A Path Lit by Stars: Reminiscences

A Path Lit by Stars collects eighty vignettes—elegies and dishes of the famous—paired with photographs, detailing encounters with actors, singers, composers, dancers, visual artists, and political figures. Gustafson tells the tales of the stars who lit his path, with good and bad examples of a life well lived.

R. Eric Gustafson has spent his life in the company of art, artists, and the unexpected. Born in the Bronx in 1935, he studied theater at Carnegie Mellon before beginning his career at Parke-Bernet Galleries, advising legendary clients from Greta Garbo to Jacqueline Kennedy. His curatorial work in New York, Santa Fe, and Italy produced landmark theatre design exhibitions. Museums and universities on both sides of the Atlantic sought his eye. As founding director of the Apollo Muses Center for the Arts, he created a vibrant haven where celebrated performers and emerging talents met on equal footing. His books-ranging from memoir to travel writing to cultural history-include Cinderella Is a Man, Last Guy Waltzing, and Expect the Unexpected. Having made Santa Fe his home, he continues to chronicle the pleasures, paradoxes, and serendipities of a wide-open life.