Historian and Narrator John Monsky Captures the Dramatic Final Months of World War II With Multimedia Production Featuring 35-Piece Orchestra and Leading Broadway Artists, Historic Video, Original American Flags From Normandy Beach and Beyond, and Images from the Archives of Legendary Photojournalists
Historian and narrator John Monskybrings his groundbreaking American History Unbound series back to Zankel Hall on Saturday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 9 with The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to VE Day—an exciting multimedia production that tells the powerful story of the American landing on the Normandy beaches and subsequent 11 months of battle that finally secured victory in Europe.
On June 5, 1944, on the eve of D-Day, Major General Dwight D. Eisenhower told American forces, “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.” While D-Day marked a turning point and pathway to victory, the landings and eleven months of battle that followed would be among the most brutal for the American troops and Allied forces.
War photojournalist Lee Miller with American soldiers during World War II (photo taken by David Scherman)
This immersive concert experience, presented with the New-York Historical Society in the 75th anniversary year of VE Day, recounts this period through striking photography from the archives of American photojournalist Lee Miller, who, reporting for Vogue magazine, was among the 127 accredited female journalists covering the war, as well as letters home from a young American intelligence officer who landed at Normandy and fought with the army through VE day. Along the way, they connected with legendary American writer Ernest Hemingway and photojournalist Robert Capa. The paths of these four remarkable figures intersect and intertwine as they served as the “eyes for the world” from D-Day to eventual victory.
The program features the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, conducted by music supervisor Ian Weinberger (Hamilton), joined by leading Broadway vocalists including Nick Cordero (Waitress, A Bronx Tale), Kate Rockwell (Mean Girls), Tony LePage (Come From Away), and Bryonha Parham (After Midnight) performing evocative music of the era—from La Vie en Rose and Woody Guthrie’s What Are We Waiting On to signature songs of legendary bandleader Glenn Miller who volunteered for the Army at the height of his career—and selections from the film soundtracks of Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. Tickets for the June 6 and 9 performances are on sale to the general public now.
The American History Unbound series, exploring watershed moments in American history, combines live music performed by celebrated Broadway actors and a full orchestra, incorporating film, photography, historic flags and material culture from Monsky’s personal collection. Narrated by Monsky with a script punctuated with his own memories and observations, each production includes powerful examinations of singular and pivotal events—from the Revolutionary War and Civil War to D-Day—turning points in history that changed America.
Decades ago, Monsky’s mother bought her 12-year-old son his first “flag,” a red kerchief (an artifact from Theodore Roosevelt’s unsuccessful 1912 presidential bid), to appease his boredom while on a routine shopping outing. Today, his collection of flags and textiles — tangible artifacts that connect us to our history — has become one of the finest in the country. As his collection grew, so did annual Flag Day presentations held in Monsky’s apartment. As the events grew larger in scope—adding bands and Broadway singers to accent his talks—they eventually required portal-widening-living room-construction to accommodate friends and family, all riveted by Monsky’s storytelling. Sought-after invitations to these informal gatherings attracted the attention of The New Yorker in 2012, when Monsky took a second look at the War of 1812, with a presentation that included the commissioning pennant from the great wooden frigate, the USS Constitution. Louise Mirrer, the President and CEO of the New-York Historical Society, where Monsky is a trustee, recalled, “I attended the Flag Day celebrations and was absolutely dazzled. One of those years after viewing…a really exceptional explication of history, I said to John, ‘you know, you should do that in our auditorium.’” She has since called his D-Day production “the most moving event ever presented on the Society’s stage.”
Monsky has been creating and performing his American History Unbound productions for over a decade and was recently honored by the New-York Historical Society. After two previous sold-out productions—The Vietnam War: At Home and Abroad (2018) and We Chose To Go To The Moon (2019)—The Eyes of the World is the third installment of American History Unbound to be presented at Carnegie Hall.
“John has a passion for combining storytelling, music, visuals, and film in unique and creative ways that bring history to life and that connect emotionally with his audiences,” said Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall. “We look forward to this next edition which will take us through some of the most important moments of World War II, traveling on a journey that is sure to be powerful as well as illuminating.”
Like Monsky’s previous productions, The Eyes of the World includes tangible historic objects woven into the storytelling narrative, some of which have been in storage and not seen by the public for more than 75 years. His presentation includes the flag famously placed by Rudder’s Rangers on the rocks of Pointe du Hoc to mark the command post; a rarely-seen divisional color of the US 29th Infantry Division, which suffered tremendous losses on the beaches of Normandy; the flag from landing craft LCI 94, which picked up photojournalist Robert Capa from Omaha Beach on D-Day; community “service banners” hung in schools and churches across America, with blue stars indicating the number of their “boys” in service, plus more.
“I did not start out looking for the figures we follow in this production—Hemingway, Capa, Miller, and a young intelligence officer who landed on D-Day,” said John Monsky. “They revealed themselves as we researched a single flag flown on a Higgins boat and the boys it carried to the beaches. Every twist and turn surprised us as the story unfolded, with its conclusion making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, as Lee Miller and others come together in some of the War’s most dark and haunting places.”
“We are grateful for the contributions of historian and author Alex Kershaw, the staff of the American Battle Monuments Commission and The National World War II Museum, as well as Katie Couric and John Molner for their encouragement and passion to tell the stories of American history. It’s also been an extraordinary privilege to work with Lee Miller’s family—her son Antony Penrose and granddaughter Ami Bouhassane—to expose her work to the wider audience it deserves.”
Fifth Annual Mother Tongue Film Festival Runs Feb. 20–23
The Smithsonian’s Recovering Voices Initiative will host a film festival that showcases films from around the world. Centered around the United Nation’s International Mother Language Day Feb. 21, the fifth annual Mother Tongue Film Festivalwill offer visitors the opportunity to see 21 films featuring 28 languages from 22 regions and hear from filmmakers who explore the power of language to connect the past, present and future. The four-day festival runs Feb. 20–23.
Vai looks on at her daughter Mata, filmed in Kuki Airani, one of seven Pacific Nations featured in Vai (2019). Photo courtesy of MPI Media
Recovering Voices is an initiative of the Smithsonian founded in response to the global crisis of cultural knowledge and language loss. It works with communities and other institutions to address issues of Indigenous language and knowledge diversity and sustainability. Recovering Voices is a collaboration between staff at the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of the American Indian and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
“The Mother Tongue Film Festival provides a forum for conversations about linguistic and cultural diversity,” said Joshua Bell, curator of globalization at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and director of the Smithsonian’s Recovering Voices Program. “It gives the public an opportunity to talk with directors, producers and scholars who devote their lives to documenting the human experience.”
