Join us for a morning of conversation on creativity and writing with our Writer in Residence Sarah B. Pomeroy, as she shares her latest book, Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist, Scientist, Adventurer (Getty 2017). Presented in partnership with Getty Publications.
ABOUT THE WRITER:
Dr. Sarah B. Pomeroy is an American ancient historian, author, translator, and former Distinguished Professor of Classics and History at C.U.N.Y. She is best known for her pioneering work on the history of women in classical antiquity. Pomeroy graduated from Barnard College and received her Ph.D. from Columbia University. She is the author of many books including Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity, Women in Hellenistic Egypt, Spartan Women, The Murder of Regilla: A Case of Domestic Violence in Antiquity, and Pythagorean Women. She has received many awards and honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship, is an Honorary Fellow of St. Hilda’s College, Oxford, and has been elected to the American Philosophical Society.
ABOUT THE BOOK: In 1660, at the age of thirteen, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) began her study of butterfly metamorphosis—years before any other scientist published an accurate description of the process. Later, Merian and her daughter ventured thousands of miles from their home in the Netherlands to the rainforests of South America seeking new and amazing insects to observe and illustrate. Years after her death, Merian’s accurate and beautiful illustrations were used by scientists, including Carl Linnaeus, to classify species, and today her prints and paintings are prized by museums around the world. More than a dozen species of plants and animals are named after Merian. The first Merian biography written for ages 10 and up, Pomeroy's book will enchant budding scientists and artists alike.