Overview

Following her retirement from Princeton University, celebrated historian Dr. Painter surprised everyone in her life by returning to school--in her 60s--to earn a BFA and MFA in painting. Here, she struggles with the unstable balance between the pursuit of art and the inevitable, sometimes painful demands of a life fully lived.lly lived.

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9781640092006

Table of Contents

Reviews

Praise for Old in Art School A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice One of O: The Oprah Magazine's Top Books of Summer One of Time's Best Memoirs of the Year So Far New & Noteworthy (The New York Times Book Review) 1 of 26 Must-Read Race and Culture Books of the Summer (Colorlines) 1 of 16 Books You Should Read This June (Literary Hub) 1 of 10 Stranger-Than-Fiction Books to Devour This Summer (Parade) 1 of 15 Books Feminists Should Read in June (B*tch) Editors' Spring Pick: 1 of 34 Titles to Wave a Flag About (Library Journal) 1 of 11 Life-Changing New Memoirs You Need to Read This Summer (Hello Giggles) 1 of 5 New Books for the Woman Who Does It All (Ms. Career Girl) 1 of 7 New Beach Reads from Women of Color that You Won't Be Able to Put Down (Cool Mom Picks) In this sweet, nuanced memoir, revered historian Painter recounts her late-in-life (and post-retirement) decision to earn a BFA and MFA in painting, and how getting an up-close view to all things art changed her life. --Entertainment Weekly While exploring what it truly means to be an artist, this book asks honest and important questions about how our definition of identity influences our shared concept of art. --Time Candid and cheerfully irreverent . . . Bringing new energy and insight to questions that have long preoccupied the art world. As Painter puts it: 'What counts as art? Who is an artist? Who decides?' Painter gets more playful with these questions than she initially lets on. One of the most enjoyable aspects of Old in Art School is seeing her relax her historian's grip on social meaning and open up to new ways of seeing . . . Old in Art School is . . . meandering, pleasingly and profoundly so, as Painter negotiates the artist she's becoming: not identical with her historian self, but not running away from it either. --The New York Times A smart, funny and compelling case for going after your heart's desires, no matter your age or what your critics say. --Essence Painter claims her birthright as an artist, a black woman, and a woman of a certain age at a time and in a cultural milieu that ignores all three. --CNN Painter, most famous for her book The History of White People, now addresses the equally ambitious question of what it takes to be an artist--and whether or not she has it . . . If this book were a novel, the artist would have been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art by now, but Art School arrives at a messier, braver conclusion. Painter is a painter because she studied it, works hard at it and keeps doing it. Being able to paint is one kind of gift, this book suggests, but learning to paint is another, and just as precious. --Time Historian Nell Painter was 64 when she stepped down from her job at Princeton to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. She chronicles that experience in her memoir Old in Art School (Counterpoint, June), bringing her fierce intelligence to questions not just of age but also race and what it means to be an artist. --Los Angeles Times This book is so brilliant and, like, delightful. One of our preeminent historians and intellectuals goes back to college and then grad school to study art, with college kids, and has all the confusions and pleasures and anxieties and disappointments and realizations you might expect, but don't expect. I love this book. --Ross Gay, Book Marks One of the must-reads of the year. --The Philadelphia Inquirer Her memoir . . . is many things: an appraisal of artists living and dead, a hymn to her home state of New Jersey, a meditation on her parents' deaths, a reflection on the travails of leading a scholarly association. It's also a sharp critique of the teaching methods and social environment in M.F.A. programs. --The Chronicle of Higher Education When she was 64, famed historian Nell Painter decided to enroll at the Mason School of the Arts of Rutgers University as an undergraduate student. What does an emerita professor of Princeton University gain from starting college over again? That's the journey Painter takes us on in her salient memoir about reinvention . . . Old in Art School is really a memoir about the meaning of art, and who gets to determine what art is. --B*tch Having just retired from teaching history at Princeton and authoring several books on race and identity, Painter is well-equipped to dissect the various forms of discrimination she faces in these programs. And she does it all with a sense of humor, honoring, above all else, creativity, and openness. --Literary Hub After years of writing history, Painter has become a visual artist, but she also discovers that she does not need to leave history behind. In this book, a memoir, she brings the two 'truths' together--the personal and the collective, the artistic and the historical--and the result is a heartening coming-of-age story for the retired set. --The Washington Post This feisty and delightfully irreverent memoir is a coming-of-age story for the over-60 set . . . The most impressive portrait that she achieves here is her own--an unstoppable force tethered to an iron will. --The Boston Globe A joyous book; a bumpy but unmistakable love story . . . Informal yet passionate, witty yet heartfelt, Old in Art School feels like a painting rendered in words; a vivid picture of an experience in time. --The Seattle Times There's a satisfying emotional clarity to this book. Painter is confessional but never mawkish. --Providence Journal Inspiring and inspired. --Albuquerque Journal This is a story of a woman determined to redefine herself, a task made more difficult by the casual racism she faced in school and the increasing frailty of her parents, both approaching age 90 . . . She