Stepping Into Truth: Conversations on Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Talking Race, Age, and Art with Nell Painter

Episode 9

Nell Painter

In this episode of Stepping Into Truth artist and historian Nell Irvin Painter and I talk about race, age, art and what it was like to go from being a history professor at Princeton to an art student as a self described, "old woman".

Nell Irvin Painter is the Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, at Princeton University. Her acclaimed works of history include Standing at Armageddon, Sojourner Truth, and the New York Times bestseller The History of White People, which have received widespread attention for their insights into how we have historically viewed and translated ideas of gender, value, hierarchy, and race. She holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts. Her visual artwork has been shown at numerous galleries and in many collections, including the San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, the Brooklyn Historical Society, and Gallery Aferro. She lives in Newark, New Jersey and the Adirondacks.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Old in Art School by Nell Irvin Painter
Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol by Nell Irvin Painter
Artists referenced: Ben Shahn
Nell's Website

CREDITS: Harmonica music courtesy of a friend