WILLIAM MORRIS SOCIETY: ACTIVITIES AT 2000 MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION CONVENTION WASHINGTON, DC, 27-30 DECEMBER 2000 This year's Modern Language Association annual convention is scheduled for Washington, DC over the customary period, 27-30 December. The Society will host three events--a talk by Debra Mancoff at Cahpters Bookstore, a session of papers, nd a business meeting. There are also other reasons to come to Washington, namely the Art Nouveau and French prints exhibitions at the National Gallery of Art.   TALK BY DEBRA N. MANCOFF AND SOCIAL GATHERING "Her Face is Made Her Shrine": Portraits of Jane Morris by Dante Gabriel Rossetti Talk by Debra N. Mancoff followed by a social gathering Friday, 29 December 2000, 5pm Chapters Bookstore 1512 K Street NW, Washington, DC Info: Chapters, Tel. (202) 347-5495. In 1865, Jane Morris was photographed by a professional photographer in Rossetti's garden. Planned as "memory aides" to be used for paintings, these photographs initiated a new phase in Rossetti's art with Jane as his muse. In the years that followed, Rossetti found a template for many of his best-known works in the poses recorded in this suite of photographs. The images also initiated a deeply personal period in Rossetti's art, represented by a series of portraits painted and drawn from 1865 to 1872. In his sonnet "The Portrait," written at this time, Rossetti reflected on the power of portraiture: To make her face "her shrine" was the deepest form of worship. But even more, it endowed the artist with the power to possess his muse throughout the ages. The concluding line of the sonnet---"They that would look upon her must come to me"&emdash;has proved prophetic, for this series of portraits reveal how Rossetti declared his domain over his muse, a legacy that endures today. An art historian and long-time member of the Society, Debra N. Mancoff has written extensively on Victorian art and culture. Her books include Burne-Jones, David Roberts: Travels in Egypt and the Holy Land, Mary Cassatt: Reflections of Women's Lives, and The Return of King Arthur: The Legend Through Victorian Eyes. Currently a Scholar in Residence at the Newberry Library, Dr. Mancoff attended Northwestern University, where she received her Ph.D. in art history. This special slide talk is derived from her just-published Jane Morris: The Pre-Raphaelite Model of Beauty, copies of which will be on sale. Both talk and party are open to al--you don't have to be a member of the Society to come, and guests are welcome. Chapters Bookstore is conveniently located two blocks from three Metro stops, McPherson Square and Farragut West (on the Blue/Orange line) and Farragut North (Red Line, two stops from the Woodley Park-Zoo station at the MLA Convention hotels).   VICTORIAN WRITING//VICTORIAN ART In a departure from previous practice, the Society will sponsor only one session of papers (see below for the reason). The topic, "Victorian Writing/Victorian Art," is interpreted to encompass Victorian writers who wrote art criticism or included "art" as a theme in their verse, drama, or fiction, also Victorian artists (and architects and designers) who wrote critically, theoretically, or imaginatively. William Morris is, of course, the primary figure. Thursday, 28 December 2000 1.45-3.00pm Embassy Room, Park Tower Suite 8229 Marriott Wardman Park Hotel 2660 Woodley Road NW Washington, DC Presiding: Elizabeth Bleicher, University of Southern California Aviva Briefel, Harvard University "Strong Suspicions: Victorian Writings on Art Forgeries" Jacqueline M. Chambers, University of Missouri-Columbia "Following the Thread: Women, Needlework, and Publication in the Arts and Crafts Movement" Eileen Cleere, Southwestern University "Sanitizing Sublimity: Romantic Art, Victorian Dirt" Christa Zorn, Indiana University-Southeast "Vernon Lee's New Renaissance: History from Below"   OPEN BUSINESS MEETING In place of the second session of papers at the MLA the Society will hold an extraordinary special business meeting. Saturday, 30 December 2000 12noon-1.15pm Park Tower Suite 8229 Marriott Wardman Park Hotel 2660 Woodley Road NW Washington, DC We urge all members of the Society who can to come to this important meeting. You do not have to be a member of the MLA or register for the Convention to attend. The agenda consists of two matters of great consequence for the Society's future work and organization--a vote on proposed new by-laws and the election of a governing committee. Further information Proposed by-laws   AND WHILE IN WASHINGTON . . . If the Society's program of scholarly papers, an important business meeting, and a talk by a terrific speaker followed by a party at a superb literary bookstore are not enough to induce you to leave home and loved ones for our nation's capital, there is an additional temptation&emdash;two once-in-a-lifetime shows on view at the National Gallery of Art. The spectacular Art Nouveau, 1890&endash;1914 more than lives up to its publicity. It explores, in bewitching depth (350 items), that exuberant style which flourished throughout Europe and America. Morris and his associates are represented; there is a Mackintosh tea-room interior to die for; the show is larger and far better installed than the V. & A.'s version. Prints Abound: Paris in the 1890s from the Collections of Virginia and Ira Jackson and the National Gallery of Art, running concurrently, also has great appeal; the 150 prints, drawings, periodicals, and books feature thirty artists, including Bonnard, Gauguin, Vuillard, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Redon. The fabulous Bonnard folding screen of a street scene in fin-de-siècle Paris alone is worth the trip. HOME · NEW · EVENTS · NEWSLETTER · SITE ARCHIVE · ABOUT THE SOCIETY MORRIS' LIFE AND WORKS · PRODUCTS · LINKS · SITE MAP · CONTACT US LAST UPDATE 4 JAN 2001 · PLEASE REPORT BROKEN LINKS TO WEBMASTER@MORRISSOCIETY.ORG