My new book—In The Camp of Angels of Freedom: What Does It Mean to Be Educated?—started with a group of paintings. The COVID pandemic put an end to my practice of painting human beings from life, sitting a few feet apart in my studio, breathing the same air. When I began to consider how to …
Grifters, con artists, and sleight-of-hand entrepreneurs come in all ages, classes, genders, and colors. My subject today is the grifters born into ideal circumstances for learning the type of charm that makes people feel that your smile grants them access to excellence. I’m talking about the young, white, privileged, headline-making variety, whose exploits definitely call …