The Gund at Kenyon College is delighted to welcome art historian and writer Prudence Peiffer, author of The Slip: The New York City Street That Changed American Art Forever, for a special program exploring the intersections of art, literature, and discovery. In this talk, Peiffer will share her process of engaging with the life and work of visionary fiber artist Lenore Tawney when she lived in a sailmaking loft in Manhattan, reflecting on how writing can open pathways into the unknown. Through her perspective, audiences will gain insight into the ways language, imagination, and research intertwine in shaping new understandings of Tawney’s legacy.

About the speaker: Prudence Peiffer is an art historian and writer, and Director of Content at The Museum of Modern Art. Her book The Slip: The New York City Street That Changed American Art Forever (2023) won the New York City Book Award, was shortlisted for the Plutarch Award for best biography, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and was longlisted for the National Book Award, among other accolades.