To celebrate 60 years of “Pure Reading Pleasure”, internationally recognized publisher Harlequin, (and my employer 🙂 ) is sponsoring an exhibition of original cover art that will focus not only on the changing shape of women’s desire and fantasy but also on the social meaning and context of these images. Heart of a Woman: Harlequin Cover Art 1949-2009 is curated by Elizabeth Semmelhack, head curator of a major museum in Toronto. The retrospective show will look at the expanse of 60 years of artwork offering a unique insight into the profound changes that have occurred in women’s lives over the past six decades – from shifts in private desires to shifts in the politics of gender. The exhibition will also highlight some of the notable artists who created these stirring cover images, how the artistic process itself has changed over the decades and features an Interactive Wall where you can see yourself on a Harlequin cover!
Opening in New York City at the Openhouse Gallery the exhibit will be on view from May 29th, 2009 to June 12th, 2009, with more than a hundred original works of art and will include cover art from 1949 to 2009. Semmelhack has curated exhibits at the Museum of Sex in New York and the St. Louis Art Museum and was consultant to the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is the author of Heights of Fashion.
I served as an Art Director at Harlequin for a number of years before I assumed the role of Community manager at eHarlequin.com. I’ve seen so many changes through the years in cover treatments and I think this is a wonderful way to celebrate our 60th Anniversary and be able to showcase some of the truly wonderful examples, innovations and styles of art that have graced Harlequin covers through the decades.
Cheers, and enjoy this sneak peek!
Jayne
To thank our many readers for taking us into their hearts and homes for 60 years and making us the world’s leading publisher of romantic fiction, Harlequin is giving every woman in America a free book. 
A Word In Progress 