A great American artist, John Singer Sargent is also an enigma. While crafting a highly respectable persona, he scandalized viewers on both sides of the Atlantic with the frankness and sensuality of his work.
In The Grand Affair, the historian Paul Fisher offers a vivid life of the buttoned-up artist and his unbuttoned work.Sargent’s nervy, edgy portraits exposed feelings in himself and his sitters—feelings that high society on both sides of the Atlantic found fascinating and off-putting.
Fisher traces Singer’s life from his wandering trans-European childhood to the salons of Paris, the scandals and enthusiasms he caused, and on to London. There he mixed with eccentrics and aristocrats, and the likes of Henry James and Oscar Wilde, while at the same time forming a close relationship with a lightweight boxer who became his model, valet and traveling partner.
In later years, Sargent met up with his friend and patron Isabella Stewart Gardner around the world and devoted himself to a new model, the African American elevator operator and part-time contortionist Thomas McKeller, who would become the subject of some of Sargent’s most daring and powerful work.
Illuminating Sargent’s restless itinerary, Fisher explores the enigmas of fin de siècle sexuality and art, fashioning a biography that grants the man and his paintings new and intense life.
Paul Fisher is a biographer and cultural historian whose books bring to life American literary and artistic expatriates of the Belle Époque. Fisher’s most recent biography, The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World (2022), treats Sargent’s life in its larger cultural context, especially his contradictions of gender and sexuality. Fisher has lectured all over the United States and Europe and presented his work in radio, television, print, and podcast interviews in the United States, Britain, and Ireland.
In his work on the visual arts, Fisher has contributed to exhibitions and lectured on Sargent, Gardner, and Cassatt in many venues, including the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In 2020, he participated in the Gardner Museum’s landmark exhibition, Boston’s Apollo, which highlighted John Singer Sargent’s Black model, Thomas McKeller. Fisher has taught at Yale, Wesleyan, Boston University, and Harvard and is currently a Professor and Chair of American Studies at Wellesley College.
By the Way Berkshires is a digital magazine exploring creative life and community — art and performance, food and the outdoors — and I’m writing it for you, with local voices, because I’ve gotten to know this rich part of the world as a writer and journalist, and I want to share it with you.
If you’d like to see the website grow, you can join me for a few dollars a month, enough for a cup of coffee and a cider doughnut. Members get access to extra stories and multimedia, itineraries a bookmark tool. Let me know what you're looking for, and we’ll explore together.
A collective of formerly incarcerated women and theater artists are co-creating an original theater piece, working with theater makers through the 2nd Street organization in Pittsfield.
A collective of formerly incarcerated women and theater artists are co-creating an original theater piece, working with theater makers through the 2nd Street organization in Pittsfield.
A collective of formerly incarcerated women and theater artists are co-creating an original theater piece, working with theater makers through the 2nd Street organization in Pittsfield.
Hancock Shaker Village will take a deep dive into the Shaker world! on a Discovery Tour each Wednesday morning, led by experienced Village staff.
Dewey Hall hosts a game night for people of all ages who love playing games to gather with friends and/or join with others that share an interest.
In Sanaz Toossi's 2023 Pulitzer prizewinning play, four students meet regularly in a classroom in Iran, preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language proficiency exam.
The West Stockbridge Farmers Market offers fresh produce — fruits and vegetables in season, eggs, meats and cheeses, breads and baked goods, fudge and jams and more.
Before her appearance at the 2023 Brooklyn Book Festival, Finnish illustrator, writer and visual artist Marika Maijala joins Mass MoCA for an artist talk on Rosie Runsand hands-on silkscreen with Gary Lichtenstein.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
Eddie Jaku was a teenager as World War II began, and he survived Buchenwald, Auschwitz and a forced death march — a new play tells his story.
In Sanaz Toossi's 2023 Pulitzer prizewinning play, four students meet regularly in a classroom in Iran, preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language proficiency exam.
The Sheffield Farmers Market returns outdoors with some 20 vendors — from pickles, seasonings and garlic, to Naji’s Mediterranean Cuisine, baked fresh wheat-free breads, local meats, honey and maple syrup and more.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
On a summer night, in the middle of a field on their midwest farm, a long-married couple sits on folding chairs to observe the seven stages of a lunar eclipse.
Eddie Jaku was a teenager as World War II began, and he survived Buchenwald, Auschwitz and a forced death march — a new play tells his story.
