20th Annual Richard J. Yashek Memorial Lecture
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Albright College, Reading, PA
This year’s speaker is Christopher C. Gorham, educator and acclaimed author of THE CONFIDANTE (a Goodreads Choice Award finalist in History/Biography) and MATISSE AT WAR (Citadel, Sept. 30, 2025). His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Literary Hub, Paper Brigade, and elsewhere.
His will speak on his book, MATISSE AT WAR. Spotlighting the years during WWII when Henri Matisse and his family defiantly refused to evacuate Nazi-occupied France, this groundbreaking book illuminates the previously untold history of their passionate roles in the Resistance and the prodigious, revolutionary work the artist produced in the face of fascism, violence, and hate.
Drawing on intimate letters and a multitude of other sources, Christopher C. Gorham illuminates this momentous stage of Matisse’s life, revealing artist on a journey of reinvention, wrenching meaning from the suffering of war, and holding up the light of human imagination against the torch of fascism to create some of the most exciting work of his career, of the 20th century, and in the history of art.
We are thrilled to welcome such a prestigious speaker to our community and thank the Yashek family for their support and commitment to this annual lecture. We hope you will join us at this year’s Richard J. Yashek Memorial Lecture.