Screenings will take place at multiple locations across the Smithsonian and Washington, D.C. A complete schedule of screenings, including times and locations, is available on the festival’s website. Doors will open approximately 30 minutes before each show. All screenings are free and open to the public, with weekend programming for families.
The festival kicks off with an opening reception Thursday, Feb. 20, at 6 p.m. at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Festival highlights include:
A performance by Uptown Boyz, a local intertribal drum group, before the screening of Restless RiverFeb. 20 at 7 p.m. in the National Museum of the American Indian’s Potomac Atrium. The film is set at the end of World War II and follows a young Inuk woman as she comes to terms with motherhood after being assaulted by a soldier. It is based on Gabrielle Roy’s 1970 short novel Windflower (La Riviere Sans Repos). This film contains a scene of sexual violence that some viewers may find disturbing.
The world premiere of Felicia: The Life of an Octopus Fisherwoman Feb. 21 at 11 a.m. in the National Museum of Natural History’s Q?rius Theater. Felicia is one of the thousands of Malagasy fishermen and women on the Velondriake archipelago whose way of life is increasingly threatened by poverty and political marginalization. As an orphan and later as a mother, she turns to the sea as a means for sustenance, even when migration and commercial trawling threaten small-scale fishing operations. Like many other women in Madagascar, she embodies a steadfast willingness to keep moving forward in the face of major challenges.
The North American premiere of Ainu—Indigenous People of JapanFeb. 22 at noon in the National Museum of Natural History’s Baird Auditorium. The film tells the stories of four elders from the declining Ainu population in Japan. It sheds light on their traditions, both past and present, and the efforts to keep the culture and language alive in Japan. A Q&A with the director will follow the screening.
Age-appropriate viewers can enjoy Québec beer courtesy of the Québec Governmental Office during a late-night screening of Blood QuantumFeb. 22 at 8 p.m. in New York University Washington, D.C.’s Abramson Family Auditorium. The dead come back to life outside the isolated Mi’gmaq reserve of Red Crow, except for its Indigenous inhabitants who are strangely immune to the zombie plague. The local tribal law enforcement officer must protect his son’s pregnant girlfriend, apocalyptic refugees and the drunken reserve riff raff from the hordes of walking corpses infesting the streets of Red Crow. This film contains strong bloody violence and may not be suitable for younger audiences.
A screening of One Day in the Life of Noah PiugattukFeb. 23 at 3 p.m. in Georgetown University’s ICC Auditorium. The film is set in April 1961 as the Cold War heats up in Berlin and nuclear bombers are deployed from bases in the Canadian Arctic. In Kapuivik, north of Baffin Island, Noah Piugattuk’s nomadic Inuit band live and hunt by dog team as his ancestors did. When an agent of the Canadian government arrives, what appears as a chance meeting soon opens the prospect of momentous change, revealing Inuit-settler relationships humorously and tragically lost in translation. The events playing out in this film are depicted at the same rate as the characters experienced them in real life.
February, March Public Programming Begins With Discussion on Interim Director Spencer Crew’s Latest Book “Thurgood Marshall: A Life in American History”
“Proud Shoes: The Story Of An American Family” Exhibition Opens In Family History Center
A discussion with Spencer Crew, interim director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, on his new book Thurgood Marshall: A Life in American Historywill lead the winter programming at the museum. Crew will join in conversation with Paul Finkelman, president of Gratz College about the newly released biography, detailing the life of America’s first black Supreme Court justice and his cultural and historic significance. Several programs will celebrate Black History Month and Women’s History Month, including a musical performance and discussion on African American women in jazz, an interactive program on food accessibility and a discussion about African American women’s contributions in World War I at home and abroad. All programs held in the museum’s Oprah Winfrey Theater will stream live on the museum’s Ustream channel at ustream.tv
Historically Speaking: Thurgood Marshall—A Conversation Between Spencer Crew and Paul Finkelman
Spencer Crew, interim director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, will discuss his recently published biography of America’s first black Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall, with moderator Paul Finkelman, president of Gratz college and a specialist on American constitutional and legal history. Crew’s latest publication, Thurgood Marshall: A Life in American History, chronicles the justice’s legendary career as a civil rights litigator and founder of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. A book sale and signing will follow the discussion, courtesy of Smithsonian Enterprises. Admission is free; however, registration is required at https://nmaahc.si.edu/events/upcoming.
Curators from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History are traveling to a variety of campaign events, including the Feb. 3 Iowa caucus and the Feb. 11 New Hampshire primary to collect materials and memorabilia reflecting the electoral process. In addition to Iowa and New Hampshire, political history curators Lisa Kathleen Graddy, Jon Grinspan and Claire Jerry will collect from the Democratic and Republican national conventions this summer to augment the national collection, as well as from debates, rallies, protests and digital campaign activities.
“By actively collecting new materials at the primaries and the party conventions every four years, the museum documents the political campaign process and can share the spirit and complexity of the presidential campaigns with the American public, both now and in the future,” said Anthea M. Hartig, the Elizabeth MacMillan Director of the museum.
The museum’s Political Campaign collection of more than 100,000 objects is the largest of its kind, containing artifacts dating as far back as the inauguration of President George Washington. The collection includes items related to presidential history and political campaigning, as well as the history of the White House and first ladies; civil rights, women’s suffrage and reform movements; the World War II home front; and labor history.
“These objects represent a celebration of democracy and how people and parties express their identity and their campaigns,” Jerry said. “Whether it’s handmade or mass-generated, each object represents history in the making by showing how candidates communicate with the public and how the public in turn communicates with the candidates.”
The broader political history collection includes some of the country’s most important national treasures, including the small portable desk on which the future President Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, the top hat President Abraham Lincoln wore the night he was assassinated and items from the 2016 presidential election.
The museum will open an exhibition on the power of campaign rhetoric and language in July 2020 prior to the party conventions. The display will share the value and role of political or campaign words and language; encouraging visitors to look beyond the sound bites. It will feature historical images and an array of words in a super-graphic as well as a podium from the 1976 presidential debate, a speech timer from the 2012 convention and campaign material from 1896, 1964 and 1992. Words themselves will be considered “objects.”
The ongoing collecting is an initiative to acquire materials that capture the atmosphere and the democratic spirit of the primaries and conventions. It allows researchers and visitors to observe and compare how each election season brings new trends, strategies and methods of communication to the political forefront. A large selection of objects collected in the past is on view in “American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith,” an exhibition that examines the bold experiment to create a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.