tells an inspiring tale of an older person pursuing a long delayed passion. And she has an entertaining writing style . . . It bears repeating: You're never too old to tell your stories, or to find new ways of sharing them. --Star Tribune (Minneapolis) [Nell Painter] leaves us with a detailed record of her personal art history, a map to understanding her idiosyncratic works and a written means of insuring that her art is not forgotten. --The Brooklyn Rail Painter's memoir, enhanced by her artwork as she progresses, bursts with explosions of self-knowledge as she deals with ideas of beauty, value, and identity in her ongoing journey. --The National Book Review The book is beautifully written, fun and funny, describing how, after a life of overcoming unfair treatment as a black woman, she is now fighting the discrimination of being OLD, black, and female . . . Old in Art School appeals not just to those who dream about becoming late-in-life artists, but anyone who grapples with how to direct their energies post-retirement. In this sense, being an 'artist' is more about designing your life, defying the kind of giving up that retiring sometimes implies. --Hyperallergic Probing and smart, often irreverent, surprisingly confessional, always lively. --DAME Making important observations about age, gender, and looks in the art world, Old in Art School tells more than just Nell's story as she transitions from the academic world to the art world. For anyone who needs a pick-me-up this summer, this memoir will give you hope that it's never too late to pursue your passion and accomplish your lifelong goals. --PopSugar Painter's transition from academia to art is inspiring as is this 2018 release. --Sophie Matthews, Women.com, One of the Best Books of the Year As a historian with years of incisive scholarship behind her, Painter is perfectly poised to examine her experience, and the larger art ecosystem, from a more nuanced lens . . . She makes the most of her talents as a writer and offers a story filled with passion, discovery, and, ultimately, her own encouraging triumph. --Artsy The book is less about the wounds inflicted over the journey than about the process of becoming an artist--of forging a new identity in the autumn of your life . . . It's that spirit of embrace--of finding new ways to define your worth, and to do so without apology--that makes Painter's story resonate. --The Glow Up An alert observer, Painter renders her experience with humor, with skepticism, with anxiety, and in many voices . . . Old in Art School succeeds as a story of a budding artist, and also as guidebook: you can design your own art education by following along with Painter's readings and reflections on artists in the canon; women artists who Painter appreciates, and elevates, and sometimes befriends; artists who become important to Painter's interests and to her cultivated eye . . . Painter communicates in language which is bodacious and, in moments, color-saturated . . . If you read Old in Art School, you will learn, from Nell Painter, what it means to speak in color. --Women's Review of Books If you love art and the creative process of expressing your passion, and if you are of a certain age, you will be inspired by her grit and work ethic . . . Her story has inspired me, as an older reader, to ask myself: What do I want to start after retirement? --Cascadia Weekly Painter clearly enjoys the freedom of being an artist . . . Her memoir captures the adrenaline rush of learning and honing her artistic skills. --New Jersey Monthly Breezy and intimate . . . The heart of this book is Painter's unshakeable dedication to making art. It is ultimately as much a manifesto as a memoir. --Chapter 16 An argument for the necessity of arts education and a critique of it, served up with generous doses of wit and charm . . . Painter allows herself to be challenged in ways that I wish were more common--perhaps it would improve our public discourse about art. --The Undefeated Painter's absolute joy is infectious and her tenacity will inspire you. --Ms. Career Girl Bracingly honest . . . More than a fish-out-of-water tale, Painter's memoir testifies to her unusual ambition. --Harvard Magazine Bold, brave . . . Old in Art School is a fascinating memoir about Painter's daring choice to follow a passion with courage and intellect, even when the odds seemed firmly stacked against her. --BookPage Fascinating . . . That the diligence that was an asset throughout her academic career was viewed almost as a liability in art school is an intriguing tension; so too is Painter's struggle to see art absent of the ideological analysis characteristic of her academic training . . . Painter, at 75, continues to paint, and that's where the book's greatest lesson lies. --The Christian Science Monitor Painter chronicles her experience of returning to art school as an older African American woman with honest and elegant prose. Her narrative weaves expertly among her art school experience, family upbringing, the loss of her mother, caring for her father at a distance, and art itself . . . Painter's memoir presents her as an accessible artist, warm and inviting and keen to share her hard-won insights into her craft. --Library Journal (starred review) This is a courageous, intellectually stimulating, and wholly entertaining story of one woman reconciling two worlds and being open to the possibilities and changes life offers. --Publishers Weekly (starred review) Painter is a personality par excellence; forthright, erudite, and perfectly profane, her voice enthralls . . . Filled with immense insight and presence, Painter's memoir confronts a variety of issues and what it means to shoulder those burdens in the pursuit of art. Essential reading. --Foreword Reviews (starred review) Bracingly candid in her vividly analytical chronicling of her challenging adventure and its emotional, intellectual, and creative demands, she astutely critiques the way art is taught and charts her quest to figure out if her passion for history was detrimental or essential to her visual explorations. With her art displayed throughout this deeply inquisitive, involving