About Me
My Writing Journey....
- I am Jennifer Condas and I thank you for viewing my site. (I also write under Jenna Condas). The journey to write my book began in earnest after I completed my Masters program at UC Irvine. I obtained my masters degree in History with an emphasis in Visual Studies (art history was my major in college, also UCI). For my thesis, I knew I wanted to write about topics that interested me and that I was passionate about. If I was going to write about something for an extended period of time, while raising a family, doing charity work and going to school full time, it just HAD to be a topic I loved. I thought about what my interests were and focused on three things... (1) art, (2) women's philanthropic endeavors and (3) New York City - my home away from home. I was awarded a research stipend which helped fund my research quest. So I knew I wanted to write about art and women who raised money for causes they were passionate about and they had to be based in New York City. So....now I had to narrow down who that woman would be. I read some biographies and scholarly articles and scoured the internet. I did research in libraries and museum archives in New York City. The three "finalists" were Peggy Guggenheim, Louisine Havemeyer (married to a sugar baron and who was instrumental in the early success of the Metropolitan Museum of Art), and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, a co-founder of the Museum m of Modern Art. (MoMA). In the end, it was an easy decision. After reading the only really comprehensive (until my book is published of course!!) about Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Bernice Kert's "The Woman in the Family," I felt I had not only found an amazing woman to write about but a kindred spirit in Abby. It has been one of the most special and enriching experiences of my life to write abut Abby and a privilege and I look forward to blogging about it and hope you find Abby as wonderful as I do.
Join My Journey
In addition this website, I post articles about art, artists, and museums, as well as information on my own work on both instagram and twitter ....
@herstories_rock
Thanks for visiting and look forward to hearing from you!