Gross and Clarkson to Appear in CrossTalk: Scoops and Stars 5/20

One speaker gets the inside scoop and writes about society's "upper crust" and cultural institutions. The other is one of our leading stars and finest cultural treasures. They are writer Michael Gross and actress Patricia Clarkson, and they will continue the CrossTalk conversation on Thursday, May 20, at the Katonah Museum of Art.

Find out where their worlds will dovetail or collide when the Katonah Museum of Art http://www.katonahmuseum.org/>and the Katonah Village Library <http://www.katonahlibrary.org/> welcome Mr. Gross and Ms. Clarkson to

CrossTalk. A wine reception kicks the evening off at 6:30pm in the Museum's Sculpture Garden, followed by the hour-long program at 7pm. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Reservations are required. Proceeds from CrossTalk support children's programming at the Museum and the Library. For more information and to purchase tickets, contact the Museum at (914)
232-9555, ext. 0 or email info@katonahmusuem.org.

Now in its second season the provocative CrossTalk series features two experts talking on unrelated topics, with the collision of disparate subjects leading to unexpected insights and connections during the audience question-and-answer period that follows.

Michael Gross is recognized as one of America's most provocative writers of non-fiction and its "foremost chronicler of the upper-crust," according to Curbed NY. The New York Times called his latest book, http://www.mgross.com/pages/the-met/> Rogues' Gallery: The Secret History of the Moguls and the Money that Made the Metropolitan Museum (Broadway/Random House), "a blockbuster exhibition of human achievement and flaws." USA Today wrote, "Gross demonstrates he knows his stuff. It's a terrific tale.gossipy, color-rich, fact-packed ..What Gross reveals is stuff that more people should know." Gross is also the author of the 2005 best-seller, 740 Park, a "jaw-dropping" insider's look at the fabled cooperative apartment building. Gross is a contributor to Travel & Leisure, The New York Times, GQ, Tatler, Town & Country, and Esquire and he has written 26 cover stories for New York Magazine, including the all-time best-selling profile of John F. Kennedy, Jr.

Academy Award-nominee and Emmy Award winner Patricia Clarkson last appeared in Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. Her innovative work in independent film earned her the Independent Award for Acting Excellence at the 2009 ShoWest Awards. In 2003, her role in Pieces of April earned her nominations for Academy, Golden Globe, SAG, Broadcast Film Critics, and Independent Spirit awards. The National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics named her Best Supporting Actress of the Year for her work in Pieces of April and The Station Agent. She has also been seen in Whatever Works with Larry David and Blind Date with Stanley Tucci. She received an Emmy Award for the HBO drama Six Feet Under. Clarkson will next be seen starring in a romantic drama, Cairo Time, which won the Best Canadian Feature award at the 34th Toronto International Film Festival, is currently screening at the Tribeca Film Festal, and will be released by IFC in August 2010.