Celebrating 40 Years: Memories from the Center by UCLA Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies

A New Treatise on Canary-birds, 1718

Center40Anniversary — 2026-08-17 02:25:48 UTC

Materials from the Clark Library collections were brought out for the conference "Captivity: Assembling Nature’s Histories," organized by Anna Chen, Rebecca Fenning Marschall, and Bronwen Wilson.

Kanter Lecture by Tia Blassingame (2024)

Center40Anniversary — 2026-08-17 02:26:51 UTC

The 2024 Stephen A. Kanter Lecture on California Fine Printing lecture was presented by Tia Blassingame (Book/Print Artist, Scholar of Color Collective, Scripps College): "Our Histories and Futures: Making New Print and Book Arts Work with/in Libraries."

The Dover Quartet Performance (March 17, 2024)

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Waiting for the Dover Quartet to perform. Best seat in the house!

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Center & Clark Graduate Student Research Fair: Working with Paul Chrzanowski’s Early Modern Resources

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"Building Patterns: Ceiling Designs in Sebastiano Serlio’s First Booke of Architecture (1611)" – Laura Hutchingame, Ph.D

Staff members are amazing!

2026-08-17 03:00:18 UTC

The staff at the Center & Clark are always so friendly and knowledgeable. Their expertise is much appreciated!

2026-08-17 13:14:04 UTC

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Source: The Center & Clark Newsletter (Fall 1995, no. 26)

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Source: The Center & Clark Newsletter (Fall 2013)

The 2018 Grand Reopening of the Clark Library

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Source: The Center & Clark Newsletter (Fall 2019, no. 67)

Peter H. Reill (1938–2019)

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Peter Hanns Reill served as director from 1991 to 2011.

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Source: The Center & Clark Newsletter (Fall 2019, no. 67)

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Arts on the Ground

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Performance of La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’Isola di Alcina near the Clark’s Outdoor Reading Room; photo credit: Reed Hutchinson.

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In 1968 Edna Davis, reference librarian, and Virginia Wong, library assistant, watch as the sprinklers come on over the newly completed annex addition. Source: Center & Clark Quarterly | Fall 2024.

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In 2016 the Library undergoes construction of the pavilion, its new A.D.A. compliant entrance. Source: Center & Clark Quarterly | Fall 2024.

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Anna Chen, Head Librarian (2017–2024), and Helen Deutsch, Center Director (2017–2020). Photo: Reed Hutchinson/UCLA.

What a wonderful resource

2026-09-07 16:57:20 UTC

As a UCLA graduate student and now a curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Clark has been an extraordinary resource. Looking forward to the many programs, gatherings, performances, and exhibits to come.

2026-09-08 11:28:05 UTC

A printing demonstration and workshop focused on ukiyo-e, a centuries-old style of art that flourished in the Edo period. Sunhui Choi is translating for the audience as the printer, Ogawa Nobuto, demonstrates the process. Born in 1990 in Tokyo, Ogawa is part of a family of printers dating back to the Edo period. He learned the craft from his master, who was once his grandfather’s disciple. (Open Edo 2023-2024)

Cheers to Candice - Assistant Director extraordinaire who managed so many Directors - and staff -- with such kindness!

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Christmas festivities with the stellar Myrna, Candice, and Jeanette.

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Kenneth Karmiole Lecture (2024)

Book display for David Hunter's lecture: Funding London’s Elite Music Scene Through the Profits of Slavery in the Eighteenth Century and Beyond: Bio-Bibliographical Work as Reparative History.

Merlin Holland's Oscar Wilde Lecture in 2022

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Thank you to Rogers Brubaker, Artistic Director of Chamber Music at the Clark! Rogers is flanked by members of the Balourdet Quartet, May 7, 2023.

2026-09-08 14:28:36 UTC

Lunch in the outdoor reading room for participants in the Ecole de Printemps program, Making Green Worlds (June 2022)

2026-09-08 14:32:52 UTC

Erich leading the way on October 7, 2023

Core Program meeting at the La Kretz Pavilion in the Mathias Botanical Garden

2026-09-08 14:44:46 UTC

The Meaning of the American Revolution on the Center's YouTube channel.

2026-09-08 19:25:32 UTC

The Ahmanson Lecture on Clark Library Legacies

2026-09-08 19:38:30 UTC

Clark's piano with its pastoral paintings

2026-09-08 19:53:32 UTC

Box Tale Soup and Gulliver

2026-09-08 20:03:59 UTC

The 2026 Henry J. Bruman Summer Chamber Music Festival

2026-09-08 23:00:15 UTC

The Center for 17th- & 18th-Century Studies has been hosting the Bruman Festival since 1988! Intended to introduce new audiences to chamber music at free, informal concerts on the UCLA campus, this popular festival is curated by Artistic Director Ambroise Aubrun, D.M.A.

Oscar Wilde: Gowns in Miniature

2026-09-08 23:17:44 UTC

The Center collaborated with Distinguished Professor Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Natasha Rubin, and UCLA MFA costume designers to host a talk, display, and reception at the Clark Library to showcase the students’ stunning costume designs for Oscar Wilde works such as The Importance of Being Earnest and Lady Windemere’s Fan.

“After Oscar” A Conversation with Merlin Holland about Family, Scandal, and Legacies | April 13, 2026

2026-09-08 23:38:51 UTC

On April 13, 2026, the Center was delighted to welcome author and historian Merlin Holland back to the Clark Library for a conversation with Rebecca Fenning Marschall, Manuscripts & Archives Librarian about his new book.

