“Carrying the Torch: Maud Howe Elliott and the American Renaissance”

Welcome to Museum Reads, the Newport Art Museum’s Art-Themed book group for adults! Are you looking to learn more about art and artists, or enjoy digging into some of the issues present in our current exhibitions? Then this friendly discussion group is for you. We meet monthly on the third Thursday at 12 noon, in person and virtually. Join us virtually from the office for an invigorating lunch break, or enjoy an hour of inspiration during a wee one’s nap time, or find us in the gallery for in-person conversation.

Carrying the Torch: Maud Howe Elliott and the American Renaissance by Nancy Whipple Grinnell

In honor of the Museum’s current exhibition, Unfinished Business, we have selected a biography of Maud Howe Elliott (1854–1948) by Curator Emerita of the Newport Art Museum, Nancy Whipple Grinnell.

The daughter of Julia Ward Howe, Maud Howe Elliott was a Pulitzer Prize–winning writer and a tireless supporter of the arts, particularly in her adopted city of Newport, Rhode Island. An art historian and the author of over twenty works of fiction and nonfiction, including countless articles and short stories, Elliott is perhaps best known for co-writing a biography of her mother—a major figure in the political and cultural world of New England, a woman’s suffrage leader, and a leading progressive political voice. Elliott sought to enhance community and regional life by founding the Art Association of Newport in 1912 (now the Newport Art Museum), which she saw as the culmination of her life’s work. Nancy Whipple Grinnell has written an informative and inspiring biography that will appeal to a broad regional readership, finally securing Elliott’s place in the pantheon of American cultural benefactors.

We’re delighted that author Nancy Whipple Grinnell will join us in person for discussion.

Museum Reads is free for Members, and $5 for yet-to-be Members.  

Be sure to register online to receive email updates and Zoom links.
For last minute registrations, please call the front desk for the Zoom link at 401-848-8200.

Nancy Whipple Grinnell is Curator Emerita of the Newport Art Museum, where she served from 1998 through 2016. In addition to authoring the biography of the museum’s founder, Carrying the Torch: Maud Howe Elliott and the American Renaissance, Grinnell has also written numerous museum catalogues and brochures, and serves as a frequent lecturer and curator.