memoir of transformation enriched by art history, Painter--funny, furious, brilliant, and mesmerizing--celebrates the hard work art requires and the profound freedom it engenders. --Booklist A candid, captivating memoir . . . The author offers perceptive insights about the meaning of art: the difference between thinking like a historian and an artist; the 'contented concentration' she feels when making art; and the works of many black artists. A spirited chronicle of transformation and personal triumph. --Kirkus Reviews Nell Painter's masterful, disarmingly witty, and profound book Old in Art School will change your perspective about what is possible in the full arc of a life. Her probing book about [her] art school journey, as sage as it is humorous, revels in the untold magic of exploring how beginnings can happen at all stages of the journey. This book is indispensable nourishment for the creative soul. --Sarah Lewis, Harvard University, author of The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery Nell Painter has courage and intelligence. She reminds us that the only option as we grow older is to grow younger. Never forgetting our curiosity and passion, we are well armed for the challenge. --Maira Kalman, author of The Principles of Uncertainty and Beloved Dog Old in Art School is Nell Painter's journey from famous historian to humble art student at age sixty-four. Along the way, she chronicles her own family history, including a mother who reinvented herself at the same age! Painter blows up treasured clich s about what it means to be 'an artist' and who fits that role, presenting us with comic scenes of questionable pedagogy. This book should have a corrective impact on art education--it deserves to be widely read and hotly discussed! --Joyce Kozloff, artist Even before a teacher tells her, 'You'll never be an artist, ' Painter's story wins us over with its contrarian premise. Among twenty-somethings, Painter proves herself a sharp observer--not just of art school partying, pedagogy, and process, but also of generational, sexual, and racial blind spots. Painter has produced a cheerful and beguiling memoir, one that will inspire readers of any age to consider starting again. --Alexi Worth, artist Reading Nell Painter's Old in Art School gave me immense pleasure. Memoirs by black women artists are extremely rare, and this one is so beautifully written, so perfectly formed in terms of its storytelling trajectory, with so many delectable details about art techniques and subject matter, the relationship of the work to her previous projects as a celebrated historian, and her life struggles as the daughter of once-perfect parents, now aged and with health difficulties. Old in Art School seems both definitive and unforgettable. The idea that this brilliant woman would move from a field in which her accomplishments are regarded as superlative to one in which she is constantly plagued by self-doubt and the shortcomings of her 'twentieth-century eyes' alone makes it worth the price of admission. --Michele Wallace, author of Dark Designs and Visual Culture One of our most distinguished scholars of race and racism has written an incisive, surprising, eloquent, and often wry account of what it means to go back to school at 64, the age at which most academics contemplate retiring from it. Along the way, Nell Painter helps us to see the world as art, art as the world, and to understand arduous, creative self-transformation as toil worth the trouble. Old in Art School is as edgy as a contemporary work of art: bold in form, assured in line and shape, unflinching in its textured analysis of the ways race, gender, and age color how we perceive the world and how the world perceives us. --Cathy N. Davidson, author of The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux With wisdom, insight, brutal honesty, and flashes of humor, Nell Painter shares her journey to become an artist in this fascinating, original memoir. Old in Art School renders both the insecurity and elation of embarking on this path after a long and distinguished academic career. Her courage, sensitivity, and keen observation offer a rare and needed portrait of an older woman determined to live a creative life on her own terms. --Farah Jasmine Griffin, author of Harlem Nocturne: Women Artists and Progressive Politics During World War II Old in Art School is a glorious achievement--bighearted and critical, insightful and entertaining. This book is a cup of courage for everyone who wants to change their lives. This is not a story about starting over; it's about continuing on the journey. Nell Painter has taken the coming of age story to a new level--this is what you get when a wise person gets even wiser, when a true artist spreads her wings. --Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage and Silver Sparrow Old in Art School is brilliantly written. A rare reflection of an artist and scholar who combines her voice and vision in this extraordinary work. Painter masterfully weaves a highly personal story into one that situates her art making with her history making . . . It is a book about belonging and longing; expectations and disappointments; beauty and humor. It is engrossing and heroic. --Deborah Willis, New York University, author of Envisioning Emancipation We all dream of starting over, but Nell Painter really did it. This unsparing account of inspiration and the creative process takes on racism, loneliness, self-loathing, the hazards of aging, and bad manners in the art world. Funny, edifying, and always mesmerizing, this book is also about searching for--and finding (most of the time)--happiness. --Martha Hodes, author of Mourning Lincoln 'There are no second acts in American lives, ' the doomed literary charmer F. Scott Fitzgerald famously lamented. Not so says Nell Painter. A distinguished professor of history at Princeton and author of the celebrated The History of White People, Painter has done what few academics dare--begin again by pursuing a different vocation: in her case, a long-standing drive to make art. In this lively account, she describes how she started over from scratch by enrolling as an undergraduate art major at Rutgers and then a graduate student at the Rhode Island School of Design. Much like her classmates, Painter's dedication faces competition from 'real life'--in her case, the declining health of her aged father rather than the social and romantic dramas of twentysomethings--but she also extracts important lessons about gender and racial politics in contemporary America that, contrary to the norm in art schools, demonstrate that such complex issues of 'identity' can be addressed in plain but vivid language, even as she gives artistic questions the edge. All in all, Painter makes an invigoratingly affirmative, refreshingly unjaded case--supported by her paintings, drawings, and books--for following one's passion whenever it asserts itself and wherever it leads. --Robert Storr, professor of painting and printmaking, Yale University School of Art

