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The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli
Why would Leonardo da Vinci paint a woman holding an ermine? Who was the sitter for this famous portrait and what happened to her? After it was confiscated by the Nazis during WWII, who rescued the portrait? In this dual timeline historical fiction, the author seamlessly transports the reader between Renaissance Milan and WWII Germany and Poland.
Uniting Literature and Art
Journey with Utah Museum of Fine Arts’ docents and discuss themes in the book: portraiture, stolen art and rescue, art restoration.
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The Brilliant History of Color in Art by Victoria Finlay
Did you know that Napoleon may have died as a result of the arsenic-laced emerald green wallpaper in his bedroom? Or that, in the Middle Ages, blue pigment was more expensive than gold leaf? Hear these and other intriguing stories about color while discussing this book by Victoria Finlay, an acclaimed writer and journalist.
Uniting Literature and Art
Visit the UMFA to explore our global collection and make personal connections to works of art via this colorful tour related to hues and their histories.
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A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
From the author of New York Times bestseller Rules of Civility comes the captivating tale of Count Alexander Rostov and his 30-year imprisonment in the Hotel Metropol in Moscow during the period of the Russian Revolution.
Uniting Literature and Art
Join us at the UMFA to experience works of art related to such themes as nobility and class, confinement, the pleasure of good food and drink, and the enduring bonds of friendship.
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The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith
A rare 17th century painting links three lives on three continents over three centuries. Defying societal expectations of the time, Dutch artist Sara de Vos paints a haunting landscape which becomes the center of intrigue in the golden ages of 17th century Holland, 1950s New York, and Sydney in the year 2000.
Uniting Literature and Art
Visit UMFA’s galleries to view seventeenth 17th century art, landscapes, and the work of daring female artists across time.
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Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey by Lillian Schlissel
The journey west, a migration that more than a quarter of a million people made during the mid-1800s, is a story that dominates American history, folklore, and imagination. This era of change and discovery wasn’t solely the domain of frontiersmen: women who made this journey are integral to the narrative, too. These diaries provide unique, personal, and accurate glimpses into the lives of the women who traveled west.
Uniting Literature and Art
Spend time with works of art that depict not only this westward journey, but also pieces created by “pioneering" women artists from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
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The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
The Madonnas of Leningrad is a story of imagination and memory. In the fall of 1941, as German troops approached Leningrad, Marina, a young tour guide at the Hermitage Museum, along with other staff members, was instructed to remove the museum's priceless masterpieces for safekeeping, yet leave the frames hanging empty on the walls, a symbol of the artwork's eventual return. To hold on to sanity when the Luftwaffe's bombs began to fall, Marina burned into memory these exquisite artworks, room by room, painting by painting. She used them to furnish a "memory palace," a personal Hermitage that remained with her the rest of her life.
Uniting Literature and Art
The UMFA houses numerous Madonna paintings that span many centuries and countries. Visit the Museum, view various Madonna paintings, and then imagine the frames empty. Is there a particular painting in your memory that has significant meaning in your life?
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Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X by Deborah Davis
Strapless is a true story of the scandal surrounding John Singer Sargent's painting, Madame X, one of the most famous—and infamous—paintings of the nineteenth century. Unveiled at the 1884 Paris Salon, the painting immediately generated attention and criticism because Sargent had painted one strap of the sitter's dress dangling from her shoulder. In Strapless, Deborah Davis reveals the real "Madame X," a young American-born French socialite notorious for her beauty and rumored infidelities. This book offers a fascinating look into the decadent lives of Parisian high society in the mid-1800s.
Uniting Literature and Art
Visit the UMFA and view an original portrait by John Singer Sargent. Discover why portraits of all kinds have been an important and enduring part of world history. You will also get the inside scoop about works of art in the Museum’s collection that have a hint of scandal behind their creation.
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Memoirs of Madame Vigée Lebrun translated by Lionel Strachey
Meet a famous French artist, mother, and woman of the world who consorted with the kings and queens of Poland, Russia and France. Serious and very good at what she did, Lebrun was Queen Marie Antoinette's favorite portrait painter. Lebrun's portraits brought in large sums of money, yet she only carried with her a small allowance. Her soirees were the envy of Paris, but she fled her home during the French Revolution and traveled for twelve years in a carriage through a turbulent, revolutionary Europe. Find out more about this determined woman and her commitment to realizing her talents as an artist from her own writing in her lively memoirs.
Uniting Literature and Art
Visit the UMFA and view Vigée Lebrun's exquisite portrait of Russian Princess Eudocia Ivanovna Galitzine. Discover why Lebrun painted the princess in classical dress holding a basket of pink roses on her head. Learn about a second Lebrun portrait in the Museum's collection and LeBrun's artistic connection to Raphael.
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The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr
The Lost Painting is a compelling true story of mystery and serendipity. In the seventeenth century, the renowned yet troubled Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio painted The Taking of Christ, a celebrated masterpiece of its time. Two centuries later, it vanished without a trace. For the next two hundred years, art historians and art aficionados tried to locate Caravaggio's famous painting. The Lost Painting chronicles the intense search for The Taking of Christ and its eventual discovery and restoration.
Uniting Literature and Art
Visit the UMFA and see firsthand how Caravaggio's revolutionary style influenced other Italian painters. You will also view several works in the Museum's collection that have been painstakingly conserved, each with its own story of discovery.
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Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman
In one of Hillerman’s best-loved mysteries, a noted anthropologist vanishes as “thieves of time”—pothunters who seek to steal from ancient burial sites for profit—test the skill and ingenuity of Navajo detectives, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.
Uniting Literature and Art
Visit the UMFA to view landscapes, ceramics, and other works of art from Utah and the Southwest.
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