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Discuss art, life, culture and creativity from the comfort of your own home at the QAGOMA Members Virtual Book Club or join us on -site for a socially distanced discussion at the Gallery. The titles on the reading list from June until November will connect to, contextualise and discuss the ideas presented in ‘European Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York’, organised by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in collaboration with the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and Art Exhibitions Australia. The Vanishing Man: In Pursuit of Velázquez (2016), by Laura Cumming Session 1: Wed 21 Jul, 3.00pm | Virtual Session 2: Thu 22 Jul, 10.30am | On-site Session 3: Sat 24 Jul, 2.30pm | On-site A magnificent piece of historical research, Laura Cumming presents the captivating and mysterious tale of a Victorian bookseller whose fate was changed forever by the great painter Diego Velázquez. In 1845, a Reading bookseller named John Snare came across the dirt-blackened portrait of a prince at a country house auction. Suspecting that it might be a long-lost Velázquez, he bought the painting and set out to discover its strange history — a quest that led him from fame to ruin and exile. Fusing detection and biography, this book shows how and why great works of art can affect us, even to the point of mania. The Vanishing Man is an eloquent and passionate homage to the Spanish master Velázquez, bringing us closer to the creation and appreciation of his works than ever before. SOLD OUT / Email members@qagoma.qld.gov.au to add your name to the waitlist Virtual Book Club: Free for Members / $5 Members' Guests On-site Book Club: $12 Members / $17 Members' Guests (includes refreshments) Members receive 20% off current and past Book Club titles from the QAGOMA Store. 'European Masterpieces' Reading List -The Goldfinch (2013) by Donna Tartt -The Vanishing Man: In Pursuit of Velázquez (2016) by Laura Cumming -The Birth of Venus (2003) by Sarah Dunant -Metropolitan Stories: A Novel (2021) by Christine Coulson -Sudden Death (2013) by Álvaro Enrigue, translated by Natasha Wimmer -Girl in Hyacinth Blue (1999) by Susan Vreeland