“Guernica: Painting the End of the World”

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.

Guernica: Painting the End of the World by James Attlee 

“Helps you appreciate Guernica‘s daring and resonance” – Literary Review

James Attlee offers an illuminating account of the genesis, creation and complex afterlife of Picasso’s Guernica. He explores the historical and cultural context from which it sprang; analyzes the painting itself and the meanings that art historians, museum curators, politicians and anti-war protestors have ascribed to it; traces its travels across Europe and the Americas from the late 1930s to its arrival in Spain in 1981; and speaks with key artists, art-world figures and cultural commentators about its continuing, all-pervasive presence. 

In 1937, Guernica sounded a warning of what was to come: with Spain plunged once more into civil strife and demagogic politicians stalking the stage on both sides of the Atlantic, Attlee argues its message is just as relevant today.

We’re delighted to announce that author James Attlee will join our discussion virtually!

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.

James Attlee is a widely-published non-fiction writer, with more than half-a-dozen well-received titles published by Penguin, Guardian Books, And Other Stories, Head of Zeus and the University of Chicago Press among others; numerous essays in museum catalogues and anthologies; and journalism published in many different outlets. His latest book, ‘Under the Rainbow: Voices from Lockdown’ was published in May 2021. His work combines travel writing, history, art, urbanism and the anthropology of the everyday.

James was awarded a PhD by Published Work at Oxford Brookes University in February 2021. In October 2022 he will became Royal Literary Fund Fellow at St Hilda’s, Oxford University.