Pictures from an Institution: a Comedy is a 1954 novel by American poet Randall Jarrell. It is an academic satire, focusing on the oddities of academic life, in particular the relationships between the characters and their private lives. The nameless narrator, a Jarrell-like figure who teaches at a women's college called Benton, makes humorous observations about his students and his fellow academics; especially the latter, and in particular the offensively tactless novelist Gertrude, modeled on Mary McCarthy.
Some believe Benton was modeled after Sarah Lawrence College, where Jarrell had taught. The author was more circumspect, saying in an interview with the New York Times that "Benton is supposed to be just a type ... I've taken things from real places, but mostly have made them up".Nichols, Lewis. "Talk With Randall Jarrell", "The New York Times", May 2, 1954, accessed April 1, 2011.
Characters Unnamed narrator, a professor of literature Gertrude Johnson, a visiting novelist President Robbins, a former Olympic diver Gottfried Rosenbaum, composer in residence Constance, a longtime friend of the narrator, a beautiful music student
Awards Pictures from an Institution was a finalist for the National Book Award.National Book Foundation. "National Book Awards - 1955" 2007, accessed April 1, 2011.
References
External links An excerpt from the book at the University of Chicago Press. New York Times review by Orville Prescott (1954)