Art with an Expert

During the 20th century, portfolios of original prints increased significantly across Latin America. The distinctive format of the print portfolio has roots in the Northern Renaissance, acquiring its present form in late 19th-century France, and it profoundly affected contemporary Latin American art. A print portfolio could be created to fulfill a variety of functions: define national histories; promote the work of artists abroad and at home; enhance the reputation of multinationals that sponsored graphic art; and function as luxurious objects of personal contemplation. This conversation between Elizabeth K. Mitchell, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, and Florencia Bazzano, Assistant Curator of Latin American Art at the Blanton Museum of Art and curator of Paper Trails: Latin American Art in Print (1950-1995), will explore key moments of this global history to give greater context to a selection of portfolios featured in the exhibition. Followed by a Q&A.

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s ascent from a young artist navigating downtown New York in the early 1980s to joining the twin pantheons of fine art and popular culture is a remarkable chapter in contemporary culture. His meteoric rise was not driven by artistic talent alone. It required a network of dealers, collectors, and tastemakers who transformed his art into cultural currency. Drawing from his new book, Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Making of an Icon, former President of the Americas at Christie’s and former McKinsey & Company partner Doug Woodham takes you behind the scenes to reveal how artistic legacy and market forces combined to create a global icon. Followed by Q&A.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Doug Woodham is Managing Partner of Art Fiduciary Advisors and the former President of the Americas at Christie’s. A Ph.D. economist and former McKinsey partner, he brings a rare combination of art-world experience and analytical rigor to the study of cultural icons. He is the author of Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Making of an Icon (Thames & Hudson, 2025) and Art Collecting Today (Allworth Press, 2017).

We’re thrilled to welcome back Sharon Louden, artist and author of Last Artist Standing: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life Over 50. Louden’s latest book highlights the lives of 31 artists who have continued to create, contribute, and lead well beyond the age of 50. By sharing their experiences, Last Artist Standing offers models of resilience, ingenuity, and pragmatic solutions—valuable for artists of all ages and for those both inside and outside the art world. Followed by a Q&A.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Sharon Louden wears many interchangeable hats: artist, educator, advocate, consultant, community builder, founder and director of the Institute for Sustained Creativity, and editor of the Living and Sustaining a Creative Life series of books. As a changemaker, Louden amplifies unheard voices and advances meaningful opportunities for artists across all disciplines toward sustaining their creative lives.

As an artist, her work has evolved from using writing as a medium, to figuration then abstraction through her paintings and drawings, to creating many physical environments that involve an inclusive advocacy using a varied range of media.

A visionary leader with decades of experience in academia, Louden is also a committed connector—bridging communities and catalyzing change, particularly on behalf of underserved artists within institutional structures. She is a skilled collaborator, bringing together siloed stakeholders from the nonprofit and business sectors to spark dialogue and drive collective progress. All of her work—no matter the form—is rooted in her active creative practice as a working artist.