The Art of Romance

An evening of art and conversation celebrating Elaine Gignilliat’s remarkable romance cover paintings. What makes a painting tell a story? How does an artist capture desire, anticipation, danger, or the shifting balance of power between two people in a single image? And what do we discover when we look beyond the book cover to the painting itself? Join us for an evening of art and conversation celebrating Elaine Gignilliat, whose original paintings helped shape the visual language of historical romance during the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. Featuring new additions to the exhibition alongside paintings already on view, the evening offers a chance to experience these remarkable works at full scale and discover the extraordinary artistry behind their familiar paperback covers. Through a panel conversation featuring Gignilliat's daughter, Laura Sawyer, and voices from art history and the romance community, we'll explore how Gignilliat used composition, color, historical settings, and the expressive language of the human figure to capture the drama, desire, and emotional complexity of a story. We'll also consider how these paintings reflect women's desires, choices, and inner lives, and what happens when we encounter them outside the conventions of romance publishing. For devoted romance readers and art lovers alike, come discover the stories within the paintings and see the art of romance in a whole new light! Event Details • 6:30 PM: Doors Open – Grab a drink from the Lovestruck Bar & Cafe, settle in, and get ready for a great discussion! • 7:00 PM: Discussion Begins – Panelists will dive into Elaine Gignilliat’s Holding the Moment collection. • 7:45 PM: Q&A Session – Your chance to ask the panelists about the art of romance! • 8:00 PM: Mix and Mingle – Chat with the panelists and other event guests! Swap opinions and insights on romance paintings, take a closer look at the collection or shop the store. • 8:30 PM: Last call - Grab your final pour from the wine bar and head to the register for any book purchases. • 9:00 PM: Event Wraps Up – Thanks for joining us! Tickets are limited, so grab yours soon! If the event sells out, you can join the Eventbrite waitlist by selecting “Reserve a spot” followed by “Join Waitlist”. Should any spots open up, you’ll have 24 hours to register before we offer it to the next person. About The Art of Elaine Gignilliat For more than three decades, Elaine Gignilliat created original oil paintings for historical romance, gothic, and adventure novels, bringing extraordinary craftsmanship and emotional depth to a genre that reached millions of readers. Her paintings are distinguished by their dramatic compositions, richly researched settings, exquisite period details, and an uncanny ability to capture the complexity of human relationships. Her heroines are not simply beautiful figures; they are women with desires, choices, and inner lives of their own. Created as commercial illustrations, these works also stand as accomplished examples of representational painting and visual storytelling. Seen at their original scale, free from the typography and conventions of paperback publishing, they invite us to reconsider the relationship between illustration and fine art. Nearly half a century after their creation, these original paintings are being exhibited publicly for the first time at Lovestruck Books & Cafe. The Panel Laura Sawyer is the daughter of Elaine Gignilliat. With backgrounds in women's studies, adult education, and leadership development, Sawyer has spent much of her career exploring personal growth, self-expression, and empowerment, particularly among women. These interests inform her appreciation of her mother's paintings, especially their depictions of women's desires, agency, and emotional lives. As the steward of a substantial collection of her mother's original paintings, Sawyer is working to bring these long-unseen works to new audiences through exhibitions, storytelling, and conversations about their artistic and cultural significance. Her efforts are rooted in a conviction that paintings created for romance novels deserve to be seen and appreciated as works of art in their own right, and that the stories they tell about women, love, and desire are worthy of closer examination. Betts Coup is a lifelong lover and avid reader of romantic fiction and a practicing archivist with subject expertise in art history, architecture, and visual culture. As the Head of Archival Operations in Technical Services for Archives and Special Collections at Harvard University, she oversees back-of-house processing and care for archival collections across multiple repositories, including those of authors, poets, playwrights, as well as publishing houses and production companies. Her art historical work in academia and museums focused on twentieth century art, with particular interest in feminist interpretations of the work of women surrealists Leonora Carrington, Dorothea Tanning, and Remedios Varo. Beyond her work life, Betts routinely devours multiple romances a week, usually in the company of her small dog, Nina; she and Nina both consider themselves active members of the Lovestruck community. Betts has an MLIS with a focus on Archives Management from Simmons University, an MA in the History of Art and Architecture from the Institute of Fine Art at New York University, and a BA from Carleton College. Alexis L. Boylan is the Rhoda Shivers Chair of Art History at the University of Connecticut with a joint appointment in the Art and Art History Department and the Africana Studies Institute. She is the author of Visual Culture (MIT Press, 2020), Ashcan Art, Whiteness, and the Unspectacular Man (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017), co-author of Furious Feminisms: Alternate Routes on Mad Max: Fury Road (University of Minnesota, 2020), editor of Thomas Kinkade, The Artist in the Mall (Duke University Press, 2011), and editor of Ellen Emmet Rand: Gender, Art, and Business (Bloomsbury Academic, 2020). Boylan’s next book, Visual Intimacies, focuses on contemporary representations of intimacy and the sprawling visual culture associated with romance and fantasy literature. Mara Williams has been curating exhibits at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center for thirty years. In addition to Brattleboro, her exhibits have been seen by audiences at Tufts University Art Gallery, Florence Griswold Museum, Carving Studio & Sculpture Center, University of New Hampshire Art Gallery, and a number of galleries in New York City. She holds an A.B. in theatre from Boston College, an MFA in museology from Syracuse University, and has completed doctoral course work and comprehensives in comparative arts at New York University. She has served as Board Chair of the Vermont Arts Council, on the Board of the New England Museum Association, as well as three terms on the Senate Curatorial Advisory Committee for the U.S. Capitol. Lovestruck Books & Cafe is a Romance Bookstore and cafe in Harvard Square. Visit our website to sign up for our newsletter and be the first to know about events and other news. The Lovestruck Bar & Cafe is a cozy corner for settling in with a novel, sharing cheese & charcuterie over a glass of wine, grabbing a coffee before browsing the shelves, or treating yourself to something sweet. Accessibility Check-in will take place at our front entrance on Brattle Street. If you have any accessibility needs, you're welcome to use our side entrance (located on the right side of the building), which is wheelchair accessible and has a ramp. Guests who would benefit from priority seating or any additional assistance are encouraged to reach out in advance — just email us at [email protected]. We're more than happy to make arrangements to ensure you feel comfortable and supported. We’re always learning and looking for ways to make our events more accessible.