Podcast appearances and mentions of Sebastian Smee

PREVIEW: Author Sebastian Smee, "Paris in Ruins," introduces the admired Impressionist Berthe Morisot, and her part in the success of the French school during the War of 1870 and the Paris Commune. More. 1870 PARIS.

BURNING CITIES CONTINUED, THEN AND NOW.  4/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 PARIS PRUSSIAN BOMBARDMENT   https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

BURNING CITIES CONTINUED, THEN AND NOW.  8/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 PARIS CLAUDE MONET 1840-1926 https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

BURNING CITIES CONTINUED, THEN AND NOW.  7/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1871 PARIS https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

BURNING CITIES CONTINUED, THEN AND NOW.  5/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 PARIS https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

BURNING CITIES CONTINUED, THEN AND NOW.  6/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 PARIS COMMUNE https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

BURNING CITIES CONTINUED, THEN AND NOW.  3/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 SCHWEINFURT https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

BURNING CITIES CONTINUED, THEN AND NOW.  2/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 Bucharest  https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

BURNING CITIES CONTINUED, THEN AND NOW.  1/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1871 PARIS   https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

PREVIEW: Author Sebastian Smee, "Paris in Ruins," tells the simultaneous romances of the art rebellion called impressionism and the Paris rebellion called the commune of 1871. More. 1870 PARIS

5/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism Hardcover – September 10, 2024 by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 SIEGE OF PARIS https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

6/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism Hardcover – September 10, 2024 by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 SIEGE OF PARIS https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

7/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism Hardcover – September 10, 2024 by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1871 PARIS https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

8/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism Hardcover – September 10, 2024 by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 PARIS  https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

2/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism Hardcover – September 10, 2024 by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 PARIS https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

"PREVIEW: Author Sebastian Smee of 'Paris in Ruins' explores the pivotal but often overlooked role of Berthe Morisot in the Impressionist movement. More tonight."

4/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism Hardcover – September 10, 2024 by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 PARIS https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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 Impressionis

3/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism Hardcover – September 10, 2024 by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 PARIS https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

1/8: Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism Hardcover – September 10, 2024 by  Sebastian Smee  (Author) 1870 PARIS https://www.amazon.com/Paris-Ruins-Love-Birth-Impressionism/dp/1324006951/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0LrrcogTAXmGjiJTXHGqcmh6tG316iU_qBRT5krAjbY8X2w9audnxQy7kzk7OLkh_2lSbQ2ybUZGAqxzqsV7SIXXh__kEnq4cHn6QdDz3Vu5xuCtROqvHYC4bnq-Wd16OQ0xBFKI0YF5Q12M2HxhsXNW0KzxEvl3JkXmjEm-lB835FTP4AOXbZmDkXRwFFwP8JAim1mTpk-tRD1mx2eyRyT4izNxH2zOMi6vWoub4fk.sBKL5PJ8cK_YQQ9SXWo2jUROfRmEzorpra10Qr1m--0&dib_tag=se&qid=1739487181&refinements=p_27%3ASebastian+Smee&s=books&sr=1-1 From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans―then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born―in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists 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. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. 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

"PREVIEW: Art critic Sebastian Smee, author of 'Paris in Ruins,' explains how painting en plein air was considered revolutionary by the artistic establishment.  1871 Paris

"PREVIEW: PARIS: Art critic Sebastian Smee, author of 'Paris in Ruins,' explores the birth of Impressionism during the Franco-Prussian War and the complex relationship between Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot. More tonight." 1871 Commune

"PREVIEW: Conversation with art critic Sebastian Smee, author of 'Paris in Ruins,' about Berthe Morisot, the first female Impressionist and muse to the movement's founding artists, including Édouard Manet. More later this week." 1870s, Barthe Morisot by Edqard Manet.

“In the end, what interests me is the way art connects with life. Because otherwise, I don't quite understand what it's for.” - Sebastian Smee Sebastian Smee has been the art critic for the Washington Post since 2018, but has written extensively about art for every publication you can think of, from here to his native Australia, and winning a Pulitzer prize for criticism along the way. Both his prose and his love of the work leaps off the page and into your lap, offering a guiding hand past the velvet rope, not just for his readers, but for himself: he's a critic who is constantly looking inward, curious about his own responses to artworks, and what it can teach him about teaching us. Sebastian joined me to discuss his latest book, “Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism,” as well as writers on writing, becoming an expert about a movement on deadline, how looking back at the muddiness of a historical moment can help us understand the muddiness of ours, and what happens when art critics are themselves at a loss for the words to express why they just love this or that painting so darn much. See the images: https://www.thelonelypalette.com/interview/2025/2/6/sebastian-smee-art-critic Music used: The Blue Dot Sessions, “Town Market,” “Night Light,” “Brass Buttons” Episode sponsor: The Art of Crime Podcast

Mark your calendars! The new season of The Lonely Palette drops Thursday, January 23rd! This season, we've got a stellar line-up: Cy Twombly, Lawren Harris, Käthe Kollwitz, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, to name just a few. We've got interviews with the Washington Post's Sebastian Smee, the artist and composer Annea Lockwood, and more. We've got a whole National Gallery residency! So listen and subscribe, rate and review, and fire up your earbuds for another season of looking with your ears.

