FREE . Pre-registration required.

An author talk about Keyes' new book, Isolation Artist: Scandal, Deception, and the Last Days of Robert Indiana.

When reclusive millionaire artist Robert Indiana died in 2018, he left behind dark rumors and scandal, as well as an estate embroiled in lawsuits and facing accusations of fraud. Here, for the first time, are all the pieces to the bizarre true story of the artist’s final days, the aftermath, the deceptive world that surrounded him, and the inner workings of art as very big business.

The Word.Art evening continues with Portland journalist Bob Keyes, author of The Isolation Artist: Scandal, Deception, and the Last Days of Robert Indiana, in conversation with Paul Sacaridiz, executive director of Deer Isle's Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. A longtime arts writer for the Portland Press Herald, Keyes gained access to key players in the life of the tortured millionaire artist, whose death on Vinalhaven in 2018 left behind a web of fraud accusations. His account offers an inside look into the life of an artist as well as the often-unscrupulous world of high-end art.

Bob Keyes has been a journalist for four decades. He is an award-winning, nationally recognized arts writer and storyteller with specialties in American visual arts and the contemporary culture of New England. Keyes has written about arts and culture for the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram since 2002. He lives with his family in Maine.

Paul Sacaridiz is the Executive Director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts on Deer Isle, Maine. From 2007-2015 he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and he has extensive experience in higher education, administration, and leadership in not-for-profit arts organizations. Sacaridiz has been named a fellow with the National Council of Arts Administrators and has served on the board of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) and the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+).