Praise for Old in Art School A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice One of O: The Oprah Magazine's Top Books of Summer One of Time's Best Memoirs of the Year So Far New & Noteworthy (The New York Times Book Review) 1 of 26 Must-Read Race and Culture Books of the Summer (Colorlines) 1 of 16 Books You Should Read This June (Literary Hub) 1 of 10 Stranger-Than-Fiction Books to Devour This Summer (Parade) 1 of 15 Books Feminists Should Read in June (B*tch) Editors' Spring Pick: 1 of 34 Titles to Wave a Flag About (Library Journal) 1 of 11 Life-Changing New Memoirs You Need to Read This Summer (Hello Giggles) 1 of 5 New Books for the Woman Who Does It All (Ms. Career Girl) 1 of 7 New Beach Reads from Women of Color that You Won't Be Able to Put Down (Cool Mom Picks) In this sweet, nuanced memoir, revered historian Painter recounts her late-in-life (and post-retirement) decision to earn a BFA and MFA in painting, and how getting an up-close view to all things art changed her life. --Entertainment Weekly While exploring what it truly means to be an artist, this book asks honest and important questions about how our definition of identity influences our shared concept of art. --Time Candid and cheerfully irreverent . . . Bringing new energy and insight to questions that have long preoccupied the art world. As Painter puts it: 'What counts as art? Who is an artist? Who decides?' Painter gets more playful with these questions than she initially lets on. One of the most enjoyable aspects of Old in Art School is seeing her relax her historian's grip on social meaning and open up to new ways of seeing . . . Old in Art School is . . . meandering, pleasingly and profoundly so, as Painter negotiates the artist she's becoming: not identical with her historian self, but not running away from it either. --The New York Times A smart, funny and compelling case for going after your heart's desires, no matter your age or what your critics say. --Essence Painter claims her birthright as an artist, a black woman, and a woman of a certain age at a time and in a cultural milieu that ignores all three. --CNN Painter, most famous for her book The History of White People, now addresses the equally ambitious question of what it takes to be an artist--and whether or not she has it . . . If this book were a novel, the artist would have been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art by now, but Art School arrives at a messier, braver conclusion. Painter is a painter because she studied it, works hard at it and keeps doing it. Being able to paint is one kind of gift, this book suggests, but learning to paint is another, and just as precious. --Time Historian Nell Painter was 64 when she stepped down from her job at Princeton to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. She chronicles that experience in her memoir Old in Art School (Counterpoint, June), bringing her fierce intelligence to questions not just of age but also race and what it means to be an artist. --Los Angeles Times One of the must-reads of the year. --The Philadelphia Inquirer Her memoir . . . is many things: an appraisal of artists living and dead, a hymn to her home state of New Jersey, a meditation on her parents' deaths, a reflection on the travails of leading a scholarly association. It's also a sharp critique of the teaching methods and social environment in M.F.A. programs. --The Chronicle of Higher Education When she was 64, famed historian Nell Painter decided to enroll at the Mason School of the Arts of Rutgers University as an undergraduate student. What does an emerita professor of Princeton University gain from starting college over again? That's the journey Painter takes us on in her salient memoir about reinvention . . . Old in Art School is really a memoir about the meaning of art, and who gets to determine what art is. --B*tch Having just retired from teaching history at Princeton and authoring several books on race and identity, Painter is well-equipped to dissect the various forms of discrimination she faces in these programs. And she does it all with a sense of humor, honoring, above all else, creativity, and openness. --Literary Hub After years of writing history, Painter has become a visual artist, but she also discovers that she does not need to leave history behind. In this book, a memoir, she brings the two 'truths' together--the personal and the collective, the artistic and the historical--and the result is a heartening coming-of-age story for the retired set. --The Washington Post This feisty and delightfully irreverent memoir is a coming-of-age story for the over-60 set . . . The most impressive portrait that she achieves here is her own--an unstoppable force tethered to an iron will. --The Boston Globe A joyous book; a bumpy but unmistakable love story . . . Informal yet passionate, witty yet heartfelt, Old in Art School feels like a painting rendered in words; a vivid picture of an experience in time. --The Seattle Times There's a satisfying emotional clarity to this book. Painter is confessional but never mawkish. --Providence Journal Inspiring and inspired. --Albuquerque Journal This is a story of a woman determined to redefine herself, a task made more