For the 34th episode of "Reading the Art World," host Megan Fox Kelly speaks with Sebastian Smee, Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic for The Washington Post and author of "Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism,” published by W. W. Norton.This fascinating conversation explores the violent political upheavals of 1870-71 Paris — the Siege of Paris and the Paris Commune — and how they influenced the Impressionist movement. Smee shares insights into the lives of the artists who survived these dramatic days, including Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot, who were trapped in Paris; Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, who joined regiments outside of the capital; and Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro, who fled the country just in time.Through rigorous research into personal letters and historical documents, Smee illuminates the human context behind familiar masterpieces of light created during this dark period. He offers a fresh perspective on why the Impressionists, with their newfound sense of the fragility of life, turned toward transient subjects of modern life, leisure, fleeting moments and the impermanence of all things in the aftermath of such devastating events.ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sebastian Smee is an art critic for The Washington Post and winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. His previous works include "The Art of Rivalry" and books on Mark Bradford and Lucian Freud. He was awarded the Rabkin Prize for art journalism in 2018 and was a MacDowell Fellow in 2021.PURCHASE THE BOOK https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324006954SUBSCRIBE, FOLLOW AND HEAR INTERVIEWS:For more information, visit meganfoxkelly.com, hear our past interviews, and subscribe at the bottom of our Of Interest page for new posts.Follow us on Instagram: @meganfoxkelly"Reading the Art World" is a live interview and podcast series with leading art world authors hosted by art advisor Megan Fox Kelly. The conversations explore timely subjects in the world of art, design, architecture, artists and the art market, and are an opportunity to engage further with the minds behind these insightful new publications. Megan Fox Kelly is an art advisor and past President of the Association of Professional Art Advisors who works with collectors, estates and foundations.Music composed by Bob Golden

This year, Andrea Robin Skinner, the daughter of the late Nobel Prize-winning Canadian author Alice Munro, revealed something about her mother that had stayed hidden throughout Munro's entire life. When Skinner was nine years old, Munro's husband – who was also Andrea's stepfather – had assaulted her.  Today, art critic and author Sebastian Smee reads his piece on the author Alice Munro. It's an insightful and sharp piece of writing by one of the best observers of the art and literary worlds.  Please enjoy ‘Into the Dark: The Legacy of Alice Munro”, read by Sebastian Smee, first published in The Monthly's November edition. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram Guest: Art critic and author Sebastian Smee

Meet Sebastian Smee, a Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic, who discusses his new book Paris in Ruins, its historical context, and the challenges of writing it. He also touches upon his previous book The Art of Rivalry, how to approach writing art criticism, and tips for aspiring writers. Sebastian now writes for The Washington Post, but got his start writing for The Sydney Morning Herald. He then went on to write for The Boston Globe, The Spectator, The Guardian, The Australian and more. 00:00 Introduction02:35 Nat Newman's writing tip10:28 Win Endgame by Sarah Barrie12:44 Word of the week: Hypnagogic16:47 Interview with Sebastian Smee20:27 Diving into historical context20:59 Early career and education21:49 Breaking into art criticism23:55 Writing art reviews25:50 Journey to America27:34 The Art of Rivalry31:02 Crafting Paris in Ruins38:30 Challenges and reflections42:21 Advice for aspiring art critics47:57 Final thoughts Read the show notes Connect with Valerie and listeners in the podcast community on Facebook Visit WritersCentre.com.au | ValerieKhoo.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sebastian Smee is the author of Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism, available from W.W. Norton & Co. Smee is a Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic at the Washington Post and the author of The Art of Rivalry. Formerly the chief art critic at the Boston Globe and national art critic for the Australian, he has also written for the Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Financial Times, and the Independent, among other publications. He lives in Boston. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Twitter Instagram  TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(00:53) Deze week is Bart Funnekotter bij ons te gast met 3 historische boeken:  Sebastian Smee, 'Verscheurd Parijs'  Bruce Gordon, 'De bijbel, een wereldgeschiedenis'   Rob Hartmans, 'Rode kameraden'  (14:30) Zijn bezoekers van psychedelische retreats, net als drugsgebruikers in de jaren '60, op zoek naar religieuze ervaringen? Drugs Monologen is een historisch onderzoeksproject naar drugsgebruik in Nederland sinds de jaren '60. Historicus Gemma Blok vertelt.  (26:40) Het Spoor Terug: Jan van Leiden en het einde der tijden #1. Dit is de eerste aflevering van de podcastserie over het verhaal van onheilsprofeet Jan van Leiden. Journalist Max Boogaard gaat op pad om meer te leren over het vroege verhaal Jan van Leiden en de mechanismen van radicalisering.     Meer info: https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/ovt/luister/afleveringen/2024/03-11-2024.html#    (https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/ovt/luister/afleveringen/2024/03-11-2024.html)

Elke week bespreken we historische boeken met afwisselend Nadia Bouras, Wim Berkelaar, Bart Funnekotter, Sanne Frequin, Annelien de Dijn en Fresco Sam-Sin. Deze week is de beurt aan Bart Funnekotter. Hij bespreekt drie historische boeken: Sebastian Smee, Verscheurd Parijs Bruce Gordon, De Bijbel: een wereldgeschiedenis Rob Hartmans, Rode kameraden

