Today we're rethinking everything we thought we knew about Mary Cassatt. On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "World of Art" Podcast, host Victoria Chick and Lisa D. Smith welcome Mary G. Morton, curator and head of French paintings at the National Gallery of Art, to talk about her new book, "Cassatt Reconsidered," out this November from Getty Publications.

2026 marks the centennial of Mary Cassatt's death (born May 22, 1844, died June 14, 1926), and Mary Morton makes the case for an artist who was bold, modern, and uncompromising. Cassatt's images of mothers and children are an extraordinary part of her work, but they're only part of the story. Mary explains how a narrow label took hold and what the fuller picture looks like.

In this conversation: - How Cassatt built a career at a time when the École des Beaux-Arts did not admit women, and why selling her work mattered - The business-minded family that shaped her, and the role of dealer Paul Durand-Ruel in packaging her as "the painter of mothers and babies" - Why her maternity pictures were a realist break from the sentimental versions painted by men - Why the National Gallery holds the best Cassatt collection in the world, and why seven of its 12 oil paintings can't leave the building - The centennial exhibitions in Chicago, at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, in London, and in Boston - The cover painting, and how a woman's portrait that defies conventional beauty became the face of the book - Why the National Gallery belongs to all of us, and what a first visit to a great museum can do for a life

MORE: - Get the Book: https://shop.getty.edu/products/cassatt-reconsidered-979-8887120508 - Victoria Chick: https://victoriachick.com/ - World of Art Podcast: https://worldofart-victoriachick.podbean.com/ - Southwest Regional Museum of Art & Art Center: https://www.southwest-art-museum.org

Sasha Waters, director and producer of the new American Masters documentary "Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World," joins Big Blend Radio to talk about bringing the life of one of America's most beloved and most private poets to the screen.

Mary Oliver was a bestselling poet and Pulitzer Prize winner whose work — including "Wild Geese" and "The Journey" — has reached readers far beyond the usual poetry audience. Waters discusses how Oliver's decades in Provincetown, Massachusetts shaped her writing, the restorative power of nature and dogs in Oliver's life, and her four-decade love story with photographer Molly Malone Cook.

The conversation also explores how the film balances intimacy with the privacy Oliver so fiercely protected, the process of bringing in voices like John Waters, Steve Buscemi, Helena Bonham Carter, and Stephen Colbert to read her work, and why Oliver's message about paying attention to the natural world feels more urgent than ever.

This episode also lands right in the middle of American Artists Appreciation Month — a fitting time to celebrate a filmmaker telling the story of one of America's great literary artists.

The film premiered as the opening selection at True/False Film Festival this year, and has since screened at the Berkshire International Film Festival and Provincetown Film Festival. It's out now in theaters — including IFC Center in New York and Laemmle theaters in LA — and expanding nationwide, with a digital and home video release coming August 25th. "Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World" also premieres nationwide on PBS Tuesday, August 25 as part of American Masters.

🎬 Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/B7bfYkgotBM 📺 More on PBS/American Masters: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/mary-oliver-documentary/37967/ 🎟️ Theaters, showtimes & booking: https://kinolorber.com/film/mary-oliver-saved-by-the-beauty-of-the-world

Who was Enheduanna — the woman often recognized as the world’s first known named author?

On this episode of Big Blend Radio’s "Books & Authors" Show with Books Forward, we welcome award-winning poet and debut historical fantasy novelist Ellen Rachlin, author of Enheduanna’s Song From the Sands, coming August 25, 2026 from Histria Fiction.

Set in ancient Mesopotamia around 2300 BCE, "Enheduanna’s Song From the Sands" brings to life Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon the Great and High Priestess of Ur, whose name is associated with some of the earliest known literary works to identify an author. Rachlin discovered Enheduanna while researching overlooked historical figures and was captivated by her poetry, power, struggles and enduring mystery.

In our conversation, Ellen discusses researching ancient Mesopotamia, the challenge of reconstructing a world with limited surviving evidence, and the fascinating process of blending historical fact, mythology and imagination. We also explore Enheduanna's role as a powerful religious and economic leader, her exile and struggle to regain her position, and the importance of reclaiming women's stories that have been overlooked or reduced to historical footnotes.

We also talk about Ellen's transition from poetry to historical fantasy, the importance of preserving women's voices, ancient writing and literature, the mythology surrounding Inanna and Ereshkigal, and why Enheduanna's story still resonates today.

- Check out the Big Blend Book Review by Nancy J. Reid: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/enheduannas-song-from-the-sands

- Learn more about Ellen Rachlin and her books at https://www.ellenrachlin.com/

- Learn more about Books Forward and its authors at https://booksforward.com/