Through incomparable collections, rigorous research and dynamic public outreach, the National Museum of American History explores the infinite richness and complexity of American history. It helps people understand the past in order to make sense of the present and shape a more humane future. The museum is located on Constitution Avenue N.W., between 12th and 14th streets, and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (closed Dec. 25). Admission is free. For more information, visit http://americanhistory.si.edu. For Smithsonian information, the public may call (202) 633-1000. On social, the museum can be found on Facebook at @americanhistory, and on Twitter and Instagram at @amhistorymuseum.
Free Admission to Civics Exhibitions for College Students Through 2020
As election year 2020 begins, the New-York Historical Society is launching a series of special exhibitions that address the cornerstones of citizenship and American democracy. Starting on Presidents’ Day Weekend, visitors to Meet the Presidents will discover how the role of the president has evolved since George Washington with a re-creation of the White House Oval Office and a new gallery devoted to the powers of the presidency. Opening on the eve of Women’s History Month, Women March marks the centennial of the 19th Amendment with an immersive celebration of 200 years of women’s political and social activism. Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions: Creating the American Republic explores the important roles state constitutions have played in the history of our country, while The People Count: The Census in the Making of America documents the critical role played by the U.S. Census in the 19th century—just in time for the 2020 Census.
To encourage first-time voters to learn about our nation’s history and civic as they get ready to vote in the presidential election, New-York Historical Society offers free admission to the exhibitions above to college students with ID through 2020, an initiative supported, in part, by The History Channel. This special program allows college students to access New-York Historical’s roster of upcoming exhibitions that explore the pillars of American democracy as they prepare to vote, most of them for the first time.
“The year 2020 is a momentous time for both the past and future of American politics, as the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, coincides with both a presidential election and a census year,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of New-York Historical. “This suite of complementary exhibitions showcases the ideas and infrastructure behind our American institutions that establish and protect our fundamental rights to make our voices heard and opinions count. We hope that all visitors will come away with a wider understanding of the important role each citizen plays in our democracy.”
Rembrandt Peale, George Washington (1732–1799), 1853 Oil on canvas New-York Historical Society, Bequest of Caroline Phelps Stokes The Constitution defines the president’s power and duties in broad strokes. George Washington was the first to put them into practice and was keenly aware of his singular place in history. Willing to assert his authority, he was just as willing to acknowledge the office’s constitutional limits. He was a president, not a king.
Meet the Presidents, February 14 – ongoing
President John F. Kennedy addresses the nation during the Cuban Missile Crisis, October 22, 1962. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum As commander-in-chief, President John F. Kennedy could have tried to destroy the missiles with a military strike. Concerned about the risk of nuclear war, he instead asked national security advisers to develop other options. He ordered a naval quarantine to prevent Soviet ships from reaching Cuba and communicated directly with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. After 13 tense days, the Soviets removed the weapons.
Opening on Presidents’ Day Weekend, a special permanent gallery on New-York Historical’s fourth floor features a detailed re-creation of the White House Oval Office, where presidents have exercised their powers, duties, and responsibilities since 1909. Visitors to New-York Historical can explore the Oval Office, hear audio recordings of presidential musings, and even sit behind a version of the President’s Resolute Desk for a photo op.
President Lyndon B. Johnson talks with Martin Luther King Jr., Whitney Young, and James Farmer, December 3, 1963 LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto Presidents are also the leaders of their party. However, serving both nation and party can be challenging, and leaders must sometimes choose between the two. President Lyndon Johnson put national needs first when he supported civil rights legislation that Southern Democrats had condemned.
President Harry Truman reads the Japanese surrender message surrounded by members of his Cabinet and others, August 14, 1945 Harry S. Truman Library & Museum President Harry Truman’s Oval Office announcement that the Japanese had surrendered effectively ended World War II.
Presidents can furnish the Oval Office to suit their own tastes, and this re-creation evokes the decor of President Ronald Reagan’s second term, widely considered a classic interpretation of Oval Office design. The Resolute Desk, which has been used by almost every president, was presented by Queen Victoria of England in friendship to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. The original was made from timbers from the British Arctic explorer ship H.M.S. Resolute, which was trapped in the ice, recovered by an American whaling ship, and returned to England. Other elements reminiscent of the Reagan-era on view include a famous jar of jelly beans, an inspirational plaque reading “It can be done,” and artist Frederic Remington’s Bronco Buster bronze sculpture of a rugged cowboy fighting to stay on a rearing horse.
Enit Zerner Kaufman, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945), ca. 1940–45 New-York Historical Society, Gift of Enit Kaufman No president has faced a greater economic crisis than Franklin D. Roosevelt. Elected early in the Great Depression, he took immediate steps to create the economic relief and recovery programs known as the New Deal. He worked so effectively with Congress in his first 100 days in office that this period has since become a measure of a president’s early success
President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev have their first meeting at the White House, December 8, 1987 Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum Presidents can furnish the Oval Office to suit their own tastes. This re-creation of the room evokes key elements of its appearance during Ronald Reagan’s second term. First Lady Nancy Reagan oversaw the office’s redecoration. She brought in Hollywood decorator Ted Graber and opted for a formal design that conveyed grandeur, power, and authority.
The Suzanne Peck and Brian Friedman Meet the Presidents Gallery traces, through artwork and objects, the evolution of the presidency and executive branch and how presidents have interpreted and fulfilled their leadership role. Highlights include the actual Bible used during George Washington’s inauguration in 1789 and a student scrapbook from 1962 chronicling JFK’s leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Meet the Presidents is curated by Marci Reaven, vice president of history exhibits, and Lily Wong, assistant curator.
Women March, February 28 – August 30
Lori Steinberg Pussyhat worn at Women’s March on Washington, 2017 Wool New-York Historical Society, Gift of Lori Steinberg, 2019.67.1 Clothing is frequently used by demonstrators to create a sense of unity or send a particular message. Many participants in the 2017 Women’s Marches wore home-made “pussy” hats. The original knitting pattern, created by the Pussyhat Project, was downloaded 100,000 times, and craft stores ran low on pink yarn.State Presidents and Officers of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1892 Bryn Mawr College Special Collections Although several Western states gave women the right to vote starting in 1869, the 1878 “Susan B. Anthony Amendment” proposing women’s suffrage gathered dust in Congress. New activism in the early 20th century reinvigorated the cause. While groups and individuals agreed on the end goal, they often disagreed philosophically. The National American Woman Suffrage Association, for example, initially pursued gradual change state by state, before focusing on a federal amendment.