READ FULL SHOWNOTES ON Chat10Looks3.com Crabb's on a deep dive into the birth of impressionism in Paris with a new book by Pulitzer Prize winner Sebastian Smee, while Sales is once again offering her insights on The Sopranos, which last we checked finished airing 17 years ago. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In just three books Robbie Arnott has established himself as a writer to trust. Flames (2018), The Rain Heron (2022) and Limberlost (2022) were all rapturously reviewed and garnered a hefty swag of award nominations and wins. This week, Michael sits down with Robbie to discuss his new novel, Dusk, which explores loss and redemption and survival in Tasmania's high country. Reading list:Flames, Robbie Arnott, 2018The Rain Heron, Robbie Arnott, 2020Limberlost, Robbie Arnott, 2022Dusk, Robbie Arnott, 2024Paris In Ruins, Sebastian Smee, 2024You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store. Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and TwitterGuest: Robbie ArnottSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In just three books Robbie Arnott has established himself as a writer to trust. Flames (2018), The Rain Heron (2022) and Limberlost (2022) were all rapturously reviewed and garnered a hefty swag of award nominations and wins. This week, Michael sits down with Robbie to discuss his new novel, Dusk, which explores loss and redemption and survival in Tasmania's high country.  Reading list: Flames, Robbie Arnott, 2018 The Rain Heron, Robbie Arnott, 2020 Limberlost, Robbie Arnott, 2022 Dusk, Robbie Arnott, 2024 Paris In Ruins, Sebastian Smee, 2024 You can find these books and all the others we mentioned at your favourite independent book store.  Socials: Stay in touch with Read This on Instagram and Twitter Guest: Robbie Arnott

On today's Friday Morning Coffee, Caitlin Malcuit uses impressionism as a jumping off point to discuss what humanity loses when we're bound more to shareholders, capitalism, and war rather than equity; economic, environmental, housing, and food security; art and creativity; and joy.   Sebastian Smee, art critic at The Washington Post, then chats with Daniel Ford about his book Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism. Writer's Bone is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm, As Told To: The Ghostwriting Podcast, and The Shit No One Tells You About Writing. 

Sebastian Smee is an art critic for the Washington Post and the author of "Paris in Ruins: Love, War and the Birth of Impressionism" (Norton) and “The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art” (Random House), which was translated into a dozen languages. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism while at the Boston Globe in 2011, after being runner up in 2008. Living in the UK between 2000 and 2004, he worked for the Daily Telegraph, The Art Newspaper, The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, The Financial Times, Prospect, and The Spectator. In Australia, he worked as the art critic for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian. He was awarded the Rabkin Prize for art journalism in 2018 and was a MacDowell Fellow in 2021. He taught the Garis Seminar for Creative Non-fiction at Wellesley College between 2010 and 2022.  He has authored books on Mark Bradford and Lucian Freud and contributed essays to books on an array of other artists. He has been invited to speak at, among other places, Harvard University, Boston College, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences. 

This month's episode explores how political expression takes shape. Introducing his new book “Paris in Ruins”, Sebastian Smee discusses how Impressionism emerged in a politically chaotic France, bringing democracy and authenticity to art. Then, Nadia Bilbassy, Bureau Chief at Al Arabiya News, describes what it's like to cover the Biden White House for a Middle Eastern audience. She sits down with Jonathan Aberman to consider how empathy and dialogue can build bridges toward peace amid the crisis in Gaza. Plus, hear hosts Mark Walsh and Jonathan Aberman talk sports, electric vehicles, and favorite movies of the month.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This month's episode explores how political expression takes shape. Introducing his new book “Paris in Ruins”, Sebastian Smee discusses how Impressionism emerged in a politically chaotic France, bringing democracy and authenticity to art. Then, Nadia Bilbassy, Bureau Chief at Al Arabiya News, describes what it's like to cover the Biden White House for a Middle Eastern audience. She sits down with Jonathan Aberman to consider how empathy and dialogue can build bridges toward peace amid the crisis in Gaza. Plus, hear hosts Mark Walsh and Jonathan Aberman talk sports, electric vehicles, and favorite movies of the month.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Quentin Johnson reviews Paris In Ruins by Sebastian Smee published by Text Publishing.

