News

“Maria,” a new Netflix movie starring Angelina Jolie as opera superstar Maria Callas, is generating large viewership as well as awards buzz. As a psychologist, lifelong opera fan, and biographer of Callas, Wellesley professor Paul Wink says Maria is visually spectacular and raises important issues related to gender and aging.

Study co-lead Lamiya Mowla ’13 emphasized the discovery’s importance: “These remarkable images give us an unprecedented picture of what our own galaxy might have looked like when it was being born."

Artist Lorraine O’Grady ’55 spent a week in residence at Wellesley this year, working closely with students. “As much as she has taught us, Lorraine told me that her priority was to continue learning — to hear from thinkers of all ages,” said Amanda Gilvin, curator of O’Grady’s “both/and” show at the Davis Museum.

Happy holidays from Wellesley!

Wellesley-led team of astronomers discovered the Firefly Sparkle galaxy, named for its dazzling appearance. “This looks like fireflies gleaming in a dark night sky,” said astronomer Lamiya Mowla ’13.

Wellesley honors this year’s December finishers.

Lorraine O’Grady ’55 was confident from a young age that she would one day be considered a genius, no matter what the field. And she knew, too, that her importance would likely be recognized only belatedly, given the way Black women’s contributions were so often overlooked.

Artist Lorraine O’Grady ’55, who defied category, is dead at 90. She worked in collage, photography, performance, video and installation, and she dealt forthrightly with the complexities of race and gender.