For as long as there has been a United States, women have organized to shape the nation’s politics and secure their rights as citizens. Their collective action has taken many forms, from abolitionist petitions to industry-wide garment strikes to massive marches for an Equal Rights Amendment. Women March celebrates the centennial of the 19th Amendment—which granted women the right to vote in 1920—as it explores the efforts of a diverse array of women to expand American democracy in the centuries before and after the suffrage victory. On view in the Joyce B. Cowin Women’s History Gallery, Women March is curated by Valerie Paley, the director of the Center for Women’s History and New-York Historical senior vice president and chief historian, with the Center for Women’s History curatorial team. The immersive exhibition features imagery and video footage of women’s collective action over time, drawing visitors into a visceral engagement with the struggles that have endured into the 21st century.
INDIgenesis: GEN 3, A Showcase of Indigenous Filmmakers and Storytellers, March 19–28
Presented over two weeks, the series INDIgenesis: GEN 3, guest curated by Missy Whiteman (Northern Arapaho and Kickapoo Nations), opens with an evening of expanded cinema and includes several shorts programs in the Walker Cinema and Bentson Mediatheque, an afternoon of virtual reality, and a closing-night feature film.
The ongoing showcase of works by Native filmmakers and artists is rooted in Indigenous principles that consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations. GEN 3 connects perspectives and stories from the past, present, and future to convey Indigenous truths, teachings, and values.
“Indigenous artists use the creative process of filmmaking for revitalization and narrative sovereignty,” says Whiteman. “Our stories tell us where we came from, re-create our truths, affirm our languages and culture, and inspire us to imagine our Indigenous future. We come from the stars. How far will we take this medium?”
Throughout the program, join conversations with artists and community members centered on themes of Indigenous Futurism, revitalization, and artistic creation.
Opening Night: Remembering the Future Expanded Cinema Screening/Performance Thursday, March 19, 7:30 pm Free, Walker Cinema
Missy Whiteman’s The Coyote Way: Going Back Home, 2016. Photo courtesy the filmmaker.
Combining film, a live score, hoop dancing, hip-hop, and spoken word, a collective of Indigenous artists led by curator Missy Whiteman creates an immersive environment that transcends time and place. Guided by ancestral knowledge systems, traditional stories, and contemporary forms of expression, the expanded cinema program features performances by DJ AO (Hopi/Mdewakatonwan Dakota), Sacramento Knoxx (Ojibwe/Chicano), Lumhe “Micco” Sampson (Mvskoke Creek/Seneca), and Michael Wilson (Ojibwe). Archival found footage and Whiteman’s sci-fi docu-narrative The Coyote Way: Going Back Home(2016), filmed in the community of Little Earth in South Minneapolis, illuminate the space.
Missy Whiteman’s The Coyote Way: Going Back Home, 2016. Photo courtesy the filmmaker.
Indigenous Lens: Our RealityShort films by multiple directors Friday, March 20, 7 pm, $10 ($8 Walker members, students, and seniors), Walker Cinema
This evening of short films showcases a collection of contemporary stories about what it means to be Indigenous today, portraying identity and adaptability in a colonialist system. The program spans a spectrum of themes, including two-spirit transgender love, coming of age, reflections on friends and fathers, “indigenizing” pop art, and creative investigations into acts of repatriation. Digital video, 85 mins
Copresented with Hud Oberly (Comanche/Osage/Caddo), Indigenous Program at Sundance Institute (in attendance).
Lore Directed by Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians)
Images of friends and landscapes are fragmented and reassembled as a voice tells stories, composing elements of nostalgia in terms of lore. 2019, 10 min. View excerpt.
Adam Khalil, Zack Khalil, Jackson Polys, and Bailey Sweitzer’s Culture Capture: Terminal Adddition, 2019. Photo courtesy the filmmakers.
Culture Capture: Terminal Adddition Directed by New Red Order: Adam Khalil (Ojibway), Zack Khalil (Ojibway), Jackson Polys (Tlingit), Bayley Sweitzer
The latest video by the public secret society known as the New Red Order is an incendiary indictment of the norms of European settler colonialism. Examining institutionalized racism through a mix of 3D photographic scans and vivid dramatizations, this work questions the contemporary act of disposing historical artifacts as quick fixes, proposing the political potential of adding rather than removing. 2019, 7 min. View excerpt.
Shane McSauby’s Mino Bimaadiziwin, 2017. Photo courtesy the filmmaker.
Mino Bimaadiziwin Directed by Shane McSauby (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians)
A trans Anishinaabe man meets a young Anishinaabe woman who pushes him to reconnect with their culture. 2017, 10 min. View excerpt.
The Moon and the Night Directed by Erin Lau (Kanaka Maoli)
Erin Lau’s The Moon and the Night, 2017. Photo courtesy the filmmaker.
Set in rural Hawaii, a Native Hawaiian teenage girl must confront her father after he enters her beloved pet in a dogfight. 2018, 19 min. View excerpt.
Erin Lau’s The Moon and the Night, 2017. Photo courtesy the filmmaker.Erin Lau. Photo courtesy the filmmaker. Photo By: Antonio Agosto
Shinaab II Directed by Lyle Michell Corbine, Jr. (Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa Indians)
A young man seeks to honor the memory of his late father in a film that looks at Ojibwe ideas surrounding death and mourning. 2019, 6 min.
Daniel Flores’ Viva Diva, 2019. Image courtesy the artist.
Viva Diva Directed by Daniel Flores (Yaqui)
This road trip movie follows Rozene and Diva as they make their way down to Guadalajara for their gender affirmation surgeries. 2017, 15 min. View excerpt.
Daniel Flores. Image courtesy the artist.
Dig It If You Can Directed by Kyle Bell (Creek-Thlopthlocco Tribal Town)
An insightful portrait of the self-taught artist and designer Steven Paul Judd (Kiowa), whose satirical manipulations of pop culture for an Indigenous audience are gaining a passionate, mass following as he realizes his youthful dreams. 2016, 18 min. View excerpt.
Open 365 days a year, the VMFA shares its growing collection of African American art all year long. During Black History Month 2020, it’s great time to visit the collection and join the ongoing celebration of African American art, history, and culture.
Boy and H, Harlem, 1961, Louis Draper (American, 1935–2002), gelatin silver print, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment. Courtesy of the Louis H. Draper Preservation Trust, Nell D. Winston, trustee.
TALK Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop Dr. Sarah Eckhardt, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, VMFA, in conversation with Nell Draper-Winston Thu, Jan 30 | 6:30–7:30 pm, $8 (VMFA members $5), Leslie Cheek Theater
VMFA’s Dr. Sarah Eckhardt, curator of Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop, will provide an overview of the exhibition, which features photography by members of the Kamoinge Workshop, an artist collective founded in New York City in 1963. Nell Draper-Winston, sister of photographer Louis Draper, will join Dr. Eckhardt in conversation to discuss her brother’s photographs and his roots in Richmond.
