Letters, drawings, lectures, and films, oh my! I will definitely be visiting this in the new year. Probably in February, when there will be the lecture, "A Woman's Wit: Jane Austen's Life and Legacy." Also around that time is a lecture on how to read Persuasion. I hope to do both.
From The Morgan Library website:
"This exhibition explores the life, work, and legacy of Jane Austen (1775–1817), regarded as one of the greatest English novelists. Offering a close-up portrait of the iconic British author, whose popularity has surged over the last two decades with numerous motion picture and television adaptations of her work, the show provides tangible intimacy with Austen through the presentation of more than 100 works, including her manuscripts, personal letters, and related materials, many of which the Morgan has not exhibited in over a quarter century.
A Woman's Wit: Jane Austen's Life and Legacy also includes first and early illustrated editions of Austen's novels as well as drawings and prints depicting people, places, and events of biographical significance. A highlight of the exhibition is a specially commissioned film by the noted Italian director Francesco Carrozzini, featuring interviews with artists and scholars such as Siri Hustvedt, Fran Lebowitz, Sandy Lerner, Colm Tóibín, Harriet Walter, and Cornel West.
The exhibition is organized into three sections: Austen's life and personal letters, her works, her legacy, and concludes with the documentary-style film."
Here's the link: The Morgan Library - Jane Austen
More info on the film:
The Divine Jane is a short documentary film specially commissioned for the exhibition A Woman's Wit: Jane Austen's Life and Legacy. It examines the influence of Austen's fiction—and her enduring fame— through interviews with leading writers, scholars, and actors.
Each of the six interviewees was invited to look closely at the Morgan's outstanding collection of Austen letters and manuscripts and ask themselves the question curators always consider: what can be learned about an author's life and work from these unique documents?
Other questions put to the interviewees touched on several subjects: When did they first read Austen and what were their initial impressions? What is the relation between Austen's life and work? Why does she remain so popular? And, if you could invite Austen to dinner, whom else would you invite, and why? By asking the same questions of each participant in isolation, we were able to create a conversation between them on screen. The film also records the emotional responses of those first encountering a letter or manuscript penned by Austen.
The Divine Jane: Reflections on Austen provides unique and engaging insights into the life and work of Jane Austen and shows her letters and manuscripts, of which the Morgan is a major repository, in a new and illuminating light.
The Divine Jane was directed by Francesco Carrozzini, an accomplished photographer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and The Wall Street Journal. Francesco originated the New York Times online magazine's Screen Test interviews, and his short film titled 1937 premiered at last year's Venice Film Festival.
Here's the video. I had trouble with it stopping and starting.
The Divine Jane: Reflections on Austen from The Morgan Library & Museum on Vimeo.
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