difficult by the casual racism she faced in school and the increasing frailty of her parents, both approaching age 90 . . . She tells an inspiring tale of an older person pursuing a long delayed passion. And she has an entertaining writing style . . . It bears repeating: You're never too old to tell your stories, or to find new ways of sharing them. --Star Tribune (Minneapolis) [Nell Painter] leaves us with a detailed record of her personal art history, a map to understanding her idiosyncratic works and a written means of insuring that her art is not forgotten. --The Brooklyn Rail Painter's memoir, enhanced by her artwork as she progresses, bursts with explosions of self-knowledge as she deals with ideas of beauty, value, and identity in her ongoing journey. --The National Book Review The book is beautifully written, fun and funny, describing how, after a life of overcoming unfair treatment as a black woman, she is now fighting the discrimination of being OLD, black, and female . . . Old in Art School appeals not just to those who dream about becoming late-in-life artists, but anyone who grapples with how to direct their energies post-retirement. In this sense, being an 'artist' is more about designing your life, defying the kind of giving up that retiring sometimes implies. --Hyperallergic Probing and smart, often irreverent, surprisingly confessional, always lively. --DAME Making important observations about age, gender, and looks in the art world, Old in Art School tells more than just Nell's story as she transitions from the academic world to the art world. For anyone who needs a pick-me-up this summer, this memoir will give you hope that it's never too late to pursue your passion and accomplish your lifelong goals. --PopSugar Painter's transition from academia to art is inspiring as is this 2018 release. --Sophie Matthews, Women.com, One of the Best Books of the Year As a historian with years of incisive scholarship behind her, Painter is perfectly poised to examine her experience, and the larger art ecosystem, from a more nuanced lens . . . She makes the most of her talents as a writer and offers a story filled with passion, discovery, and, ultimately, her own encouraging triumph. --Artsy The book is less about the wounds inflicted over the journey than about the process of becoming an artist--of forging a new identity in the autumn of your life . . . It's that spirit of embrace--of finding new ways to define your worth, and to do so without apology--that makes Painter's story resonate. --The Glow Up An alert observer, Painter renders her experience with humor, with skepticism, with anxiety, and in many voices . . . Old in Art School succeeds as a story of a budding artist, and also as guidebook: you can design your own art education by following along with Painter's readings and reflections on artists in the canon; women artists who Painter appreciates, and elevates, and sometimes befriends; artists who become important to Painter's interests and to her cultivated eye . . . Painter communicates in language which is bodacious and, in moments, color-saturated . . . If you read Old in Art School, you will learn, from Nell Painter, what it means to speak in color. --Women's Review of Books If you love art and the creative process of expressing your passion, and if you are of a certain age, you will be inspired by her grit and work ethic . . . Her story has inspired me, as an older reader, to ask myself: What do I want to start after retirement? --Cascadia Weekly Painter clearly enjoys the freedom of being an artist . . . Her memoir captures the adrenaline rush of learning and honing her artistic skills. --New Jersey Monthly Breezy and intimate . . . The heart of this book is Painter's unshakeable dedication to making art. It is ultimately as much a manifesto as a memoir. --Chapter 16 An argument for the necessity of arts education and a critique of it, served up with generous doses of wit and charm . . . Painter allows herself to be challenged in ways that I wish were more common--perhaps it would improve our public discourse about art. --The Undefeated Painter's absolute joy is infectious and her tenacity will inspire you. --Ms. Career Girl Bracingly honest . . . More than a fish-out-of-water tale, Painter's memoir testifies to her unusual ambition. --Harvard Magazine Bold, brave . . . Old in Art School is a fascinating memoir about Painter's daring choice to follow a passion with courage and intellect, even when the odds seemed firmly stacked against her. --BookPage Fascinating . . . That the diligence that was an asset throughout her academic career was viewed almost as a liability in art school is an intriguing tension; so too is Painter's struggle to see art absent of the ideological analysis characteristic of her academic training . . . Painter, at 75, continues to paint, and that's where the book's greatest lesson lies. --The Christian Science Monitor Painter chronicles her experience of returning to art school as an older African American woman with honest and elegant prose. Her narrative weaves expertly among her art school experience, family upbringing, the loss of her mother, caring for her father at a distance, and art itself . . . Painter's memoir presents her as an accessible artist, warm and inviting and keen to share her hard-won insights into her craft. --Library Journal (starred review) This is a courageous, intellectually stimulating, and wholly entertaining story of one woman reconciling two worlds and being open to the possibilities and changes life offers. --Publishers Weekly (starred review) Painter is a personality par excellence; forthright, erudite, and perfectly profane, her voice enthralls . . . Filled with immense insight and presence, Painter's memoir confronts a variety of issues and what it means to shoulder those burdens in the pursuit of art. Essential reading. --Foreword Reviews (starred review) Bracingly candid in her vividly analytical chronicling of her challenging adventure and its emotional, intellectual, and creative demands, she astutely critiques the way art is taught and charts her quest to figure out if her passion for