The adjectives used to describe Edward Gorey seem almost endless: visionary, gothic, frivolous, solitary, flamboyant, odd—and genius. To this list, Anne Bromer adds two more: generous and delightful. Anne had the privilege of collaborating with Gorey on five book-related projects in the mid-1980s and 1990s, including two miniature books, two posters for the Boston Antiquarian Book Fair, and a cover illustration for a Bromer Booksellers catalogue. Gorey was meticulous and exacting in his work, and the results of that dedication have captivated millions of readers worldwide. Long a cult figure, Gorey reached an even broader audience through his iconic sets for Masterpiece Theatre on PBS and his Tony Award–winning costume designs for Dracula on Broadway. These works —along with his swooning Victorian ladies and doomed toddlers—have become enduring fixtures of popular culture. Anne Bromer shared her personal experiences working with the legendary author and artist Edward Gorey.

About the Speaker

Anne Bromer is the author of Strings Attached, a biography of Dorothy Abbe, and of Miniature Books: 4000 Years of Tiny Treasures. Anne and her husband began Bromer Booksellers in the 1960s and were located in Copley Square for 45 years. At the end of 2024, Anne closed the business, having traveled the world buying and selling rare books for sixty years. During the decades she met fascinating people, none more curious and special than Edward Gorey. Anne says “being welcomed into his world for more than a decade was an honor”.

This virtual discussion examined Richard Morris Hunt’s expansive architectural vision for a new Gilded Age, considering both his formative, familial, and professional connections to Boston and the ways in which these relationships informed such landmark projects as The Breakers and Marble House in Newport, Rhode Island. It also assessed his now-lost Boston commissions as significant, if overlooked, touchpoints that illuminate the city’s role in shaping the cultural ambitions and architectural innovations of the Gilded Age.

About the Speakers

Dr. Catherine Moran is an art & cultural historian whose research explores the intersection between material culture, architecture, and identity as an expression of the human experience. Catherine has over ten years of experience as a lecturer of art and design history at the College of Visual and Performing arts at The University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and is the former Gallery Director for Bernard and S. Dean Levy, New York. She is engaged with local cultural, historic preservation, and arts based non-profit organizations and has lectured at several local universities, professional conferences, and cultural institutions. Catherine currently serves as the Manager of Academic Partnerships and Research Fellows Program at The Preservation Society of Newport County.

Tiziana Dearing is the host of WBUR’s Morning Edition. Prior to helping listeners start the morning with news from around the corner and around the world, Tiziana hosted Radio Boston, WBUR’s daily local magazine, for five years. Tiziana came to journalism after a career that spanned academia, nonprofits and for-profit management consulting. She taught graduate students at the Boston College School of Social Work and chaired its program in Social Innovation and Leadership. Tiziana ran a start-up foundation focused on breaking generational cycles of poverty in Boston neighborhoods and was the first woman president of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of Boston. Earlier in her work life, she ran a research center at the Harvard Kennedy School and worked in management consulting. Tiziana has won a number of awards in the city, including a Pinnacle Award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40.

This talk was presented in partnership with the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art and The Preservation Society of Newport County.