Vreeland, Susan: 1946-2017

Life Studies, 2004 - Thematic Parallels: Art

Art refers to human expression, using imagination, creativity, and skill to communicate ideas, emotions, or experiences.
Vreeland, Susan: Life Studies, 2004
The message is that art has a redeeming, healing power in human lives, helping people navigate grief, loneliness, confusion, and find meaning.
The following books are thematically simliar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Chevalier, Tracy: Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1999, ~250pp
  This is novel is closely linked to art history and artist life.
  - Both novels use art as a framework to explore human stories—especially those of women—and examine how artistic creation intersects with power, identity, and history.
- Chevalier, Tracy: The Virgin Blue, 1997, ~300pp
  This novel is related to art through historical fiction involving paintings and artistic heritage.
  - Both authors show how the past echoes into the present, shaping identity, perspective, and emotional journeys. They examine how women navigate restrictive environments—social, artistic, cultural—and how they claim autonomy.
- Coetzee, J.M.: Disgrace, 1999, ~220pp
  This novel explores identity and life struggles, which may resonate with Vreeland’s themes.
  - Both texts examine how people live with the fallout of their own ethically compromised actions. Art becomes a lens through which characters process the rawness of human experience.
- Maugham, W. Somerset: The Moon and Sixpence, 1919, ~210pp
  This is a novel inspired by the life of the artist Paul Gauguin.
  - Both novels examine the tension between personal ambition in art and societal/familial expectations. They explore how the pursuit of one’s creative vision shapes—and often disrupts—life. They focus on the tension between society’s expectations and the inner compulsions that drive creative people.
List of general discussion questions on Art (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Art (pdf)