Celebrate African and African American Family Day: Mali
OPEN STUDIO PLUS PERFORMANCE Grandma’s Hands Sun, Feb 2 | 1–4 pm, Free, no tickets required. Art Education Center. Performances in the Atrium 2 pm & 3 pm
Join others as they encounter generational lessons from two sisters with remarkable stories to share from the perspective of the African American South. Through song, stories, and signed poetry, we will learn how women have made an impact on culture through practices passed down from family matriarchs.
RVA Community Makers Art Activity Sun, Feb 2 | 1–4 pm, Free, no tickets required. Art Education Center
During Open Studio Plus Performance, celebrate family with Richmond artist Hamilton Glass and local African American photographers.
Take your digital family portraits onsite at VMFA to become part of a mixed-media public art collaboration. Glass will guide attendees in hands-on participation. You can also capture fun memories in the Family Portrait Photo Booth.
Extending the meaning of family to community, the project also brings together six local photographers—Regina Boone, Courtney Jones, Brian Palmer, Sandra Sellars, Ayasha Sledge, and James Wallace— who will create portraits of six selected community leaders.
FIRST FRIDAY Spirituals, Fri, Feb 7 | 6–8 pm, Free, no tickets required. Atrium
Welcome sopranos Lisa Edwards Burrs and Olletta Cheatham to the First Friday series with an evening of Spirituals. Lisa and Olletta will sing many powerful songs of the genre and explore their resonating impact on history.
DANCE PARTY VMFA After Hours: VMFA Is for Lovers Sat, Feb 15 | 7–11:30 pm, $45/person ($35 VMFA members). Museum wide
Join host Kelli Lemon for a night of art, music, dancing, and love after dark. Catch DJ Lonnie B on the spin in the Marble Hall. Enjoy Legacy Band performing live music in the Atrium. Experience the exhibitions Edward Hopper and the American Hotel and Working Together: Louis Draper and the Kamoinge Workshop.
All galleries will be open during this event to give you access to our diverse collections of art from around the world.
LIVE JAZZ, Dominion Energy Jazz Café: Jazz Around the Museum. Thu, Feb 13 | 6–9 pm, Free, no tickets required. Marble Hall
Back by popular demand! Who says a Jazz band can’t party, get down, and get funky? Led by saxophonist Robert “Bo” Bohannon, Klaxton Brown combines the old with the new, and will rock you steady all night long. Prepare to get Klaxtonized!
Tour To Include Chicago, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Houston Starting June 2021
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery has announced a five-city tour next year of the portraits of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama by artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, respectively, that will launch during the summer of 2021. Next year, in mid-May 2021, the Obama portraits, commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, will temporarily go off view from the museum’s exhibitions for tour preparation.
The official portraits of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama, on permanent view at The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, by artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald (Image provided by The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery)
The tour will commence in Chicago, June 18, 2021, and will continue, with the works traveling across the country, through May 30, 2022. This is one of several initiatives being set by the Portrait Gallery to engage communities nationwide throughout the next four years. The artworks are expected to reach millions of people who may not be able to visit Washington, D.C.
“We view the country as our community,” said Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery. “Since the unveiling of these two portraits of the Obamas, the Portrait Gallery has experienced a record number of visitors, not only to view these works in person, but to be part of the communal experience of a particular moment in time. This tour is an opportunity for audiences in different parts of the country to witness how portraiture can engage people in the beauty of dialogue and shared experience.”
The paintings were commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery and revealed in a special unveiling ceremony Feb. 12, 2018, in the presence of President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, and the artists. Wiley and Sherald are the first African American artists to have been selected for the National Portrait Gallery’s official portraits of a President or First Lady.
In addition to the paintings, the tour will include an audio-visual element, Portrait Gallery-led teacher workshops and curatorial presentations in each location. In anticipation of the tour, the Portrait Gallery is also publishing a book in partnership with Princeton University Press. The Obama Portraits will be released Feb. 11.
With the Obama portraits, the National Portrait Gallery continues its more than 45-year legacy of touring exhibitions. American presidents, in particular, have been the subject of several Portrait Gallery exhibitions. The exhibition “Theodore Roosevelt: Icon of the American Century” (1998 to 2000) traveled to several cities as did “Portraits of the Presidents from the National Portrait Gallery” (2000 to 2005). The museum’s acclaimed “Lansdowne” portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart toured to seven venues in “George Washington: A National Treasure” (2002 to 2004). The National Portrait Gallery’s collection includes more than 1,600 portraits of U.S. presidents and is the nation’s only complete collection of U.S. presidents accessible to the public.
Tour venues include:
Art Institute of Chicago; Chicago—June 18, 2021–Aug. 15, 2021
Brooklyn Museum; Brooklyn, New York—Aug. 27, 2021–Oct. 24, 2021
Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Los Angeles—Nov. 5, 2021–Jan. 2, 2022
High Art Museum; Atlanta—Jan. 14, 2022–March 13, 2022
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Houston—March 25, 2022–May 30, 2022
This winter, travelers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport can view the Smithsonian poster exhibition “City of Hope: Resurrection City and the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign.” The exhibition is on view through April 30 in the Gallery Walk located in Historic Terminal A between the Historic Lobby and the present-day ticketing lobby. “City of Hope” honors Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision for economic justice and opportunity for every U.S. citizen. It examines the Poor People’s Campaign—a grassroots, multiracial movement that drew thousands of people to Washington, D.C. For 43 days between May and June 1968, demonstrators demanded social reforms while living side-by-side on the National Mall in a tent city known as Resurrection City.
Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, “City of Hope” highlights a series of newly discovered photographs and an array of protest signs and political buttons collected during the campaign. Featuring 18 posters, the exhibition can help visitors engage and contextualize the Poor People’s Campaign’s power, impact and historical significance.
Although President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a “war on poverty” in 1964, tens of millions of Americans were denied livable wages, adequate housing, nutritious food, quality education and health care. Led by King and Ralph David Abernathy, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference declared poverty a national human rights issue and organized the Poor People’s Campaign. Stretching 16 acres along the National Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, Resurrection City housed 3,000 protesters with structures for essential services like sanitation, communications, medical care and childcare. It included a dining tent, cultural center and a city hall on a “Main Street” where groups would gather.
The Poor People’s Campaign marked a key moment in U.S. history and set the stage for future social justice movements. Within months after Resurrections City’s evacuation, major strides were made toward economic equality influencing school lunch programs, rent subsidies and home ownership assistance for low-income families, education and welfare services through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and more.
“City of Hope: Resurrection City and the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign” is on view through the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Art and Exhibits program.
SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 65 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. For exhibition description and tour schedules, visit sites.si.edu.
