Book Club
Monthly meetings on the first Wednesdays of each month 9:30 - 10:30 AM PST at the Triton Museum of Art. (doors open at 9:00 a.m. for coffee and donuts; presentation begins at 9:30 a.m.)
We invite you to read selected novels about art or famous artists before we meet, and then join us on the first Wednesday morning of each month, for an art history presentation about that month’s novel, the portrayed artist, and related art, as presented by Triton Museum Executive Director Preston Metcalf and Triton Museum Associate Curator Vanessa Callanta. Learn how the novel does — or doesn’t — comport to the actual history of its subject, and hear more about the artwork and the artists’ times in which they were created.
Admission to the monthly book club art history lectures is free for Triton Museum of Art Members ($5 donation requested for non-members), and all are welcome, whether you have actually read the book or not. Coffee and pastries will be served.
Discussions are held safely distanced & in person at the Triton Museum of Art Free for TMA members, $5 suggested donation for non-members
Take a look at what we'll be reading for 2026!
This Upcoming Month's Book:
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
October 7th, 2026
Illuminations of the Written Word
Italy, 1347. While Brother William of Baskerville is investigating accusations of heresy at a wealthy abbey, his inquiries are disrupted by a series of bizarre deaths. Turning his practiced detective skills to finding the killer, he relies on logic (Aristotle), theology (Thomas Aquinas), empirical insights (Roger Bacon), and his own ferocious curiosity. With the aid of his young apprentice, William scours the abbey, from its stables to the labyrinthine library, piecing together evidence, and deciphering cryptic symbols and coded manuscripts to uncover the truth about this place where "the most interesting things happen at night.”
Much of the most significant achievements of artistic expression in the Medieval Era is found in the ancient manuscripts labored over by monks and nuns as they copied out their most precious texts. Using Eco’s great murder mystery as a starting point, Executive Director Preston Metcalf will present some of the important achievements of these anonymous artists.