This week: the Van Gogh blockbuster in London, a new book on the birth of Impressionism, and Juan Pablo Echeverri's performative self-portraits. As the exhibition Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers opens at the National Gallery in London as part of its bicentenary celebrations, The Art Newspaper's special correspondent and resident expert in the Dutch painter, Martin Bailey, takes a tour of the exhibition with our associate digital editor, Alexander Morrison. The National Gallery of Art in Washington, meanwhile, has just opened the exhibition Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment, its iteration of the show marking 150 years since the first Impressionist exhibition, which began earlier this year at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Coinciding with the show is the publication of the book Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism, by the Washington Post art critic, Sebastian Smee. Ben Luke speaks to Sebastian about the book. And this episode's Work of the Week is MUTIlady (2003) by Juan Pablo Echeverri. The photographic piece features nine photographs in which the late Colombian artist pictures himself with an apparently flayed body and wildly different haircuts seemingly reflecting a multitude of identities. The work is part of the exhibition GROW IT, SHOW IT! A look at hair from Diane Arbus to TikTok, which opened this week at the Museum Folkwang in Essen, Germany. The show's curator, Miriam Bettin, tells Ben more about the artist and the work.Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers, The National Gallery, London, 14 September-19 January 2025; The Sunflowers are Mine: The Story of Van Gogh's Masterpiece and Van Gogh's Finale: Auvers and the Artist's Rise to Fame by Martin Bailey, Frances Lincoln, each £10.99/$14.99 (pb), from 17 October, but available now at the National Gallery.Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism is published by W. W. Norton & Company in US and out now, priced $35. In the UK it's published by Oneworld, out on 17 October and priced £25; Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment, National Gallery of Art, Washington, until 19 January 2025.GROW IT, SHOW IT! A look at hair from Diane Arbus to TikTok, Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany, until 12 January 2025.Subscription offer: you can get the perfect start to the new academic year with 50% off a student subscription to The Art Newspaper—that's £28, or the equivalent in your currency, for one year. Visit theartnewspaper.com to find out more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty-two of this year's Virtual Memories Show guests tell us about the favorite books they read in 2022 and the books they hope to get to in 2023! Guests include Jonathan Ames, Richard Butner, Howard Chaykin, Joe Ciardiello, Darryl Cunningham, Eva Hagberg, Kathe Koja, Ken Krimstein, Glenn Kurtz, W. David Marx, Dave McKean, Wallis Wilde-Menozzi, Jim Ottaviani, Celia Paul, Nicole Rudick, Jerry Saltz, Dmitry Samarov, David Sax, Ruth Scurr, Sebastian Smee, Peter Stothard, and Marina Warner (+ me)! • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal

FIVE-HUNDRED EPISODES of The Virtual Memories Show?! Let's celebrate this milestone episode with tributes, remembrances, jokes, congrats, non-sequiturs, and a couple of songs (!) from nearly 100 of my past guests, including Maria Alexander, Jonathan Ames, Glen Baxter, Jonathan Baylis, Zoe Beloff, Walter Bernard, Sven Birkerts, Charles Blackstone, RO Blechman, Phlip Boehm, MK Brown, Dan Cafaro, David Carr, Kyle Cassidy, Howard Chaykin, Joe Ciardiello, Gary Clark, John Crowley, Ellen Datlow, Paul Di Filippo, Joan Marans Dim, Liza Donnelly, Bob Eckstein, Scott Edelman, Barbara Epler, Glynnis Fawkes, Aaron Finkelstein, Mary Fleener, Shary Flenniken, Josh Alan Friedman, Kipp Friedman, Michael Gerber, Mort Gerberg, ES Glenn, Sophia Glock, Paul Gravett, Tom Hart, Dean Haspiel, Jennifer Hayden, Glenn Head, Ron Hogan, Kevin Huizenga, Jonathan Hyman, Andrew Jamieson, Ian Kelley, Jonah Kinigstein, Kathe Koja, Ken Krimstein, Anita Kunz, Peter Kuper, Glenn Kurtz, Kate Lacour, Roger Langridge, Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn, John Leland, David Leopold, Sara Lippmann, David Lloyd, Whitney Matheson, Patrick McDonnell, Dave McKean, Scott Meslow, Barbara Nessim, Jeff Nunokawa, Jim Ottaviani, Celia Paul, Woodrow Phoenix, Darryl Pinckney, Weng Pixin, Eddy Portnoy, Virginia Postrel, Bram Presser, AL Price, Dawn Raffel, Boaz Roth, Hugh Ryan, Dmitry Samarov, Frank Santoro, JJ Sedelmaier, Nadine Sergejeff, Michael Shaw, R Sikoryak, Jen Silverman, Posy Simmonds, Vanessa Sinclair, David Small, Sebastian Smee, Ed Sorel, James Sturm, Mike Tisserand, Tom Tomorrow, Wallis Wilde-Menozzi, Kriota Willberg, Warren Woodfin, Jim Woodring, and Claudia Young. Plus, we look at back with segments from the guests we've lost over the years: Anthea Bell, Harold Bloom, Bruce Jay Friedman, Milton Glaser, Clive James, JD McClatchy, DG Myers, Tom Spurgeon, and Ed Ward. Here's to the next 500 shows! • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal

Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Sebastian Smee joins the show to talk about his career and the notions of artistic rivalry, influence and love, and how they came together in his 2017 book, The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals and Breakthroughs in Modern Art. We get into how he got his start in art criticism in Australia, his love for Matisse and Manet, his friendship with Lucian Freud, why American has the best museums, the joy of writing for The Washington Post and why his wonderful Great Works, In Focus series needs a better name, his new project about Berthe Morisot, and more! Follow Sebastian on Twitter and Instagram • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Patreon or Paypal

