Clayson focuses on the dramatic effects the siege of Paris had on the city and its artists, especially as the face of the city changed and many of them became soldiers. Rather than halting artistic production, however, Clayson argues that artists responded to the crisis with a renewed energy, reexamining their city and their own identities. She focuses on Rosa Bonheur, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, and several others including Gustave Courbet, who was a member of the Paris Commune. (You may have noticed Courbet's portrait in the left-hand column of the Secondary Sources page, an item from the NUL collection.) This is an excellent contribution to arts-focused scholarship within Siege and Commune studies by NU Professor Hollis Clayson, and one which makes use of the Siege and Commune Collections at NUL.