In Sanaz Toossi's 2023 Pulitzer prizewinning play, four students meet regularly in a classroom in Iran, preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language proficiency exam.
Locally roasted coffee, native plants or gently herbed hand cream ... the regular Pittsfield Farmers Market welcomes in farmers and artisans together.
Farmers, food producers, artists and artisans will gather in the expanded parking lot at the end of Spring Street every Saturday through mid-October.
Chocolate peanut butter cookies, fresh flowers, jams and pickles and cheeses ... the North Adams Farmers Market returns weekly with more than a dozen farmers and makers.
The market returns with fruits and greens and cheeses, locally roasted coffee and brewed cider — popsicles, mushrooms, Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough bread, fresh berries ...
On a summer night, in the middle of a field on their midwest farm, a long-married couple sits on folding chairs to observe the seven stages of a lunar eclipse.
GreylockWorks brings a mini makers market with a rotating array of local artisans, open studios and thoughtful food and drinks from The Break Room.
Eddie Jaku was a teenager as World War II began, and he survived Buchenwald, Auschwitz and a forced death march — a new play tells his story.
In Sanaz Toossi's 2023 Pulitzer prizewinning play, four students meet regularly in a classroom in Iran, preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language proficiency exam.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
On a summer night, in the middle of a field on their midwest farm, a long-married couple sits on folding chairs to observe the seven stages of a lunar eclipse.
Hancock Shaker Village will take a deep dive into the Shaker world! on a Discovery Tour each Wednesday morning, led by experienced Village staff.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Wharton on Wednesdays returns to the Mount on first Wednesdays — listen to quintessential Edith Wharton short stories brought to life by local actors.
In Sanaz Toossi's 2023 Pulitzer prizewinning play, four students meet regularly in a classroom in Iran, preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language proficiency exam.
Eddie Jaku was a teenager as World War II began, and he survived Buchenwald, Auschwitz and a forced death march — a new play tells his story.
The West Stockbridge Farmers Market offers fresh produce — fruits and vegetables in season, eggs, meats and cheeses, breads and baked goods, fudge and jams and more.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
Jackson Whalan hosts a A 100-percent improvised music session with professional musicians, recording artists and surprise guests from The Berkshires and beyond.
Eddie Jaku was a teenager as World War II began, and he survived Buchenwald, Auschwitz and a forced death march — a new play tells his story.
The Sheffield Farmers Market returns outdoors with some 20 vendors — from pickles, seasonings and garlic, to Naji’s Mediterranean Cuisine, baked fresh wheat-free breads, local meats, honey and maple syrup and more.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Artist Kelli Rae Adams invites visitors to sample her freshly baked sourdough breads as she reflects on past work and shares insights into both current and future projects.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
On a summer night, in the middle of a field on their midwest farm, a long-married couple sits on folding chairs to observe the seven stages of a lunar eclipse.
Locally roasted coffee, native plants or gently herbed hand cream ... the regular Pittsfield Farmers Market welcomes in farmers and artisans together.
Farmers, food producers, artists and artisans will gather in the expanded parking lot at the end of Spring Street every Saturday through mid-October.
Chocolate peanut butter cookies, fresh flowers, jams and pickles and cheeses ... the North Adams Farmers Market returns weekly with more than a dozen farmers and makers.
The market returns with fruits and greens and cheeses, locally roasted coffee and brewed cider — popsicles, mushrooms, Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough bread, fresh berries ...
Eddie Jaku was a teenager as World War II began, and he survived Buchenwald, Auschwitz and a forced death march — a new play tells his story.
GreylockWorks brings a mini makers market with a rotating array of local artisans, open studios and thoughtful food and drinks from The Break Room.
Eddie Jaku was a teenager as World War II began, and he survived Buchenwald, Auschwitz and a forced death march — a new play tells his story.
In Sanaz Toossi's 2023 Pulitzer prizewinning play, four students meet regularly in a classroom in Iran, preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language proficiency exam.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
On a summer night, in the middle of a field on their midwest farm, a long-married couple sits on folding chairs to observe the seven stages of a lunar eclipse.
Naumkeag's horticulturist will lead a after-hours tour of the gardens while sipping on a glass of wine. Each month will offer a different topic for the garden.
Hancock Shaker Village will take a deep dive into the Shaker world! on a Discovery Tour each Wednesday morning, led by experienced Village staff.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Inspired by the open jams from the formative era of jazz, Band leader Luke Franco and host Brian Kantor will hold a monthly evening of music.