Today's Boston Public Radio is on tape. We're bringing you the ultimate book club — back-to-back conversations from over the years with some of our favorite writers: Kevin Young shares from his collection of poetry, “Brown.” Young is the poetry editor of The New Yorker and the director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture. Ann Patchett discusses the autobiographical elements of her book “Commonwealth,” and makes a pitch to all readers to shop at local, independent bookstores. Patchett is an author and the owner of Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tenn.  Sy Montgomery offers up details about her newly-released book: an illustrated children's version of her memoir, “How to Be a Good Creature.” Montgomery is a naturalist, journalist and frequent Boston Public Radio contributor. David Duchovny talks about his book, “Miss Subways: A Novel.” Duchovny is an actor and writer, and recently appeared in the Netflix series “The Chair.” Elizabeth Gilbert discusses her book “Big Magic,” a self-help book about tapping into creativity. Gilbert is a journalist and writer — her other books include “Eat, Pray, Love” and “Committed.” T.C. Boyle drops in on the dropout culture with his novel “Outside Looking In,” which is based on the LSD research of Timothy Lear. Boyle is a novelist and short story writer. Lizzie Post weighs in on cannabis culture in her new book, “Higher Etiquette: A Guide to the World of Cannabis, From Dispensaries to Dinner Parties.” Post is a writer, co-director of The Emily Post Institute and great-great-granddaughter of etiquette writer Emily Post. Sebastian Smee talks about his book “The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art.” Smee is an art critic for The Washington Post.

Today's Boston Public Radio is on tape. We're bringing you the ultimate book club — back-to-back conversations from over the years with some of our favorite writers: Kevin Young shares from his collection of poetry, “Brown.” Young is the poetry editor of The New Yorker and the director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture. Ann Patchett discusses the autobiographical elements of her book “Commonwealth,” and makes a pitch to all readers to shop at local, independent bookstores. Patchett is an author and the owner of Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tenn.  Sy Montgomery explores animal intelligence and what people can learn from animals. Montgomery is a journalist, naturalist and a BPR contributor. Her latest book is “The Hummingbirds' Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings.” David Duchovny talks about his book, “Miss Subways: A Novel.” Duchovny is an actor and writer, and recently appeared in the Netflix series “The Chair.” Elizabeth Gilbert discusses her book “Big Magic,” a self-help book about tapping into creativity. Gilbert is a journalist and writer — her other books include “Eat, Pray, Love” and “Committed.” T.C. Boyle drops in on the dropout culture with his novel “Outside Looking In,” which is based on the LSD research of Timothy Lear. Boyle is a novelist and short story writer. Lizzie Post weighs in on cannabis culture in her new book, “Higher Etiquette: A Guide to the World of Cannabis, From Dispensaries to Dinner Parties.” Post is a writer, co-director of The Emily Post Institute and great-great-granddaughter of etiquette writer Emily Post. Sebastian Smee talks about his book “The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art.” Smee is an art critic for The Washington Post.

Pulitzer prize-winning Australian art critic Sebastian Smee on finding new ways to work as a critic during the pandemic, being an ally and how he came to art.

Pulitzer prize-winning Australian art critic Sebastian Smee on finding new ways to work as a critic during the pandemic, being an ally and how he came to art.

Pulitzer prize-winning Australian art critic Sebastian Smee on finding new ways to work as a critic during the pandemic, being an ally and how he came to art.

Pulitzer prize-winning Australian art critic Sebastian Smee on finding new ways to work as a critic during the pandemic, being an ally and how he came to art.

Pulitzer prize-winning Australian art critic Sebastian Smee on finding new ways to work as a critic during the pandemic, being an ally and how he came to art.

Pulitzer prize-winning Australian art critic Sebastian Smee on finding new ways to work as a critic during the pandemic, being an ally and how he came to art.

Pulitzer prize-winning Australian art critic Sebastian Smee on finding new ways to work as a critic during the pandemic, being an ally and how he came to art.

Pulitzer prize-winning Australian art critic Sebastian Smee on finding new ways to work as a critic during the pandemic, being an ally and how he came to art.

Pulitzer prize-winning Australian art critic Sebastian Smee on finding new ways to work as a critic during the pandemic, being an ally and how he came to art.

Over the past few weeks, many people have said they feel like figures in an Edward Hopper painting. On this bonus episode of Post Reports, art critic Sebastian Smee has a reminder from Renoir and Manet that the good times will return. Read more:We’re all alone. So let’s get lost in these paintings of parties.Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

Annie Linskey and Amber Phillips consider the end of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign and what it means for the delegates she won. Aaron Blake explains why you should care about a scuffle between Sen. Charles E. Schumer and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. And, a portrait of a portrait, from Sebastian Smee.Read more:Now that Sen. Elizabeth Warren is out of the presidential race, how will her delegates swing?A dust-up between Sen. Chuck Schumer and U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, explained. The beauty of a painting, of a girl arranging her hair. Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

Missy Ryan examines the fallout of a U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. Plus, Sebastian Smee describes the stunning photo that changed how we see our planet.

