Greetings! 

Our next event - 

Saturday November 5 at 11am

The Lighthouse Santa written by Sara Hoagland Hunter

illustrated by Julia Miner

Many of us raised in New England remember Edward Rowe Snow, who - for nearly 50 years - flew up and down the coast, bringing gifts to the lighthouse keepers' families each holiday season.

The Lighthouse Santa tells the story of Edward Rowe Snow and one particularly stormy night when he wondered if he'd be able to make his annual deliveries.

A wonderful story that shares New England history, with striking illustrations by a local artist (Julia Miner keeps a studio at Emerson Umbrella), The Lighthouse Santa is sure to delight adults who remember Edward Rowe Snow, children who are just being introduced to his mission, and fans of lighthouses and the New England shores.

We're thrilled that both the author and illustrator of The Lighthouse Santa will be with us on Saturday, November 5 at 11am.

Also this weekend - 

Sunday November 6 at 3pm

Living and Painting in a Changing New England 

by Loring W. Coleman

Loring Coleman's voice as a storyteller is full of his humor and sense of wonder as he tells us about his life and then gives us the tales behind the beauty and mystery of over 50 of his paintings, most of which are reflections of a disappearing life in New England.

He begins by describing the moment when his eyesight failed, and he learned that after seven decades as an artist, he might never paint again. His creation of this book became his response.

With spirited memories of the intriguing characters who affected his life, Loring describes his upbringing in the tough Chicago of the 1930s, his discovery of idyllic rivers in Concord, Massachusetts, and his adventures as a motorcyclist and young student of great art teachers. He tells of marrying his wife Katinka the day before Pearl Harbor, entering the military, and quickly finding himself commanding the U.S. Army's largest World War II art department. He then traces his energetic years as a teacher, traveling art historian, and lover of Bavaria and Austria.

In the context of his rich personal life, Loring shows us his paintings, as he reveals the many amusing, exasperating, and provocative experiences surrounding the artistic choices he made as he became one of New England s most revered artists. 

Please join us on Sunday, November 6 at 3pm for conversation with Loring W. Coleman. Signed books will be available for purchase.

New in our signed books gallery

New England Icons: Shaker Villages, Saltboxes, Stone Walls, and Steeples

by Bruce Irving

On Sunday, we enjoyed a conversation and slideshow with Bruce Irving and his book, New England Icons. Bruce, a former executive producer for This Old House, writes of the distinctive New England landscape of buildings, communities, and details that speak volumes about the character of our area.

Bruce graciously signed additional copies of New England Icons to offer to those who were unable to attend the event.

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Living and Painting in a Changing New England

by Loring W. Coleman

Signed editions of revered New England artist Loring W. Coleman's Living and Painting in a Changing New England are available in the Bookshop.

Please join us on Sunday, November 6 at 3pm for conversation with the artist, who taught at Middlesex Scholl for over a quarter century, and for whom a gallery is named at the Concord Art Association.

New history from renowned art critic

Rome: A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History by Robert Hughes 

"Hughes provides a ... captivating tour through the remarkable depth and breadth of the ancient city." 

-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From Robert Hughes, one of the greatest art and cultural critics of our time, comes a sprawling, comprehensive, and deeply personal history of Rome - as city, as empire, and, crucially, as an origin of Western art and civilization, two subjects about which Hughes has spent his life writing and thinking.  

Author Robert Hughes was born in Australia in 1938. Since 1970 he has lived and worked in the United States, where for three decades he was chief art critic for Time, to which he still contributes. His books include The Shock of the New, The Fatal Shore, Nothing If Not Critical, Barcelona, Goya, and Things I Didn't Know. He is the recipient of a number of awards and prizes for his work.

New memoir 

Blue Nights by Joan Didion

"Searing" memoir - now in paperback

Why Not Say What Happened by Ivana Lowell 

"Lowell movingly shows how a child's love can transcend a parent's flaws. Her empathy with her mother may be her greatest gift."

 -The New York Times Book Review

Born into one of the most celebrated Anglo-Irish families, the Guinnesses, Ivana Lowell grew up at the whim of two literary heavyweights-her mother, writer Lady Caroline Blackwood, and stepfather, poet Robert Lowell.

Now, with an incisive eye and a wicked sense of humor, she shares the stories we've always wanted to hear. She tells of following the famous authors from one crumbling, drafty country house to another, and of summers spent with madcap relatives such as her maternal grandmother, the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, and her "old friend," the Queen Mother. But Ivana also has darker stories to tell: about her childhood accident, about her own stints in rehab, and, finally, about discovering the secret Lady Caroline had successfully kept from Ivana her entire life.

In Our Window

Concord Children's Center Open House 

This week's window display was created by The Concord