An announcement party was held on June 10 in the home of Diane and Scott Sealy for the Ninth Annual A Writer’s Garden Literary Symposium and Luncheon. Presented by the Women's Council of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, “Designing Women/Artistic Vision” will have three noted authors presenting their latest publications: Judith B. Tankard, Gertrude, Jekyll at Munstead Wood (to be released August 2015); Meryle Secrest, Elsa Schiaparelli A Biography; Diane Dorrans Saeks, Ann Getty: Interior Style.
The event will be on Tuesday, November 3, 2014 from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm at the Arboretum’s Rosine Hall, 8525 Garland Road.
Shelby Marcus will serve as the Honorary Chair for the event. The event chair is Dorothea Meltzer and Renee Farren is the Women’s Council President.
Individual tickets are $150 with Patron and Sponsorship opportunities available. A Patron Party in a private residence for Patrons and Sponsors to meet the authors is planned before the event.
Tickets and sponsorships are available online at www.womenscouncildallasarboretum.org. For additional information, contact Liz Respess at 214-739-6013.
Funds raised from the “Designing Women/Artistic Vision” will benefit A Woman’s Garden located at the Arboretum.
Featured Authors
Judith B. Tankard, Waban, MA
Judith received an M.A. in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She is an independent scholar specializing in British and American landscape history and the author of eight books and numerous articles, book reviews and scholarly papers. She was a faculty member of the Landscape Institute, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University from 1987 until 2008 and is a popular lecturer in the United Sates and Britain. Her books have received numerous awards including a Quill and Trowel Award from the Garden Writers Association for A Place of Beauty: The Artists and Gardens of the Cornish Colony and the Gold Medal from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for her role in the advancement of historic New England gardens. She is a preservation consultant and has prepared cultural landscape histories for the Garden Conservancy, Historic New England and other publications. Author of Gertrude Jekyll and the Country House Garden, Judith will discuss her book Gertrude Jekyll at Munstead Wood to be published in August 2015.
Meryle Secrest, Washington, D.C.
Meryle is an award winning biographer who received the 2006 Presidential National Humanities Medal from President Bush for “illuminating the lives of great architects, artists and scholars of the 20th Century”. Her critically acclaimed works include biographies on Romaine Brooks, Frank Lloyd Wright, Salvador Dali, Bernard Berenson, Stephen Sondheim and Amedeo Modigliani. “Being Bernard Berenson” was a finalist for the 1980 Pulitzer Prize and the 1981 American Book Awards. As a feature writer for The Washington Post for many years, she wrote profiles of prominent individuals including Leonard Bernstein, Anais Nin and Marc Chagall. From 2002 to 2004 she taught creative writing at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. She was born and educated in Bath, England and now lives in Washington, D.C. Meryle will discuss her recently published book Elsa Schiaparelli A Biography.
Diane Dorrans Saeks, San Francisco, CA
Diane is a best-selling author, editor, design lecturer and feature writer whose focus is on interior design, architecture, gardens, travel and fashion. She is a popular lecturer and design/style speaker and an instructor on interior design, antiques and design theory at the University of California, Berkeley Extension. Founder of the design/travel blog The Style Saloniste and the author of twenty books including Hollywood Style, Palm Springs Living and Michael S. Smith: Elements of Style, she is the California Editor of Metropolitan Home and the Interior Design Editor of PaperCity. Diane will present her book Ann Getty: Interior Style, the first-ever compilation of the luxurious interiors from the influential designer and philanthropist.