Join us! The DelArt Readers, a community-led book club, meets monthly to discuss, debate, celebrate, and share both works of fiction and non-fiction. Our selections are focused on art, artists, and/or the artistic process either in general or in response to the Museum’s collections or exhibits. In addition to our interest in art and artists, we also seek to create a sense of community, conversation, and connection.
Jan 27 – March: Book Three by John Lewis (Non-Fiction) A three part graphic novel of Congressman John Lewis’ firsthand account of the civil rights struggle. We will be discussing the third book but hope you will consider reading all three installments. (They are quick to read and will give you a fuller picture of his life and work.)
Feb 24 – Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O’Keefe by Dawn Tripp (Fiction) A novel about the life of American master painter Georgia O’Keefe, her relationship with photographer Alfred Stieglitz, and her quest to come of age as a woman and artist.
Mar 31 – The Hare with the Amber Eyes: A Family’s Century of Art and Loss by Edmund de Waal (NF) The author inherited a collection of 264 Japanese ‘netsuke’ and in researching them unraveled a family story far larger and dramatic than he ever could have imagined.
Apr 28 – Lizzie Siddal: The Tragedy of a Pre-Raphaelite Supermodel by Lucinda Hawksley (NF) Saved from the drudgery of a working class existence by a Pre-Raphaelite painter Lizzie became one of the most famous faces in Victorian Britain.
May 26 – The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis (F) The author takes readers into the lost art school within Grand Central Terminal where two different women, fifty years apart, strive to make their mark on a world set against them.
June 30 – The Night Portrait: A Novel of World War II and da Vinci’s Italy by Laura Morelli (F) A novel about the creation of one of da Vinci’s most famous paintings and the woman who fought to save it from Nazi destruction.
July 28 – Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez (NF) After the war the Navajo code talkers were forbidden to speak of their service until 1968. In this memoir Nez chronicles both his war years and his life growing up on the reservation.
Aug 25 – The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte (F) While restoring a 15th century painting Julia, a young art expert, discovers a hidden inscription in the corner “Who killed the knight?” which begins her hunt for a murderer.
Sept 29 – Visual Intelligence: Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life by Amy Herman (NF) An engrossing guide to seeing – and communicating – more clearly.
Oct 27 – The Museum of Modern Love by Heather Rose (F) A story of a man’s search for connection is set against the backdrop of The Artist is Present a famous piece (by the performance artist, Marina Abramovic).
Nov 17 – Keeping an Eye Open: Essays on Art by Julian Barnes (NF) Barnes turns his narrative gifts towards some important pieces of art – what they cause us to feel and think, and why.
The Museum Store will carry many of the titles in the current DelArt Readers schedule. The store will have the titles available approximately a month before they will be discussed by the group. If you’d like to pre-order a copy, contact the store and let us know!