“This is a woman of extraordinary passion and enormous energies. A wrenchingly honest account that deftly combines a marriage story and an art tour.”

Kirkus Reviews

“This is an unflinchingly honest memoir, written with the clarity and powerful visual sense of an art historian. Finishing it, you realize you have been privileged to get to know a remarkably gifted and indomitable spirit.”

Tom Dunne, author of Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize winner Rebellions: Memoir, Memory, and 1798

“In her searching and compassionate memoir, this keenly sensitive writer proves herself a woman of the deepest human insight.”

Kate Moses, author of Cakewalk, A Memoir and Wintering

“Unlocking is an exquisite articulation of personal and professional stories.”

Allison Perkins, Executive Director, Reynolda House Museum of American Art

“Elegantly composed, Unlocking shares a deeply personal evolution. Pressly’s story exemplifies the professional and personal challenges so many women confront.”

Stephanie Heydt, Margaret and Terry Stent Curator of America Art, High Museum of Art

“In this clairvoyant and heart-warming memoir, Nancy L. Pressly makes the intensely personal universally compelling.”

June Hargrove, author of Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) and recipient of the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters

“Definitely worth reading more than once!”

Ellen G. Miles, art historian and author

“Nancy Pressly’s revealing personal journey is a powerful inspiration and a compassionate reminder of the power within to remain positive through adversity and obstacles, to stay true to oneself.”

Andrea Snyder, cofounder/codirector of American Dance Abroad and former assistant director of NEA Dance Program

“…..This is a well written book; the prose was beautiful and the author’s observations about emotions as well as art were a joy to read…This book has so many excellent qualities…I believe you would be pleased with what you learned from this astute observer of life…and art…”

Miller, Amazon Books reviewer, Your Content Goes Here
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“This is an unflinchingly honest memoir, written with the clarity and powerful visual sense of an art historian. Finishing it, you realize you have been privileged to get to know a remarkably gifted and indomitable spirit.”

Tom Dunne, author of Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize winner Rebellions: Memoir, Memory, and 1798

“In her searching and compassionate memoir, this keenly sensitive writer proves herself a woman of the deepest human insight.”

Kate Moses, author of Cakewalk, A Memoir and Wintering

“Unlocking is an exquisite articulation of personal and professional stories.”

Allison Perkins, Executive Director, Reynolda House Museum of American Art

“Elegantly composed, Unlocking shares a deeply personal evolution. Pressly’s story exemplifies the professional and personal challenges so many women confront.”

Stephanie Heydt, Margaret and Terry Stent Curator of America Art, High Museum of Art

“In this clairvoyant and heart-warming memoir, Nancy L. Pressly makes the intensely personal universally compelling.”

June Hargrove, author of Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) and recipient of the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters

“Definitely worth reading more than once!”

Ellen G. Miles, art historian and author

“Nancy Pressly’s revealing personal journey is a powerful inspiration and a compassionate reminder of the power within to remain positive through adversity and obstacles, to stay true to oneself.”

Andrea Snyder, cofounder/codirector of American Dance Abroad and former assistant director of NEA Dance Program
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Nancy L. Pressly received her master’s degree in Art History from Columbia University. Beginning her career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she subsequently held curatorial positions at the Yale Center for British Art and the San Antonio Museum of Art. She was Assistant Director of the Museum Program at the National Endowment for the Arts; a visiting Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts; and founded Nancy L. Pressly & Associates, a nationally recognized consulting firm specializing in strategic planning for art museums. She has authored numerous publications, most recently a book entitled Settling the South Carolina Backcountry (2016) and her new memoir Unlocking: A Memoir of Family and Art. She and her husband live in Atlanta, Georgia, close to their son and two grandchildren.

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