The Lonely Palette is on break until November 2019, so every Wednesday in October, a different Hub & Spoke producer will take the host's chair to present an episode of their show that Tamar is especially fond of. Enjoy this month's podcast petri dish of art, culture, history, and society, and subscribe to any and all Hub & Spoke shows at www.hubspokeaudio.org. This week: Open Source with Christopher Lydon is a local conversation with global attitude. "The Bauhaus in Your House," which originally aired on 90.9 WBUR in April 2019, is an exploration of art, architecture, and design with Tamar Avishai, Peter Chermayeff, Ann Beha, and Sebastian Smee. The Bauhaus was the art school in Germany that created the look of the twentieth century. We just live in it: loving its white-box affordability, or hating its stripped, blank, glass-and-steel uniformity, the world around. It's the IKEA look in the twenty-first century, the look of Chicago skyscrapers and now Chinese housing towers, the look of American kitchens and probably the typeface on your emails. It was the less-is-more school that made ornament very nearly a crime. It stood, and stands, for a few big ideas still hotly contested. Listen to Open Source at www.radioopensource.org, or wherever you get your podcasts. Next week: The Constant and Michelangelo Listen to The Lonely Palette archives! www.thelonelypalette.com/episodes Support The Lonely Palette! www.patreon.com/lonelypalette

Plus, Hong Kong painter Chow Chun Fai tells Ed about the 'Lennon Walls' popping up around the city, art critic Sebastian Smee explains Renoir-loathing, and Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao is accusing the NGV of self-censoring.

Plus, Hong Kong painter Chow Chun Fai tells Ed about the 'Lennon Walls' popping up around the city, art critic Sebastian Smee explains Renoir-loathing, and Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao is accusing the NGV of self-censoring.

Plus, Hong Kong painter Chow Chun Fai tells Ed about the 'Lennon Walls' popping up around the city, art critic Sebastian Smee explains Renoir-loathing, and Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao is accusing the NGV of self-censoring.

In this episode of Parra Pods Katherine & Nisa discuss books about the relationship between humans and technology in this IT-saturated world. Join them while they talk about the future of AI, the impact of social media, the relationship between our private selves and our digital avatars and eroding trust in traditional institutions.   Some of the books discussed in this podcast include:   Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Max Tegmark. Penguin Random House, 2017.   Net loss: the inner life in the digital age by Sebastian Smee. Quarterly Essay No. 72, 2018   Who can you trust? How technology brought us together and why it might drive us apart by Rachel Botsman. Public Affairs, 2017  

Lillian Cunningham on the United States’ path to being the first to have astronauts walk on the moon. Plus, Sebastian Smee on an iconic photo of Mother Earth.

Chris Davenport on The Washington Post’s project for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing: 50 astronauts on what it’s like to be in space. And art critic Sebastian Smee on Frida Kahlo, after the release of a recording thought to be her voice.Get unlimited access to The Washington Post’s website and apps for less than $1 a week. Go to PostReports.com/offer to access a special offer for podcast listeners.

The bold new strategy in the fight against abortion rightsFor years, antiabortion advocates have tried to chip away at Roe v. Wade incrementally. They pushed legislatures to impose waiting periods and mandate hallway widths in clinics and generally make it more onerous for abortion clinics to operate and for women to access the procedure.Now, the pretense is being thrown out as states such as Georgia and Missouri impose much more restrictive bans. In Alabama, a law passed that outlawed the procedure almost entirely, without exceptions for rape or incest.Aaron Blake is a senior political reporter for The Fix. He explains the thinking behind their strategy — and how it could backfire.More on this topic:In Alabama, the GOP goes big on overturning Roe v. Wade. It could regret it.States racing to overturn Roe v. Wade look to a Supreme Court that prefers gradual changeGovernor signs Alabama abortion ban that has galvanized support on both sides, setting up a lengthy fightThe new Howard Stern says the old Howard Stern makes him ‘cringe’Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed “King of All Media,” was mostly known for mocking everyone and objectifying women on his TV and radio shows. But, he told The Post’s Geoff Edgers, that’s all behind him now.“I tried to watch some of my old Letterman [appearances],” Stern said during an interview at his SiriusXM radio studio. “I couldn’t get through two minutes of it. It’s just not me. I don’t know who that guy is.”In a new book, “Howard Stern Comes Again,” Stern hopes marks his evolution from an impatient and often nasty blabbermouth to a master conversationalist.More on this topic:Meet the new Howard Stern. He’d like to make amends for the old Howard Stern.The art world is out of touch A rabbit sculpture by Jeff Koons just sold for $91.1 million — a record breaking figure. When an artwork fetches that kind of price at auction, the first question everyone silently asks is: “Could it really be worth that?”“The first and best answer, obviously, is no,” says Post art critic Sebastian Smee. He sees the sale as evidence that the art world is increasingly untethered from reality.More on this topic:A bunny sculpture by Jeff Koons just sold for $91.1 million — another sign that the art world is untethered from reality

We celebrate Bauhaus' centenary with director of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation Dr Claudia Perren, Professor Andrew McNamara from QUT - who is recreating works by Bauhaus immigrant to Australia Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack - and Washington Post art critic Sebastian Smee, who also discusses The Tale of Genji exhibition at The Met. ABC national arts, culture and entertainment reporter Michaela Boland joins Ed to discuss the Morrison government's budget, and we meet the winners of the Kestin Indigenous Illustrator Award.

