Member Gallery Book Club: Noa, Noa the Tahitian Journal

Join fellow Alliance members in the Main Gallery to explore literature – both fiction and non-fiction – revolving around art, artists, art history, and art appreciation. Participate in thoughtful group discussions and expand your appreciation and knowledge of the world of art!

Noa Noa — the most widely known of Gauguin’s writings — is reproduced here from a rare early edition (1919), in a lucid translation capturing the artist’s unpretentious style. Page after page reveals Gauguin’s keen observations of Tahiti and its people, and his passionate struggle to achieve the inner harmony he expressed so profoundly on canvas. Gauguin’s prose is as seductive as his paintings, filled with descriptions of warm seas, hidden lagoons, lush green forests, and beautiful Maori women.

The journal is captivating reading, offering a compelling autobiographical fragment of the soul of a genius and a rare glimpse of Oceanian culture. The brief periods of happiness Gauguin found among the Tahitians are eloquently expressed in his narrative. We understand the motives that drove him and gain a deeper appreciation of his art.

Today the manuscript provides unparalleled insight into Gauguin’s thoughts as he strove to achieve spiritual peace, and into the wellsprings of a singular artistic style which changed the course of modern art. This wonderfully affordable edition — enhanced by 24 of Gauguin’s South Seas drawings — makes a unique and passionate testament accessible to all art lovers.