Major exhibition at McDaniel College explores romance novels

McDaniel College hosts “Romancing the Novel,” a major exhibition exploring romance novels and their cultural impact.

Featuring original cover art, including paintings by James Griffin, Frank Kalan, and Gregg Gulbronson, manuscripts, publicity materials, genre history, and fan artwork, “Romancing the Novel” is curated by Robert Lemieux, associate professor of communication and cinema at McDaniel. The exhibition is in association with McDaniel’s Nora Roberts American Romance Collection, Bowling Green State University’s Browne Popular Culture Library, renowned romance publisher, Harlequin, and Yale University Art Gallery (Roy Lichtenstein’s “Crying Girl” is on loan courtesy of Yale University Art Gallery.)

Free and open to the public, “Romancing the Novel” runs Monday, Jan. 6-Friday, March 7, in McDaniel’s Esther Prangley Rice Gallery, Peterson Hall, at 2 College Hill, Westminster, Maryland. A public reception takes place Thursday, Feb. 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m., with a gallery talk at 6 p.m., and a “Romancing the Novel” speaker series is planned in collaboration with Carroll County Public Library to further highlight the romance genre during the month of February. As part of this series, historian Nicole Jackson, a professor at Bowling Green State University and co-host of the “Black Romance Has A History” podcast, presents "Love in Liberty: Black Historical Romances and the Joy of Freedom,” on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m., in Coley Rice Lounge, McDaniel Hall, at McDaniel College (2 College Hill, Westminster, Maryland) with details about additional events forthcoming.

“With an emphasis on original cover art, the writing process, notable authors, publicity materials, fan interaction, and genre history, the exhibit provides a wide-ranging view of the publishing industry’s most profitable genre – romance – and its influence over the past 80 years,” according to Lemieux.

“Romancing the Novel” is the sixth exhibition that highlights the artistic and historical significance of a major influence on popular culture organized by Robert Lemieux at McDaniel. Others have included “Kings of the Pages: Comic Strips & Culture 1895-1950” in fall 2011, “Beyond Words: The Artistry of Illustrated Children’s Books” highlighting Caldecott award-winning children’s books in spring 2014, “Visions of the Circus” about the history of the circus in fall 2017, “Icons of American Animation” in spring 2022, and “Breathtaker” with works from Mark Wheatley and Marc Hempel’s acclaimed graphic novel in collaboration with the Norman Rockwell Museum in fall 2022.

McDaniel College Professor of English Emerita Pamela Regis, former director of McDaniel’s Nora Roberts Center for American Romance, past president of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance, and author of “A Natural History of the Romance Novel,” served as a consultant for the exhibition.

Hours for the Esther Prangley Rice Gallery are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Call 410-857-2595 for more information.

“Romancing the Novel” is made possible with support from the Nora Roberts Foundation, McDaniel College’s Hoover Library, and the Department of Communication and Cinema at McDaniel College. Media partners are BmoreArt and WYPR-FM.

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Additional information: Requests for ASL interpreters are welcome and should be made as soon as possible (two weeks prior to the event preferred) by contacting the specific event organizer. Other accommodation requests and questions can be directed to Conference Services at 410-857-2407.

Visitors are asked to adhere to all health and safety policies and regulations in effect at the time of the event.

McDaniel College, founded in 1867 and nationally recognized as one of 40 “Colleges That Change Lives,” is a four-year, independent college of the liberal arts and sciences offering more than 70 undergraduate programs of study, including dual and student-designed majors, plus more than 20 highly regarded graduate programs. Its personalized, interdisciplinary, global curriculum and student-faculty collaboration develop the unique potential in every student. A diverse, student-centered community of 1,800 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students, McDaniel offers access to the resources of Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and is the only American college with a European campus in Budapest, Hungary. www.mcdaniel.edu