edition. ISBN: 978-0375727634
  • Jonathan Harr, The Lost Painting, Random House, any edition. ISBN: 978-0375759864
  • Yasmina Reza, Art, Straus & Giroux, any edition. ISBN: 978-0375759864
  • Giles Waterfield, The Hound in the Left Hand Corner, Washington Square, any edition. ISBN: 978-0743475532

First Reading:

This class is part of the Newberry’s Adult Education Seminars Program. Learn more about our registration procedures.