Vera, What Has Become of You?

About this episode

Jeremy explores the significance of Vera Russell through letters from renowned artists.

Jeremy discovers great letters at auction by David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Francis Bacon, and Henry Moore, but ends up learning more about the recipient of all the letters, Vera Russell, than about the writers of the letters. So many great artists wrote to her with profound admiration and respect. What does that say about her? Who was this Vera Russell, who seemed to be at the nexus of the 20th-century art world? And now that the collection has been dispersed, what have we lost? Can we put Humpty Dumpty back together again? As usual, please feel free to reach out to us at: hello@rarebookchat.com Enjoy the show!

People in this episode

Hosts: Jeremy O'Connor, Michael DiRuggiero

Topics covered

• art history
• letters
• 20th-century art
• Vera Russell
• artist correspondence

Keywords

• David Hockney
• Jasper Johns
• Francis Bacon
• Henry Moore
• Vera Russell
• art world
• letters

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