Pasadena Senior Center   

News for Release: December 28, 2024   

Media Contact:   
Ann Erdman     
626-375-2742   

"HOW ART DEALERS CHANGED ART" WILL BE THEME FOR NEXT TERM OF THE MASTERS SERIES PRESENTED BY PASADENA SENIOR CENTER 

Over the centuries, prominent art dealers have had a large impact on shaping tastes in art and setting prices for works of particular artists.  

Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 23, from 2 to 4 p.m. via Zoom, art historian Katherine Zoraster will lead a six-week discussion about art dealers, collectors and museums from the Italian Renaissance to today.  

The Masters Series is presented by the Pasadena Senior Center for members and nonmembers 50 and older.  

• Tuesday, Jan. 23, from 2 to 4 p.m.: A Brief History of Art Dealing — From as far back as the Italian Renaissance in the 15^th and 16^th centuries, there have been accounts of vendors acting as middlemen between collectors and artists.  
• Tuesday, Jan. 30, from 2 to 4 p.m.: The Victorian Art Boom — By the 19^th century, the production and sale of art increases along with the economy and industrialization, resulting in a professionalization of art dealers.   
• Tuesday, Feb. 6, from 2 to 4 p.m.: Paul Durand-Ruel and the Modern Art Dealer — Frenchman Paul Durand-Ruel revolutionizes the role of art dealers by giving stipends to support and encourage his stable of artists, which enables them to create more independently and set a new standard for this role.   
• Tuesday, Feb. 13, from 2 to 4 p.m.: Selling the New — Following in Durand-Ruel’s footsteps, successors help support a new and burgeoning group of avant-garde artists and encourage their collectors.  
• Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 2 to 4 p.m.: The Shock of the New — Shifting to America and the new center of the art world, the rise of gallerists and notable art critics alters the art market.  
• Tuesday, Feb. 27, from 2 to 4 p.m.: Into the Contemporary World — This final session will focus on more recent trends.   

Zoraster is an art historian and professor of art history who specializes in western art from the Renaissance to the 20^th century. After a double major in English and art history from UCLA, she received a master’s degree with distinction in art history of Cal State Northridge. She teaches at Cal State Channel Islands, Moorpark College and Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Arts. She recently began teaching art history at the new 50 and Better program at California Lutheran University and teaches a weekly class on various arts and artistic styles at The Village Senior Living in Sherman Oaks. 

The cost for The Masters Series is only $75 for members of the Pasadena Senior Center and $90 for nonmembers.  

To register or for more information, visit www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org and click on Lectures & Classes, then Masters Series Lifelong Learning. Everyone who registers will receive email instructions for joining each week’s Zoom class online.    

For more information, call 626-795-4331.  

In addition to online classes, onsite events and other activities, members and nonmembers of the Pasadena Senior Center are encouraged to visit the website regularly for a quarterly online magazine, free food delivery for older adults in need, COVID updates specifically for older adults and more.    

The center is an independent, donor-supported nonprofit organization that has served older adults for more than 60 years. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.  Rooms are sanitized after each use. Masks are optional.  

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Photo caption: Group of friends, artists and critics assembled in the gallery of Paris art dealer Ambroise Vollard to celebrate Paul Cézanne, who painted the still life on the easel.