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Love art and books?
Join the PMA Book Club—open to PMA members and meeting quarterly for in-person conversations that explore the connections between literature, creativity, and culture. No prior art knowledge needed.
This February, Julia Keiser will lead our book club conversation surrounding the Chasing Beauty : The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner here at the PMA.
Space is limited, please RSVP to Lily Spearsmith at lspearsmith@portlandmuseum.org or (207) 318-2055 before February 1.
Chasing Beauty : The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner
Purchase a copy at the PMA Store, Members get 10% Off!
The Portland Museum of Art has a unique connection with the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum as both institutions are connected to women who took the lead in establishing museums. Although the PMA was founded in 1882, the story of our downtown campus really begins with the legacy of our first benefactor, Margaret Jane Mussey Sweat. In 1908, Sweat bequeathed the McLellan House and necessary funds to build the L. D. M. Sweat Memorial Galleries in memory of her late husband.
Isabella Stewart Gardner, an avid collector, dreamed of creating a museum with her husband John “Jack” Gardner. When Jack sadly died unexpectedly in 1898, Isabella persisted in making their shared dream a reality. Construction of the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum began in 1899 and it opened to the public in 1903 under the name Fenway Court.
We look forward to discussing Chasing Beauty : The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner with you!
Natalie Dykstra
Natalie Dykstra grew up in the Midwest, first near the shores of Lake Michigan, then in a suburb west of Chicago. She received her undergraduate degree in Classics followed by graduate degrees in American Studies at the University of Wyoming and the University of Kansas. She received a 2018 Public Scholar Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support Chasing Beauty: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner. She is emerita professor of English and senior research professor at Hope College, where she taught writing, literature, and the arts for twenty years. She lives with her husband in Waltham, Massachusetts.