Victoria Kastner

Author of Julia Morgan: An Intimate Biography of the Trailblazing Architect

February 22, 2024

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is one of the largest art museums in the American south and houses an outstanding collection of art dating from antiquity to the present. We’re dedicated to enriching the lives of our visitors through the museum’s expanding collection, varied exhibitions, and dynamic programs.

There’s always something exciting happening at the Brooks! Remember, members always get first access. Join us on February 22, 2024, to hear Author and Historian Victoria Kastner speak on Julia Morgan, both a pioneering architect and a captivating individual.

Julia Morgan was a lifelong trailblazer. She was the first woman admitted to study architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and the first licensed to practice architecture in California. Over the first half of the 20th century, she left an indelible mark on the American West. Of her remarkable 700 creations, the most iconic is Hearst Castle. Morgan spent thirty years constructing this opulent estate on the California coast for the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst—forging a lifelong friendship and creative partnership with him. Together, they built a spectacular and unequalled residence that once hosted the biggest stars of Hollywood’s golden age, and that now welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Victoria Kastner’s compelling biography draws on interviews, letters, and Morgan’s diaries, including never-before-seen reflections on faith, art, and her life experiences. Morgan’s friendship with Hearst, her passion for California’s landscape, her struggles with familial dementia, and her devotion to architecture reveal her to have been a singularly brilliant and determined artist.

Please join us to learn more of the story of Julia’s private life–which was as remarkable as the career she forged as the world’s most prominent female architect.

Save the Date! Further details will follow.