We celebrate Bauhaus' centenary with director of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation Dr Claudia Perren, Professor Andrew McNamara from QUT - who is recreating works by Bauhaus immigrant to Australia Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack - and Washington Post art critic Sebastian Smee, who also discusses The Tale of Genji exhibition at The Met. ABC national arts, culture and entertainment reporter Michaela Boland joins Ed to discuss the Morrison government's budget, and we meet the winners of the Kestin Indigenous Illustrator Award.

Kwementyaye Petyarre has died at around the age of 80, Eleanor and James Avery bring some of their pop culture-inspired public art process to the studio, arts news with Claire Nichols, critic Sebastian Smee on mother of abstraction Hilma af Klint, and Sana Qadar takes us to Nick Cave's UNTIL at Carriageworks.

Kwementyaye Petyarre has died at around the age of 80, Eleanor and James Avery bring some of their pop culture-inspired public art process to the studio, arts news with Claire Nichols, critic Sebastian Smee on mother of abstraction Hilma af Klint, and Sana Qadar takes us to Nick Cave's UNTIL at Carriageworks.

Historian Margaret Hutchison and art critic/historian Sasha Grishin discuss the impact the "war to end all wars" had on Australian art, Eddie speaks to curator from the Australian War Memorial Anthea Gunn about two paintings by Australian artists Vida Lahey and Will Dyson that offer distinct perspectives on the end of the war, producer Hannah Reich tours Taungurung artist Steven Rhall's latest exhibition, which challenges museums as colonial and imperialist spaces, and Washington Post art critic Sebastian Smee tells Eddie all about Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya's ethereal sculptures… made of fog.

Historian Margaret Hutchison and art critic/historian Sasha Grishin discuss the impact the "war to end all wars" had on Australian art, Eddie speaks to curator from the Australian War Memorial Anthea Gunn about two paintings by Australian artists Vida Lahey and Will Dyson that offer distinct perspectives on the end of the war, producer Hannah Reich tours Taungurung artist Steven Rhall's latest exhibition, which challenges museums as colonial and imperialist spaces, and Washington Post art critic Sebastian Smee tells Eddie all about Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya's ethereal sculptures… made of fog.

Sancintya Mohini Simpson works on an Indian miniature painting in studio, Bertie Blackman and curator Kendrah Morgan remember painter Charles Blackman and his works, Sebastian Smee reviews John Mawurndjul: I Am the Old and the New at the MCA

Sancintya Mohini Simpson works on an Indian miniature painting in studio, Bertie Blackman and curator Kendrah Morgan remember painter Charles Blackman and his works, Sebastian Smee reviews John Mawurndjul: I Am the Old and the New at the MCA

New York photographer Spencer Tunick on his upcoming nude crowd shoot in Melbourne, Waterborne at Dark Mofo confronts you with your own body's decay, art critic Sebastian Smee on the beauty of the world game and how WW2 left Surrealism in crisis, West Australian artist Helen Seiver on artistic healing after her parents' deaths.

New York photographer Spencer Tunick on his upcoming nude crowd shoot in Melbourne, Waterborne at Dark Mofo confronts you with your own body's decay, art critic Sebastian Smee on the beauty of the world game and how WW2 left Surrealism in crisis, West Australian artist Helen Seiver on artistic healing after her parents' deaths.

Wendy Sharpe has won The Sulman Prize, The Archibald, Two Travelling Scholarships and she's this week's studio artist, in light of the #MeToo movement, Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Sebastian Smee, asks whether art is independent of its creator, David Chesworth and Sonia Leber are this week's creative couple and Edwina Stott brings us the latest arts news.

Wendy Sharpe has won The Sulman Prize, The Archibald, Two Travelling Scholarships and she's this week's studio artist, in light of the #MeToo movement, Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Sebastian Smee, asks whether art is independent of its creator, David Chesworth and Sonia Leber are this week's creative couple and Edwina Stott brings us the latest arts news.

It's biennale central here at The Hub on Art this week as we cover the Lorne Sculpture Biennale, the Sydney Biennale and the announcement that Sydney artist Angelica Mesiti will be Australia's next representative at the Venice Biennale.

Andrew Ford, Sebastian Smee and Peter Thompson in conversation with Geordie Williamson.

Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dana Stevens are in Sydney Australia for the first of two Australian live shows! They discuss the film Baywatch, The novel and tv series The Handmaid's Tale, and the state of arts criticism with pulitzer-winning critic Sebastian Smee. The Slate Culture Gabfest is brought to you by Harrys. Get the close, comfortable shave you deserve. Sign up at Harrys.com/CULTURE, and you’ll receive their most popular Trial Set - a 13 dollar value - for FREE, you just cover the shipping. And by AT&T. Enjoy unlimited entertainment with unlimited data from AT&T. Don’t settle for any unlimited data plan. Only the AT&T Unlimited Plus plan comes with HBO included. Learn more at att.com/unlimited. After 22 gigabytes of data usage, AT&T may slow speeds. Credits for HBO start within two bills. Channels available subject to change.  Charges, other usage and restrictions apply. See att.com/unlimited for details. And by Casper, an online retailer of premium mattresses. Get 50 dollars toward any mattress purchase by going to Casper.com/CULTURE and using the promo code CULTURE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dana Stevens are in Sydney Australia for the first of two Australian live shows! They discuss the film Baywatch, The novel and tv series The Handmaid's Tale, and the state of arts criticism with pulitzer-winning critic Sebastian Smee. The Slate Culture Gabfest is brought to you by Harrys. Get the close, comfortable shave you deserve. Sign up at Harrys.com/CULTURE, and you’ll receive their most popular Trial Set - a 13 dollar value - for FREE, you just cover the shipping. And by AT&T. Enjoy unlimited entertainment with unlimited data from AT&T. Don’t settle for any unlimited data plan. Only the AT&T Unlimited Plus plan comes with HBO included. Learn more at att.com/unlimited. After 22 gigabytes of data usage, AT&T may slow speeds. Credits for HBO start within two bills. Channels available subject to change.  Charges, other usage and restrictions apply. See att.com/unlimited for details. And by Casper, an online retailer of premium mattresses. Get 50 dollars toward any mattress purchase by going to Casper.com/CULTURE and using the promo code CULTURE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Turner, Stephen Metcalf, and Dana Stevens are in Sydney Australia for the first of two Australian live shows! They discuss the film Baywatch, The novel and tv series The Handmaid's Tale, and the state of arts criticism with pulitzer-winning critic Sebastian Smee. The Slate Culture Gabfest is brought to you by Harrys. Get the close, comfortable shave you deserve. Sign up at Harrys.com/CULTURE, and you’ll receive their most popular Trial Set - a 13 dollar value - for FREE, you just cover the shipping. And by AT&T. Enjoy unlimited entertainment with unlimited data from AT&T. Don’t settle for any unlimited data plan. Only the AT&T Unlimited Plus plan comes with HBO included. Learn more at att.com/unlimited. After 22 gigabytes of data usage, AT&T may slow speeds. Credits for HBO start within two bills. Channels available subject to change.  Charges, other usage and restrictions apply. See att.com/unlimited for details. And by Casper, an online retailer of premium mattresses. Get 50 dollars toward any mattress purchase by going to Casper.com/CULTURE and using the promo code CULTURE

Boston Globe Pulitzer Prize-winners Ellen Goodman, Walter Robinson, Charlie Savage and Sebastian Smee reflected on how winning the award changed their careers. Former Boston Globe columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom Oliphant moderated.

Bill Henson's first solo exhibition, held at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1975 when he was 19 years old, heralded the beginnings of a unique photographic vision of the Australian landscape. Known for his brooding imagery and exacting artistic process, Henson alludes to the darkness of Caravaggio, the lightness of Purcell and the drama of Wagner. The intensity and intimacy of his images broach the boundary of the painterly and the cinematic, combining both surface and depth to reflect a space between the mystical and the real. Like Francesco Clemente, his photographs may begin with a fleeting vision or impression, a piece of music or line of writing, that echoes subconsciously before manifesting in his work. Henson's 'Untitled 1994/95' shows naked youths, cars and the darkened landscape that constantly fluctuates between space and time. It is a layered work, interspersed and fragmented by jagged reversed photographic paper that is pinned almost savagely to the surface. The glaring voids are not only temporarily blinding but create a shift akin to a screen obscuring the darkness and its content. The fracturing of the surface develops a provocative tension, splintering the image and adding to its intensity, further charging the displaced subjects with a brutal, baroque sensuality. The figural 'tableau vivant' is, as critic John Forbes suggested, an approximation of Renaissance art. There is also something medieval about the imagery and figures, which recall the rich and fractured spaces of Dieric Bouts' 'Hell' and 'Paradise' of 1450. The evocative portrait series 'Paris Opera Project' brings a strangely discontinuous space to the viewer. Part of a much larger series, the portraits play out the drama of opera as if in five acts. Moving from a moody landscape in half-light to a young girl who lifts her hand to grasp the darkness, the inky blackness of the theatre leads us through the other portraits of opera viewers deep in concentration. The final image, like the first, is a fuzzy landscape, where a barely discernible hill of trees is mirrored by trailing clouds, the space between reflecting the shimmering night sky. Like video artist Bill Viola, Henson chooses not to show the action of the stage but rather the audience in full devotional contemplation. Often likened to painting, Henson's artistic process is not unlike the painter's struggle: 'just as you can scrape back areas of painting and go over them, you do follow something along over maybe several weeks and change things until it slips past its best point and you lose it. And then there's a long, often a very long, period when the work is turning into something else - you can't wind it back to whatever it was'.1 1. Sebastian Smee in conversation with Bill Henson (1994) in Bill Henson, 'Mnemosyne', AGNSW, Sydney/Scalo, Zurich 2005, p 440 © Art Gallery of New South Wales Contemporary Collection Handbook, 2006

The Australian's art critic Sebastian Smee chooses his favourite Archibald Prize finalists. He also managed to pick the eventual winner. Video: Christine Nestel

The Australian's art critic Sebastian Smee chooses his favourite Archibald Prize finalists. He also managed to pick the eventual winner. Video: Christine Nestel