In Sanaz Toossi's 2023 Pulitzer prizewinning play, four students meet regularly in a classroom in Iran, preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language proficiency exam.
North Adams Public School students and their families are invited to Family Night at Mass MoCA with after-hours access to select exhibitions in the museum, art-making, food, fun and more.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
In Sanaz Toossi's 2023 Pulitzer prizewinning play, four students meet regularly in a classroom in Iran, preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language proficiency exam.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
On a summer night, in the middle of a field on their midwest farm, a long-married couple sits on folding chairs to observe the seven stages of a lunar eclipse.
In Sanaz Toossi's 2023 Pulitzer prizewinning play, four students meet regularly in a classroom in Iran, preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language proficiency exam.
Locally roasted coffee, native plants or gently herbed hand cream ... the regular Pittsfield Farmers Market welcomes in farmers and artisans together.
Farmers, food producers, artists and artisans will gather in the expanded parking lot at the end of Spring Street every Saturday through mid-October.
Chocolate peanut butter cookies, fresh flowers, jams and pickles and cheeses ... the North Adams Farmers Market returns weekly with more than a dozen farmers and makers.
The market returns with fruits and greens and cheeses, locally roasted coffee and brewed cider — popsicles, mushrooms, Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough bread, fresh berries ...
Photographer John Mancia will lead an investigation and hands-on photography workshop that explores Shaker light — the group will experiment with light in their own photography.
In Sanaz Toossi's 2023 Pulitzer prizewinning play, four students meet regularly in a classroom in Iran, preparing to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language proficiency exam.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
On a summer night, in the middle of a field on their midwest farm, a long-married couple sits on folding chairs to observe the seven stages of a lunar eclipse.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Humbird makes music with deep roots in the midwest heartland and also travels like a bramble, fusing experimental folk and environmental Americana.
Hancock Shaker Village will take a deep dive into the Shaker world! on a Discovery Tour each Wednesday morning, led by experienced Village staff.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Dewey Hall and Michael Lesko are partnering to revive a monthly open-mic-meets-variety show with an open creative soirée and a talented headlining act.
Midwestern Singer songwriter Matt Fowler performs at the Egremont Barn as a stop on his wide-ranging tour.
The R & D Store at Mass MoCA and the Council on the Uncertain Human Future hold a talk on M.R. O’Connor’s Ignition: Lighting Fires in a Burning World, on the powerful phenomenon of wildfire.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Justin Adkins and Arianna Alexsandra Collins of HooRWA will lead a walk along the Hoosic River, identifying wild edible and medicinal plants and fungi.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
On a summer night, in the middle of a field on their midwest farm, a long-married couple sits on folding chairs to observe the seven stages of a lunar eclipse.
The market returns with fruits and greens and cheeses, locally roasted coffee and brewed cider — popsicles, mushrooms, Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough bread, fresh berries ...
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
On a summer night, in the middle of a field on their midwest farm, a long-married couple sits on folding chairs to observe the seven stages of a lunar eclipse.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
On a summer night, in the middle of a field on their midwest farm, a long-married couple sits on folding chairs to observe the seven stages of a lunar eclipse.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Hancock Shaker Village will take a deep dive into the Shaker world! on a Discovery Tour each Wednesday morning, led by experienced Village staff.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Dewey Hall hosts a game night for people of all ages who love playing games to gather with friends and/or join with others that share an interest.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
The market returns with fruits and greens and cheeses, locally roasted coffee and brewed cider — popsicles, mushrooms, Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough bread, fresh berries ...
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Mass MoCA holds a preview celebration for Like Magic, artists resisting systems that try to surveil and control people’s lives and stories.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
Mass MoCA will hold a conversation with artists in Like Magic — Simone Bailey, Grace Clark, Petra Szilagyi and Nate Young — curator Alexandra Foradas and Mass MoCA Director Kristy Edmunds.
Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Copenhagen, explores the events surrounding a fateful meeting between two of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century: Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show is back at Naumkeag this year with more than 1,500 jack-o-lanterns and an expanded schedule —explore the gardens as Naumkeag transforms into a celebration of autumn.
Chocolate peanut butter cookies, fresh flowers, jams and pickles and cheeses ... the North Adams Farmers Market returns with more than a dozen farmers and makers.
The market returns with fruits and greens and cheeses, locally roasted coffee and brewed cider — popsicles, mushrooms, Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough bread, fresh berries ...