history was detrimental or essential to her visual explorations. With her art displayed throughout this deeply inquisitive, involving memoir of transformation enriched by art history, Painter--funny, furious, brilliant, and mesmerizing--celebrates the hard work art requires and the profound freedom it engenders. --Booklist A candid, captivating memoir . . . The author offers perceptive insights about the meaning of art: the difference between thinking like a historian and an artist; the 'contented concentration' she feels when making art; and the works of many black artists. A spirited chronicle of transformation and personal triumph. --Kirkus Reviews Nell Painter's masterful, disarmingly witty, and profound book Old in Art School will change your perspective about what is possible in the full arc of a life. Her probing book about [her] art school journey, as sage as it is humorous, revels in the untold magic of exploring how beginnings can happen at all stages of the journey. This book is indispensable nourishment for the creative soul. --Sarah Lewis, Harvard University, author of The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery Nell Painter has courage and intelligence. She reminds us that the only option as we grow older is to grow younger. Never forgetting our curiosity and passion, we are well armed for the challenge. --Maira Kalman, author of The Principles of Uncertainty and Beloved Dog Old in Art School is Nell Painter's journey from famous historian to humble art student at age sixty-four. Along the way, she chronicles her own family history, including a mother who reinvented herself at the same age! Painter blows up treasured clich s about what it means to be 'an artist' and who fits that role, presenting us with comic scenes of questionable pedagogy. This book should have a corrective impact on art education--it deserves to be widely read and hotly discussed! --Joyce Kozloff, artist Even before a teacher tells her, 'You'll never be an artist, ' Painter's story wins us over with its contrarian premise. Among twenty-somethings, Painter proves herself a sharp observer--not just of art school partying, pedagogy, and process, but also of generational, sexual, and racial blind spots. Painter has produced a cheerful and beguiling memoir, one that will inspire readers of any age to consider starting again. --Alexi Worth, artist Reading Nell Painter's Old in Art School gave me immense pleasure. Memoirs by black women artists are extremely rare, and this one is so beautifully written, so perfectly formed in terms of its storytelling trajectory, with so many delectable details about art techniques and subject matter, the relationship of the work to her previous projects as a celebrated historian, and her life struggles as the daughter of once-perfect parents, now aged and with health difficulties. Old in Art School seems both definitive and unforgettable. The idea that this brilliant woman would move from a field in which her accomplishments are regarded as superlative to one in which she is constantly plagued by self-doubt and the shortcomings of her 'twentieth-century eyes' alone makes it worth the price of admission. --Michele Wallace, author of Dark Designs and Visual Culture One of our most distinguished scholars of race and racism has written an incisive, surprising, eloquent, and often wry account of what it means to go back to school at 64, the age at which most academics contemplate retiring from it. Along the way, Nell Painter helps us to see the world as art, art as the world, and to understand arduous, creative self-transformation as toil worth the trouble. Old in Art School is as edgy as a contemporary work of art: bold in form, assured in line and shape, unflinching in its textured analysis of the ways race, gender, and age color how we perceive the world and how the world perceives us. --Cathy N. Davidson, author of The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux With wisdom, insight, brutal honesty, and flashes of humor, Nell Painter shares her journey to become an artist in this fascinating, original memoir. Old in Art School renders both the insecurity and elation of embarking on this path after a long and distinguished academic career. Her courage, sensitivity, and keen observation offer a rare and needed portrait of an older woman determined to live a creative life on her own terms. --Farah Jasmine Griffin, author of Harlem Nocturne: Women Artists and Progressive Politics During World War II Old in Art School is a glorious achievement--bighearted and critical, insightful and entertaining. This book is a cup of courage for everyone who wants to change their lives. This is not a story about starting over; it's about continuing on the journey. Nell Painter has taken the coming of age story to a new level--this is what you get when a wise person gets even wiser, when a true artist spreads her wings. --Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage and Silver Sparrow Old in Art School is brilliantly written. A rare reflection of an artist and scholar who combines her voice and vision in this extraordinary work. Painter masterfully weaves a highly personal story into one that situates her art making with her history making . . . It is a book about belonging and longing; expectations and disappointments; beauty and humor. It is engrossing and heroic. --Deborah Willis, New York University, author of Envisioning Emancipation We all dream of starting over, but Nell Painter really did it. This unsparing account of inspiration and the creative process takes on racism, loneliness, self-loathing, the hazards of aging, and bad manners in the art world. Funny, edifying, and always mesmerizing, this book is also about searching for--and finding (most of the time)--happiness. --Martha Hodes, author of Mourning Lincoln 'There are no second acts in American lives, ' the doomed literary charmer F. Scott Fitzgerald famously lamented. Not so says Nell Painter. A distinguished professor of history at Princeton and author of the celebrated The History of White People, Painter has done what few academics dare--begin again by pursuing a