The Reading Art Book Club meets next on May 11, at 2:30 pm in the Las Cruces Museum of Art. The book club will have an open, group discussion on the book Lisette’s List by Susan Vreeland.
In 1937, young Lisette Roux and her husband, André, move from Paris to a village in Provence to care for André’s grandfather Pascal. Lisette regrets having to give up her dream of becoming a gallery apprentice and longs for the comforts and sophistication of Paris. But as she soon discovers, the hilltop town is rich with unexpected pleasures. Pascal once worked in the nearby ochre mines and later became a pigment salesman and frame maker; while selling his pigments in Paris, he befriended Pissarro and Cézanne, some of whose paintings he received in trade for his frames. Pascal begins to tutor Lisette in both art and life, allowing her to see his small collection of paintings and the Provençal landscape itself in a new light. Inspired by Pascal’s advice to “Do the important things first,” Lisette begins a list of vows to herself (#4. Learn what makes a painting great). When war breaks out, André goes off to the front, but not before hiding Pascal’s paintings to keep them from the Nazis’ reach.
With German forces spreading across Europe, the sudden fall of Paris, and the rise of Vichy France, Lisette sets out to locate the paintings (#11. Find the paintings in my lifetime). Her search takes her through the stunning French countryside, where she befriends Marc and Bella Chagall, who are in hiding before their flight to America, and acquaints her with the land, her neighbors, and even herself in ways she never dreamed possible. Through joy and tragedy, occupation and liberation, small acts of kindness and great acts of courage, Lisette learns to forgive the past, to live robustly, and to love again.
Reading Art Book Club meetings are free and open to the public. Join us even if you haven’t read the book! For more information or for details on book selections, contact Stephanie Abdon at 541-2217 or e-mail sabdon@las-cruces.org.
The museum is located at 491 N. Main Street and is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm., Thursday 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, and Saturday from 9:00 pm to 4:30 pm. For additional information, visit the website at: http://las-cruces.org/museums or call 575-541-2137. If you need an accommodation for a disability to enable you to fully participate in this event please contact the museum 48 hours prior to the event.