John Lithgow talks on the arts to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

The actor talks on the arts to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

John Lithgow

Actor and author John Lithgow ’67, Ar.D. ’05, made some extended remarks on the arts, including personal reflections on his own childhood experiences with visual arts, at the first meeting of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences' Commission on Humanities and Social Sciences, held in Chicago in June. The Academy's Bulletin published Lithgow’s talk in its Summer 2011 issue.

In his presentation, he invites the audience to try the "hoary old Actors' Studio exercise called 'sense memory' " and thus recall "the eureka moments of discovery, creativity, and joy that created in you the habit of learning." Lithgow relives a time his his own childhood, ninth and tenth grade years spent in Akron, Ohio, where he had the "extraordinary luxury" of beginning every school day with two periods of art. "Art would launch me into the rest of my day with a heady creative rush," he declares. "The expressive energy of those art classes served as a kind of booster rocket to my entire educational career."

The actor's 2005 Commencement address appeared in Harvard Magazine. 

You might also like

What of the Humble Pencil?

Review: At the Harvard Art Museums’ new exhibit, drawing takes center stage

‘Passengers’ at A.R.T. Blends Acrobatics with Einstein’s Relativity

Review: Quantum mechanics meets circus arts at the American Repertory Theater’s performance

Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival

Without Christopher Marlowe, there might not have been a Bard.

Most popular

Trump Administration Unveils New Attacks on Harvard

Government tightens financial oversight of Harvard, threatens to pull student aid.

AI is Making Medical Decisions — But For Whom?

Doctors warn that without an ethical framework, patients could be left behind.

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

Explore More From Current Issue

Illustration of scientists injecting large syringe with mitochondria into human heart.

Do Mitochondria Hold the Power to Heal?

From Alzheimer’s to cancer, this tiny organelle might expand treatment options. 

Catherine Zipf smiling, wearing striped shirt and dark sweater outdoors.

Preserving the History of Jim Crow Era Safe Havens

Architectural historian Catherine Zipf is building a database of Green Book sites.  

Two people moving large abstract painting with blue V-shaped design in museum courtyard.

A Harvard Art Museums Painting Gets a Bath

Water and sunlight help restore a modern American classic.