Thursday, January 28, 2027
Book presentation and Paint and Sip Event
“When Harry Met Pablo” by Matthew Algeo with local artist Joanne Hasman
Discover the entertaining true story of “Truman, Picasso, and the Cold War Politics of Modern Art” with the option to paint and sip or just sit and relax.
Truman and Picasso were contemporaries and were both shaped by and shapers of the great events of the twentieth century—the man who painted Guernica and the man who authorized the use of atomic bombs against civilians.
But in most ways, they couldn’t have been more different. Picasso was a communist, and probably the only thing Harry Truman hated more than communists was modern art. Picasso was an indifferent father, a womanizer, and a millionaire. Truman was utterly devoted to his family and, despite his fame, far from a rich man. How did they come to be shaking hands in front of Picasso’s studio in the south of France?
Truman’s meeting with Picasso was quietly arranged by Alfred H. Barr Jr., the founding director of New York’s Museum of Modern Art and an early champion of Picasso. Barr knew that if he could convince these two ideological antipodes, the straight-talking politician from Missouri and the Cubist painter from Málaga, to simply shake hands, it would send a powerful message, not just to reactionary Republicans pushing McCarthyism at home, but to the whole world: modern art was not evil.
Truman author Matthew Algeo retraced the Trumans’ Mediterranean vacation and visited the places they went with Picasso, including Picasso’s villa, Picasso’s ceramics studio in Vallauris, and Château Grimaldi, a museum in Antibes.
A rigorous history with a heartwarming center, When Harry Met Pablo intertwines the biographies of Truman and Picasso, the history of modern art, and twentieth-century American politics, but at its core it is the touching story of two old men who meet for the first time and realize they have more in common—and are more alike—than they ever imagined.
About the author:
Matthew Algeo is an award-winning journalist and author. He is also the host of Kansas Public Radio’s Morning Edition.
Algeo has reported from four continents for NPR News and written for major publications including the Atlantic, New York Times, and Washington Post. He is the author of eight books, including Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip, which Christopher Buckley called “utterly likable,” and the Washington Post named one of the best books of the year.
In addition to reporting and writing, Algeo has held jobs as a convenience store clerk, a gas station attendant, a Halloween costume salesman, and a proofreader. He also worked in a traveling circus as a hot dog vendor. He holds a degree in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife, Allyson, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer, and their daughter, Zaya.
You can also bring your own supplies and we’ll provide you with an authentic 1911 roof shingle from the Truman Little White House to use as your canvas. Local artist Joanne Hasman will be present to offer painting tips.
About the artist:
Joanne Hassman is a professional fine artist, commercial artist, graphic designer, and educator whose creative career spans more than five decades. A BFA graduate, she began her career in Ohio working in advertising design, teaching art from elementary through college levels, and creating eight federally funded public murals for the City of Cincinnati.
Since 1985, Hassman has operated her independent graphic arts business in Key West, where she continues to create and market original fine art, prints, posters, hand-painted apparel, and acrylic paintings, as well as commissioned works. Her distinctive body of work includes abstract and surrealist-inspired paintings held in institutional and private collections.
Her artwork has been exhibited and sold at prominent Key West cultural institutions, including The Studios of Key West, the Key West Art Center, and the Key West Museum of Art & History at the Custom House. Among her career distinctions, documentation of Hassman’s Children’s Mural Project was placed in the U.S. National Archives during the Carter administration.
Today, Hassman remains an active member of the Florida Keys arts community, sharing her work at local art markets, exhibitions, and venues.
The event will take place on the lawn of the beautiful Harry S. Truman Little White House located at 111 Front St.
Gates open at 5:30pm
Presentation begins at 6:00pm. Book signing after the event.
All seating is general admission.
Tickets: Members ($20) Non-Members ($35)
If you’re unsure about your membership status, feel free to reach out to Stacey at [email protected] or call 305-294-9911 Ext.4.
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The Key West Harry S. Truman Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 that serves to preserve the Harry S. Truman Little White House, Florida’s only presidential museum, and programming that supports civic engagement, education and the historical and cultural influences of the Truman era. EIN# 75-2979668.