Immersive Exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art Highlights Importance of the Preservation of Cultural Heritage
Using the most recent digital techniques, the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, take visitors on a virtual tour of three ancient cities—Palmyra and Aleppo in Syria and Mosul in Iraq.
Age Old Cities
The exhibition, located in the Sackler Gallery, highlights the devastation of these historically significant sites but also offers hope for their reconstruction and rehabilitation. By including the testimony of Iraqis and Syrians, the installation underscores the importance of place in the preservation of historical and architectural memory.
“Age Old Cities: A Virtual Journey from Palmyra to Mosul” will be on view at the Sackler Gallery from Jan. 25 through Oct. 26. It was organized by the Arab World Institute in Paris, and created in collaboration with Iconem, which specializes in digitizing cultural heritage sites in 3-D, and in partnership with UNESCO. The exhibition offers an immersive experience that emphasizes the importance of preserving the world’s fragile cultural and built heritage.
“‘Age Old Cities’ is a landmark exhibition, not only for its innovative use of digital technology within a museum context, but also for the poignant story it tells,” said Chase F. Robinson, the Dame Jillian Sackler Director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art. “This exhibition narrates the heartbreaking story of cultural destruction—and resilience—in these cities, and we are proud to be the exhibition’s inaugural U.S. venue. Palmyra, Mosul and Aleppo are cornerstones of world culture, and it is our shared responsibility to ensure that these cities are preserved to continue to tell their rich histories and inspire future generations.”
In the recent past, Iraq and Syria have suffered profound upheavals that have destroyed many significant cultural and religious sites—leaving little of the rich historical past. “Age Old Cities” sheds light on the devastating destruction, the important cultural heritage of Syria and Iraq, and the need to preserve these sites.
The exhibition invites visitors into the heart of each of the three cities with large-scale projections of dynamic imagery and 3-D reconstructions of damaged monuments. The projections shift gradually from destruction to progressive reconstruction. To contextualize the sites, visitors will also see projections of historical photographs of the structures.
“Beyond the stones, this heritage is a common good, and safeguarding it is the responsibility of all,” said Jack Lang, president of the Arab World Institute. “Citizens of every faith, archaeologists and curators have all worked and continue working today hand in hand to shelter, protect and rebuild.”
The exhibition offers more than a visual of potential reconstruction of mostly destroyed sites; it introduces visitors to the people who still live in the cities. Several videos throughout the exhibition feature interviews with residents, as well as archeologists and curators who work at great personal risk to protect and preserve these sites. Other videos explore unique parts of the cities such as the souks (markets) of Aleppo or the tomb of the Three Brothers in Palmyra (an underground burial chamber turned into an ISIS base of operations).
Throughout the run of the exhibition, the museum will offer a series of programs focusing on each city. Programming will include lectures and presentations on architectural heritage and current events, family programs and related film and music programs to enhance the visitor experience, further explore the rich cultures of these cities, as well as the challenges and opportunities of cultural restoration and public policies.
Exhibition Features 50 Rarely Exhibited Charcoal Drawings by America’s Master Portraitist
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will present a once-in-a-lifetime assemblage of 50 charcoal drawings by American expatriate artist John Singer Sargent. One of the most celebrated and successful portraitists of his day, Sargent abruptly stopped painting portraits in 1907 and produced them almost exclusively in charcoal from then on. He ultimately created several hundred of these highly admired but rarely exhibited works. “John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal” is the first major exhibition to focus solely on his portraits in this medium. The exhibition, which is organized by the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Morgan Library & Museum, New York, will be on view at the Portrait Gallery Feb. 28 through May 31.
John Singer Sargent, ‘Daisy Fellowes,’ c. 1920, charcoal on paper. Private collection, Columbus, Georgia. Photo by Jim Cawthorne.
Celebrated art historian, former museum director and Sargent descendant Richard Ormond is guest curator of the exhibition. The curator of the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery is Robyn Asleson, curator of prints and drawings. The curator of the exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum is Laurel O. Peterson, Moore Curatorial Fellow, Department of Drawings and Prints. Asleson and Ormond will attend the Portrait Gallery’s press preview Feb. 27 from 10 to 11:30 a.m., and Ormond will deliver a public presentation on the artist’s life and legacy Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. The evening program is free, with advance registration at npg.eventbrite.com.
“The full scope of Sargent’s technical versatility as a draftsman and his unparalleled powers of observation as a portraitist are on display in these charcoal drawings,” Asleson said. “On view will be portraits of several dozen extraordinary individuals who not only shaped the world Sargent lived in, but also made enduring contributions to history and culture that continue to impact us today. This exhibition will bring visitors face to face with many of the people who helped define our modern era.”
The National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition will display portraits of Sargent’s contemporaries, including musicians, actors, artists and patrons, literary figures, political leaders and tastemakers—the “influencers” of Sargent’s day. Visitors will encounter likenesses of Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), Prime Minister Winston Churchill, poet William Butler Yeats, painter Sir William Blake Richmond, actress Ethel Barrymore, civil rights attorney and activist Moorefield Storey and avant-garde art and music patron Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Also on display will be depictions of Bostonians, the people who made up Sargent’s self-proclaimed American home, and The Souls, a group of intellectual young British aristocrats for whom Sargent served as unofficial portraitist.
The exhibition includes several loans from European private collections and works held by the Morgan Library & Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, London, and other prominent public institutions. “John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal” is organized by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Morgan Library & Museum, New York. The presentation of the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery is made possible with lead funding from Ann S. and Samuel M. Mencoff. Additional support is provided by Dr. and Mrs. Paul Carter, Andrew Oliver Jr., and the American Portrait Gala Endowment.
Born in Italy to expatriate American parents, Sargent gained international fame through his dazzling oil portraits of an elite clientele. During the early 20th century, at the height of that success, Sargent astonished the transatlantic art world by suddenly abandoning portraits in oil. For the rest of his life, he primarily explored likeness and identity through the medium of charcoal, producing several hundred portraits of individuals recognized for their accomplishments in fields such as art, music, literature and theater. With his skill in swiftly capturing the essence of his subjects, Sargent was able to produce a finished drawing in under three hours. Often made as tokens of friendship or esteem, these portraits vividly depict some of the most original and creative figures of the early 20th century.
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery tells the multifaceted story of the United States through the individuals who have shaped American culture. Spanning the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists, whose lives tell the American story.
The National Portrait Gallery is part of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture at Eighth and F streets N.W., Washington, D.C. Smithsonian information: (202) 633-1000. Connect with the museum at npg.si.edu.
