During her 34-year reign, Catherine the Great embarked on a single-minded quest to modernize and westernize Russia. Among her tactics was a ravenous acquisition of art, which she used to strengthen her image and that of her empire. A self-proclaimed “glutton for art,” the wily tsarina created St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum and spearheaded the expansion of the former capital into an architectural wonder. Join author Susan Jaques as she discusses highlights of Catherine II’s extraordinary cultural campaign. Following the talk, Susan will be signing copies of her new biography, The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia (April 2016, Pegasus Books).
Susan Jaques is a journalist specializing in art. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA. She lives in Los Angeles, California where she's a gallery docent at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

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