different vocation: in her case, a long-standing drive to make art. In this lively account, she describes how she started over from scratch by enrolling as an undergraduate art major at Rutgers and then a graduate student at the Rhode Island School of Design. Much like her classmates, Painter's dedication faces competition from 'real life'--in her case, the declining health of her aged father rather than the social and romantic dramas of twentysomethings--but she also extracts important lessons about gender and racial politics in contemporary America that, contrary to the norm in art schools, demonstrate that such complex issues of 'identity' can be addressed in plain but vivid language, even as she gives artistic questions the edge. All in all, Painter makes an invigoratingly affirmative, refreshingly unjaded case--supported by her paintings, drawings, and books--for following one's passion whenever it asserts itself and wherever it leads. --Robert Storr, professor of painting and printmaking, Yale University School of Art

A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year Candid and cheerfully irreverent . . . Bringing new energy and insight to questions that have long preoccupied the art world . . . One of the most enjoyable aspects of Old in Art School is seeing her relax her historian's grip on social meaning and open up to new ways of seeing. --The New York Times After years of writing history, Painter has become a visual artist, but she also discovers that she does not need to leave history behind. In this book, a memoir, she brings the two 'truths' together--the personal and the collective, the artistic and the historical--and the result is a heartening coming-of-age story for the retired set. --The Washington Post Historian Nell Painter was 64 when she stepped down from her job at Princeton to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. She chronicles that experience in her memoir Old in Art School, bringing her fierce intelligence to questions not just of age but also race and what it means to be an artist. --Los Angeles Times Twelve years ago, at the age of 64, Princeton history professor emerita and best-selling author Nell Painter decided to reinvent herself as an artist, an avocation she had always longed to pursue but never had the confidence or opportunity to commit to . . . She tells her story with wit, honesty and insight as she learns to see her art, and herself, all over again. --The Wall Street Journal This feisty and delightfully irreverent memoir is a coming-of-age story for the over-60 set . . . The most impressive portrait that she achieves here is her own--an unstoppable force tethered to an iron will. --The Boston Globe I was struck by the joyousness in its pages; this is an unexpected love story, written with a creative, passionate irreverence--like a painting rendered in words. Old in Art School is a vivid lesson in learning not to see ourselves through other's eyes, and in following dreams. --The Seattle Times I was full of admiration for Painter's willingness to take herself out of a world in which her currency--scholarly accomplishment--commanded respect and put herself into a different one where that coin often went unrecognized altogether, all out of exultation in the art-making itself. --Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker In this sweet, nuanced memoir, revered historian Painter recounts her late-in-life (and post-retirement) decision to earn a BFA and MFA in painting, and how getting an up-close view to all things art changed her life. --Entertainment Weekly A smart, funny and compelling case for going after your heart's desires, no matter your age or what your critics say. --Essence Painter, most famous for her book The History of White People, now addresses the equally ambitious question of what it takes to be an artist--and whether or not she has it . . . If this book were a novel, the artist would have been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art by now, but Art School arrives at a messier, braver conclusion. Painter is a painter because she studied it, works hard at it and keeps doing it. Being able to paint is one kind of gift, this book suggests, but learning to paint is another, and just as precious. --Time Old in Art School is a glorious achievement--bighearted and critical, insightful and entertaining. This book is a cup of courage for everyone who wants to change their lives. This is not a story about starting over; it's about continuing on the journey. Nell Painter has taken the coming of age story to a new level--this is what you get when a wise person gets even wiser, when a true artist spreads her wings. --Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage and Silver Sparrow

A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year Candid and cheerfully irreverent . . . Bringing new energy and insight to questions that have long preoccupied the art world . . . One of the most enjoyable aspects of Old in Art School is seeing her relax her historian's grip on social meaning and open up to new ways of seeing. --The New York Times After years of writing history, Painter has become a visual artist, but she also discovers that she does not need to leave history behind. In this book, a memoir, she brings the two 'truths' together--the personal and the collective, the artistic and the historical--and the result is a heartening coming-of-age story for the retired set. --The Washington Post Historian Nell Painter was 64 when she stepped down from her job at Princeton to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. She chronicles that experience in her memoir Old in Art School, bringing her fierce intelligence to questions not just of age but also race and what it means to be an artist. --Los Angeles Times Twelve years ago, at the age of 64, Princeton history professor emerita and best-selling author Nell Painter decided to reinvent herself as an artist, an avocation she had always longed to pursue but never had the confidence or opportunity to commit to . . . She tells her story with wit, honesty and insight as she learns to see her art, and herself, all