Kathleen and Michael Thompson, Carol Sandberg, and Bill Zachs

2026-09-12 11:39:16 UTC

Michael R. Thompson Rare Books was founded in 1972 as a specialist in rare 15th to 21st century books, literature, history, Western philosophy, history of science, fine printing, and art. Michael Thompson came to bookselling after having been a graduate student in philosophy at the University of Texas. He moved to California in 1967 to work for the legendary rare book dealers, Zeitlin and Ver Brugge, and remained there for nearly six years. From an early date, he developed a specialty, catering to the needs of libraries, especially in the areas of special collections and rare books. In 1985, the business became a partnership, when Michael Thompson was joined by Kathleen D. Thompson and Carol Sandberg. Kathleen D. Thompson came to the firm after many years of working for Los Angeles rare booksellers, including Universal Books, Royer Art Books, and Zeitlin and Ver Brugge. Carol Sandberg's rich experience included eleven years working at Heritage Book Shop, the preeminent firm in Los Angeles for several decades. Prior to that, she earned a Master of Library Science degree at UCLA, with a specialty in rare books. Michael R. Thompson Rare Books is actively involved in several library organizations. Michael Thompson and Carol Sandberg are members of the California Rare Book School Advisory Committee, and of the Grolier Club, the oldest and most prominent American bibliophilic organization.

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Barbara Fuchs Brings Theater to the Center & Clark

2026-09-12 13:08:05 UTC

Henry J. Bruman Summer Chamber Music Festival 2016

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Mary Terrall's Column in 2016

2026-09-12 13:24:20 UTC

Baroque Opera at the Clark

2026-09-12 13:27:05 UTC

Friends and Family of the Center & Clark

2026-09-12 13:46:19 UTC

Center/Clark Director, Helen Deutsch, with (L to R) Chancellor Gene Block, Head Librarian Anna Chen, and Professor Emeritus Maximillian Novak, at The Clark Library’s Grand Reopening Celebration (Jan 2018).

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The Henry J. Bruman Summer Chamber Music Festival is dedicated to introducing chamber music to new audiences by offering performances free of charge. Powell Library’s magnificent rotunda offers live and warm acoustics that inspire performers, and provides an intimate connection between the public and the musicians. This unique stage-less setting is reminiscent of chamber music’s origins, and helps audience members feel like they are part of the performance. Further connecting with the audience, musicians introduce each piece on their programs. Programs are carefully chosen to represent different periods of music, from baroque to contemporary, while creating a homogeneous musical experience. Now in its 33rd season, the festival features some of the best local musicians, and distinguished instrumentalists of international stature from around the United States and abroad.

–Ambroise Aubrun, D.M.A., Artistic Director

The Forgotten Canopy: Ecology, Ephemeral Architecture, and Imperialism in the Caribbean, South American, and Transatlantic Worlds Conference 1: Ecology; Discussing Ecology in the Gardens. 2022-2023

2026-09-12 14:04:52 UTC

Stella Nair, Associate Professor of Art History, UCLA, Paul Niell, Associate Professor of Art History, Florida State University, Rudy Ortega, Tribal Chairman, Fernandeno Tatavium Band of Mission Indians, Mona Morales Recalde, San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Gabrielino/Tongva- Community Outreach Director, Shannon Speed, Professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies, Director of American Indian Studies Center, Special Advisor the the Chancellor on Native American and Indigeous Issues, UCLA, Darnell Hunt, Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost, Professor of Sociology and African American Studies, UCLA, Abel Valenzuela, Interim Dean of Social Sciences, Professor of Urban Planning and Latinx and Central American Studies, UCLA.

Kunqu Opera Performance

2026-09-12 14:13:57 UTC

On October 10, 2024, the Clark Library continued our Arts on The Grounds programming with a lecture and demonstration of “Kunqu Opera Performance: Techniques and Characteristics,” sponsored by UCLA Asia Pacific Center and Center for Chinese Studies. Elements of the event included a robust book display, as well as costuming representative of some of the character types portrayed in Kunqu Opera. Performers from the Kunqu Opera Society USA joined esteemed Kunqu artists Zhenrong Qian and Hsi-Jung Liu to demonstrate the xiosheng (young scholar), and the chou (comic role). The lecture was presented in Mandarin and translated for English-speaking audiences. We look forward to further collaborations in the seasons to come.

Courtesy of the Kunqu Opera Society USA, videos of the performance, lecture, and costume display are available on their YouTube Channel.

–Carole Robinson, Site Manager, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library

Bruce Whiteman with Peter Reill

2026-09-12 14:17:49 UTC

Inaugural Spotlight Talk

2026-09-12 14:22:35 UTC

Arthur L. Little, Jr. inaugural spotlight talk: “Citing Race and Seeing Death in Shakespeare” November 15, 2023

Carla Pestana, Director 2024-2025, with Historians, Literary Scholars, and Archaeologists from the Core Program

2026-09-12 14:28:36 UTC

Craig Yurish with panelists for The Meaning of the American Revolution

2026-09-12 14:35:37 UTC

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Our Histories and Futures: Making New Print and Book Arts Work with/in Libraries

2026-09-12 15:00:02 UTC

Group photo at Candis' Farewell

2026-09-12 15:01:46 UTC

Johanna Drucker Reimagines the Declaration of Independence

2026-09-12 15:05:20 UTC

UCLA Clark Memorial Library Series with University of Toronto Press

2026-09-12 15:24:58 UTC