“What do women hold? The home and the family. And the children and the food. The friendships. The work. The work of the world. And the work of being human. The memories. And the troubles. And the sorrows and the triumphs. And the love.” In Women Holding Things Maira Kalman explores, in her signature combination of writing and painting, the significance of the tangible and intangible objects we carry- in our hands, hearts, and minds. Kalman’s unique work is a celebration of life, of the act and the art of living, offering an original way of examining and understanding all that is important in our world- and ultimately within ourselves.
Maira Kalman illustrated E.B. White and William Strunk Jr.’s classic The Elements of Style and is author of the bestsellers My Favorite Things, Principles of Uncertainty, and And the Pursuit of Happiness. She is the author/illustrator of twenty children’s books and has created one dozen New Yorker covers. Her work is held in collections of museums around the world and recent exhibitions include the smash-hit Sara Berman’s Closet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her watches, clocks, and accessories under her legendary design firm M&Co, are featured at the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum.
This event took place at the New York Jewish Book Festival at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City on December 11, 2022.
0:00 Introductions
3:15 Maira Kalman’s Inspiration
10:24 The Birth of Women Holding Things
20:32 The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
22:57 Movie about Alice
29:40 Audience Q+A
