Friday Night Dialogues: Victorian lady invented cosmetics industry

Distinguished art historian, author and curator, Annette Blaugrund, comes to Friday Night Dialogues at the Library next week, October 26, to discuss the incredible and fascinating story of a Victorian entrepreneur — a woman who “invented the cosmetics industry,” a woman she first saw in a period painting. After six years of painstaking research, the critically acclaimed and ground-breaking work, “Dispensing Beauty in New York & Beyond: The Triumphs and Tragedies of Harriet Hubbard Ayer,” was published. It is Ms. Blaugrund’s sixth book.

It is the story of triumph against all odds, over divorce, kidnapping, madness, seduction and betrayal. It is a tale of ambition, accomplishment and independence — and reinvention, as the indomitable former Chicago socialite became America’s highest paid newspaperwoman, who influenced several generations of women to look and feel good about themselves in the pages of Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World. Copies of “Dispensing Beauty in New York & Beyond” will be available for sale and signing with proceeds to benefit the library.

Annette Blaugrund has published and lectured widely on diverse subjects in American art and culture. She was the director of the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts. A former curator, she has worked at the Brooklyn Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the New York Historical Society.

Currently, Ms. Blaugrund sits on several boards; juries exhibitions; and writes essays for museums, clubs and foundations across the country. She received a Lifetime Achievement award from the National Academy in 2008 and was named a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 1992.

Coming up in November, on the 16th, is wellness expert, Amy Elias, with a how-to on being the latest greatest version of yourself. And on the 30th, social media strategist, Jen Lew, brings marketing tips just in time for the holidays.

Admission to Friday Night Dialogues at the Library is free, as are all library events. All are welcome — 7 p.m. in the community room on the lower level of the library. For more information, call 749-0042.