Biography as Pilgrimage: On the Trail of Peter Matthiessen

Join us at the Museum for an illustrated talk by author, Lance Richardson, who will discuss his eight-year undertaking — including a two-hundred mile trek in the Himalayas of Nepal — to write a biography of the twentieth century literary titan Peter Matthiessen, a novelist, naturalist, and Zen roshi, whose trailblazing work championed Native American rights and helped usher in the modern environmental movement.

WHEN: Sunday, July 26, 2026
TIME: 4-5 p.m.
PLACE: In person at the Museum and virtual via zoom
Reception and book signing to follow.

Matthiessen’s many books include travel classic The Snow Leopard, and also Men’s Lives, a moving account of the lives and struggles of East End Bonackers. He spent many childhood summers on Fishers Island.

Lance Richardson’s new book, True Nature: The Pilgrimage of Peter Matthiessen, was published in October 2025 to international acclaim. The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and Vogue named it one of the most notable books of the year. Richardson’s previous book, House of Nutter: The Rebel Tailor of Savile Row, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and named one of the notable titles of 2018 by The Sunday Times, The Mail on Sunday, Esquire and the American Library Association. He has been awarded numerous awards and fellowships, including a year-long residency at the New York Public Library’s Cullman Center. He currently teaches in the MFA Writing program at Bennington College, Vermont.

Matthiessen in the Himalayas photo by George Schaller