over again. --The Wall Street Journal This feisty and delightfully irreverent memoir is a coming-of-age story for the over-60 set . . . The most impressive portrait that she achieves here is her own--an unstoppable force tethered to an iron will. --The Boston Globe I was struck by the joyousness in its pages; this is an unexpected love story, written with a creative, passionate irreverence--like a painting rendered in words. Old in Art School is a vivid lesson in learning not to see ourselves through other's eyes, and in following dreams. --The Seattle Times In this sweet, nuanced memoir, revered historian Painter recounts her late-in-life (and post-retirement) decision to earn a BFA and MFA in painting, and how getting an up-close view to all things art changed her life. --Entertainment Weekly A smart, funny and compelling case for going after your heart's desires, no matter your age or what your critics say. --Essence Painter, most famous for her book The History of White People, now addresses the equally ambitious question of what it takes to be an artist--and whether or not she has it . . . If this book were a novel, the artist would have been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art by now, but Art School arrives at a messier, braver conclusion. Painter is a painter because she studied it, works hard at it and keeps doing it. Being able to paint is one kind of gift, this book suggests, but learning to paint is another, and just as precious. --Time Old in Art School is a glorious achievement--bighearted and critical, insightful and entertaining. This book is a cup of courage for everyone who wants to change their lives. This is not a story about starting over; it's about continuing on the journey. Nell Painter has taken the coming of age story to a new level--this is what you get when a wise person gets even wiser, when a true artist spreads her wings. --Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage and Silver Sparrow

A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year Candid and cheerfully irreverent . . . Bringing new energy and insight to questions that have long preoccupied the art world . . . One of the most enjoyable aspects of Old in Art School is seeing her relax her historian's grip on social meaning and open up to new ways of seeing. --The New York Times After years of writing history, Painter has become a visual artist, but she also discovers that she does not need to leave history behind. In this book, a memoir, she brings the two 'truths' together--the personal and the collective, the artistic and the historical--and the result is a heartening coming-of-age story for the retired set. --The Washington Post Historian Nell Painter was 64 when she stepped down from her job at Princeton to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. She chronicles that experience in her memoir Old in Art School, bringing her fierce intelligence to questions not just of age but also race and what it means to be an artist. --Los Angeles Times Twelve years ago, at the age of 64, Princeton history professor emerita and best-selling author Nell Painter decided to reinvent herself as an artist, an avocation she had always longed to pursue but never had the confidence or opportunity to commit to . . . She tells her story with wit, honesty and insight as she learns to see her art, and herself, all over again. --The Wall Street Journal This feisty and delightfully irreverent memoir is a coming-of-age story for the over-60 set . . . The most impressive portrait that she achieves here is her own--an unstoppable force tethered to an iron will. --The Boston Globe I was struck by the joyousness in its pages; this is an unexpected love story, written with a creative, passionate irreverence--like a painting rendered in words. Old in Art School is a vivid lesson in learning not to see ourselves through other's eyes, and in following dreams. --The Seattle Times In this sweet, nuanced memoir, revered historian Painter recounts her late-in-life (and post-retirement) decision to earn a BFA and MFA in painting, and how getting an up-close view to all things art changed her life. --Entertainment Weekly A smart, funny and compelling case for going after your heart's desires, no matter your age or what your critics say. --Essence Painter, most famous for her book The History of White People, now addresses the equally ambitious question of what it takes to be an artist--and whether or not she has it . . . If this book were a novel, the artist would have been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art by now, but Art School arrives at a messier, braver conclusion. Painter is a painter because she studied it, works hard at it and keeps doing it. Being able to paint is one kind of gift, this book suggests, but learning to paint is another, and just as precious. --Time Old in Art School is a glorious achievement--bighearted and critical, insightful and entertaining. This book is a cup of courage for everyone who wants to change their lives. This is not a story about starting over; it's about continuing on the journey. Nell Painter has taken the coming of age story to a new level--this is what you get when a wise person gets even wiser, when a true artist spreads her wings. --Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage and Silver Sparrow

Author Information

Nell Irvin Painter is the Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, at Princeton University. Her acclaimed works of history include Standing at Armageddon, Sojourner Truth, and the New York Times bestseller The History of White People, which have received widespread attention for their insights into how we have historically viewed and translated ideas of gender, value, hierarchy, and race. She holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts. Her visual artwork has been shown at numerous galleries and in many collections, including the San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, the Brooklyn Historical Society, and Gallery Aferro. She lives in Newark, New Jersey and the Adirondacks.

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