Book Launch—Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old

In honor of her newest book, Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old, join us for a conversation between Mary Beard, distinguished classicist, international bestselling author, and beloved television personality, and National Gallery director Kaywin Feldman. This witty, approachable book asks why—for better or (sometimes) worse—antiquity continues to exert such a powerful hold on the contemporary imagination. 

A book signing will follow in the East Building Gallery Shop.   

Mary Beard is professor emerita of classics at the University of Cambridge, a fellow of Newnham College, and professor of Ancient Literature at the Royal Academy, as well as being the classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement, a fellow of the British Academy, and an international member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her books include SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, Women and Power: A Manifesto, Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern, and Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World. 

Kaywin Feldman is the National Gallery’s fifth director and the first woman to lead the museum. Her vision for the National Gallery focuses on expanding the museum’s service to the nation. Dedicated to connecting people to art through the power of wonder, Feldman has initiated new programs and exhibitions, expanded the National Gallery’s audience, and increased the national collection through acquisitions that reflect a wider spectrum of art history.