Museum Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage With Exhibitions and More
To mark the centennial of women’s suffrage, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will celebrate the “Year of the Woman” in 2020 with two signature exhibitions designed to amplify women’s crucial role in history. On March 6, the museum will open “Creating Icons: How We Remember Women’s Suffrage,” and “Girlhood (It’s Complicated)” will open June 12.
The exhibitions will be mounted as part of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative #BecauseOfHerStory. The initiative represents one of the country’s most ambitious efforts to collect, document, display and share the compelling story of women, deepening the understanding of women’s contributions to the nation and the world. It amplifies women’s voices to honor the past, inform the present and inspire the future. (Information is available at https://womenshistory.si.edu.)
The spotlight on women’s contributions will shine on other museum projects throughout 2020, including “Picturing Women Inventors,” a display celebrating the contributions of female inventors; “The Only One in the Room,” a showcase exploring women in business as part of the “American Enterprise” exhibition; and a focus on diverse female educators in the “Giving in America” exhibit. A variety of women’s history programs, and digital and education initiatives will expand this content.
The suffrage centennial exhibitions tie into other museum efforts under the tagline “Who Counts?” demonstrating that women’s history is political history. “Who Counts?” will link the museum’s efforts in collecting, documenting and creating civic engagement programs around the 2020 election, the census, the 15th Amendment and the 19th Amendment. The central messages of “Who Counts?” are broad and provide probing questions about the relationship between citizenship, resources and counting; how categories of belonging and exclusion are created and re-created over time; and how individuals and groups assert that they do count.
Exhibitions and Displays Opening in 2020
“Creating Icons: How We Remember Women’s Suffrage” Opens March 6, 2020; closes March 2021
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which recognized women’s right to vote, the museum will open “Creating Icons: How We Remember Women’s Suffrage.” Highlighting women’s achievements in winning suffrage, it invites audiences to explore how the country celebrates milestones, what people as a nation remember, what (and who) has been forgotten or silenced over time and how those exclusions helped create the cracks and fissures in a movement that continue to impact women’s politics and activism.
Using a jewel box approach, the museum will display a group of artifacts in conjunction with graphics and media, interweaving stories of the famous and the forgotten. The centerpiece of the exhibition will be a 6-foot-tall portrait of Susan B. Anthony. Painted by Sarah J. Eddy in 1900, the work depicts an idealized Anthony being presented with flowers by young boys and girls on her 80th birthday. The exhibition will also feature items donated between 1919 and 1920 by the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (now the League of Women Voters), materials related to Adelaide Johnson and Alice Paul, and contemporary items from the 2017 Women’s March as well as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s gavel.
Named by Architectural Digest as one of the “15 Breathtaking Botanical Gardens to Visit This Season,” the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden presents Dallas Blooms, the largest annual floral festival in the Southwest, from February 29 to April 12. Themed “Sounds of Spring,” the spring festival showcases an explosion of color from 100 varieties of spring bulbs and more than 500,000 spring-blooming blossoms, thousands of azaleas and hundreds of Japanese cherry trees. Presented by IBERIABANK, Dallas Blooms features six majestic musical topiaries including a harp, guitar, saxophone, bass, violin and piano, some of which are eight feet in length—perfect for photos and social media posts.
Alan Walne, Dallas Arboretum board chairman, said, “Dallas Blooms marks that spring has arrived in the South! We invite the community to experience one of the country’s most colorful floral displays this spring where more than 250,000 people will visit this season.”
Named by Architectural Digest as one of the “15 Breathtaking Botanical Gardens to Visit This Season,” the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden presents Dallas Blooms, the largest annual floral festival in the Southwest, from February 29 to April 12. Themed “Sounds of Spring,” the spring festival showcases an explosion of color from 100 varieties of spring bulbs and more than 500,000 spring-blooming blossoms, thousands of azaleas and hundreds of Japanese cherry trees.
Each week showcases a different genre of music from Texas country to classical rock, including live bands each weekend. Dallas Arboretum‘s A Tasteful Place, a garden that celebrates growing, harvesting and preparing fresh food, also features classes in theme with each music genre.
Reopened for the spring, the nationally acclaimed Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden features 17 indoor/outdoor galleries, 150 interactive science games, four plant labs at new times that vary daily and an abundance of themed adventures throughout the Dallas Blooms festival. The Children’s Adventure Garden is open daily from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. For a full list of upcoming events and activities, visit www.dallasarboretum.org/childrensadventuregarden.
Throughout the week, there are special days and festivities including Mommy and Me Mondays, Tiny Tot Tuesdays, BOGO Wednesdays and CC Young Senior Living Thursdays.
Mary Brinegar, Dallas Arboretum president and CEO, added, “There is something for everyone at Dallas Blooms, and we’ve been told we have the largest display of tulips in a public garden outside of Holland. As the tulips bloom throughout the festival, the finale is the mass flowering of the garden’s collection of 3,000 azaleas that bloom along with the Japanese cherry trees, ushering in spring with vibrant color everywhere.”
In honor of Black History Month 2020, the U.S. Postal Service will honor one of televison’s best journalists of the past 40 years. The 43rd stamp in the Black Heritage series honors Gwen Ifill, issued in panes of 20, one of the nation’s most esteemed journalists. The stamp art features a photo of Ifill taken in 2008 by photographer Robert Severi. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp.
Gwen Ifill was among the first African Americans to hold prominent positions in both broadcast and print journalism.
After graduating from college in 1977, Ifill worked at The Boston Herald American, The Baltimore Evening Sun, The Washington Post and The New York Times. In 1994, she took a broadcast job at NBC, where she covered politics in the DC bureau. Five years later, she joined PBS; she became the senior political correspondent for“The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer”and moderator and managing editor of “Washington Week in Review” — the first woman and first African American to moderate a major television news-analysis show.
In 2013, she became co-anchor of the “PBS NewsHour,”part of the first all-female team to anchor a national nightly news program. Ifill died in 2016.
Among Ifill’s honors were the Radio Television Digital News Foundation’s Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award (2006), Harvard’s Joan Shorenstein Center’s Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism (2009) and induction into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame (2012). In 2015, she was awarded the Fourth Estate Award by the National Press Club. She received numerous honorary degrees and served on the boards of the News Literacy Project and the Committee to Protect Journalists, which renamed its Press Freedom Award in her honor.
The 2016 John Chancellor Award was posthumously awarded to Ifill by the Columbia Journalism School. In 2017, the Washington Press Club Foundation and the “PBS NewsHour” created a journalism fellowship named for Ifill. Her alma mater, Simmons University, opened the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities in 2018.
The stamp dedication ceremony is free and open to the public. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtags #GwenIfillForever and #BlackHeritageStamps.
Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through The Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop, by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724), by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
Americana Week 2020 will offer over a curation of more than 560 lots across the three live auctions. Viewings begin with the Outsider Art sale opening on January 11th at the Rockefeller Center galleries with the remaining two auctions, Chinese Export Art and Important American Furniture, Folk Art and Silver, opening on January 15th. In conjunction with the sales, Christie’s will host the annual Eric M. Wunsch Award for Excellence in the American Arts on Wednesday, January 22 at 6pm honoring Laura Beach, Lita Solis-Cohen, and Mira Nakashima, as well as a Christie’s Lates event on Wednesday, January 15 combining a preview of the auctions, music and specialist talks.
On January 17 Christie’s will offer 130 lots of Outsider Art featuring rare and important masterpieces from the category’s top artists, including Bill Traylor, William Edmonson, Henry Darger, Thornton Dial and Martin Ramirez, among others.
The sale presents a strong selection of 8 works by Bill Traylor, including Man on White, Woman on Red / Man with Black Dog (double-sided) 1939-1942($200,000-400,000), a double-sided work gifted from filmmaker Steven Spielberg to writer Alice Walker after the conclusion of filming The Color Purple, and Red Man on Blue Horse with Dog from The Louis-Dreyfus Family Collections ($150,000-250,000). A large scale watercolor and carbon transfer narrative work by Henry Darger, Untitled (188,189), double sided($400,000-600,000), a minimalist and modern sculpture by William Edmondson, Figural Birdbath, 1930s($250,000-500,000), and Augustin Lesage’s highly detailed and colorful Untitled, 1945($100,000-150,000) are among the additional top lots in the sale.
The sale features a strong selection of works by European and Asian artists, such as Adolf Wolfli, Guo Fengyi, and Hiroyuki Doi, as well as remarkable pieces by American artists including William Hawkins, AG Rizzoli, and Judith Scott. The auction includes important selection of works from The William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation, sold to benefit the Harlem Children’s Zone and the Foundation.
CHINESE EXPORT ART FEATURING THE TIBOR COLLECTION, PART II | JANUARY 23 | 10AM
Chinese Export Art Featuring the Tibor Collection, Part II, taking place in New York on January 24th, presents 166 lots of porcelain and paintings made for the great commerce between China and the West in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The variety on offer includes blue and white, famille verte, famille rose, armorial pieces and rare European subjects.
Leading the offerings from the Tibor Collection is a pair of Famille Rose Soldier Vases and Covers, Qianlong Period (1736-1795) ($100,000-150,000).
The sale is led by a rich assortment from the Tibor Collection, which encompasses every category of Chinese export porcelain – from small, charming teawares to massive pairs of important jars – gathered from Latin America, Europe and the U.S. The collector was drawn to figure and animal models, including lifelike Chinese porcelain birds, pairs of pups to mythical beasts and amusing packs of blanc de chine foo lions. Leading the offerings from the Tibor Collection is a pair of Famille Rose Soldier Vases and Covers, Qianlong Period (1736-1795) ($100,000-150,000).
Other private collections represented are the well-known Eckenhoff Collection of mugs and a private New York collection of ‘Pronk’ porcelain. China Trade paintings include a group of charming reverse-paintings on mirror and a rare pair of oil portraits of Commissioner Qiying and his consort.
IMPORTANT AMERICAN FURNITURE, FOLK ART AND SILVER | JANUARY 24 | 10AM
Peaceable Kingdom by Edward HicksJoshua Johnson, A Pair of Portraits: Boy with Squirrel and Girl with Dog ($100,000 – 150,000)Continue reading →
Celebration Will Include Multiple Concerts and Parties, One-of-a-kind Tours, The Auction at Graceland and Events With Priscilla Presley, Jerry Schilling and Elvis’ TCB Band
Music fans from around the world will travel to Elvis Presley’s Graceland® in January to celebrate the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s™ 85th birthday. Numerous events are scheduled for January 8-11, 2020, including the annual Elvis Birthday Proclamation Ceremony on January 8, The Auction at Graceland, an Elvis Birthday Bash and Evening Tour, a Birthday Celebration Concert featuring Terry Mike Jeffrey and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, plus the fan-favorite concert Elvis: Live in Concert featuring TCB Band members James Burton, Glen Hardin and Ronnie Tutt, Priscilla Presley and Jerry Schilling. Many of the birthday celebration events will be held at The Guest House at Graceland™, the AAA Four Diamond-rated resort hotel located just steps from Graceland. For a complete day-by-day schedule and to purchase tickets visit Graceland.com.
Elvis Presley Graceland logo
The
highlights of the four days of celebrations will be two concerts at
the Soundstage at Graceland:
On
Friday, January 10, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra brings
their annual Elvis Pops Concert to Graceland. Musician and
singer Terry Mike Jeffrey and his band join the orchestra for
a special birthday salute featuring music from all facets of Elvis’
career. With performances featuring his greatest hits, movie songs
and love ballads that will take you from Memphis to Las Vegas to
Hawaii all in one evening.
There’s no place more magical than Elvis Presley’s Graceland® in Memphis at Christmastime. Recently nominated as one the Best Holiday Historic Home Tours in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards, Graceland celebrates the Christmas season this year with two festive holiday events.
Elvis Presley’s Graceland®logo
The holiday season kicks-off on November 21 with the time-honored tradition of Graceland’s annual Christmas Lighting Ceremony. This year’s ceremony features a special performance from country music star Chase Bryant, who will be joined by cast members from Hallmark Channel’s new movie “Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays” to help light Graceland Mansion for the holidays. Cast members expected to appear include Lori Beth Sikes, Alan Wells, Nina Thurmond, Trace Masters, Laney Malone, Hailey Harris, Anniston Almond, and Shaleen Cholera. This year’s holiday celebration features a 100 percent chance of snow, a special visit from Santa Claus, kids crafts and fun for the entire family.
Following
the lighting ceremony, the festivities continue into the night with
the world premiere of Hallmark Channel’s all-new holiday
film at the Soundstage at Graceland – “Christmas at
Graceland: Home for the Holidays.” Shot on location at
Graceland and other locations throughout Memphis, the film stars
Adrian Grenier (“Entourage”) and Kaitlin Doubleday
(“Empire,” “Nashville”), as well as a special appearance
by Priscilla Presley. “Christmas at Graceland: Home
for the Holidays” premieres Saturday, November 23 at 8
PM EST (7 PM CST), as part of Hallmark Channel’s annual
“Countdown to Christmas.”
Graceland’s
Lighting Ceremony is
free and open to the public. The premiere event for “Christmas
At Graceland: Home for the Holidays”
is a ticketed event, however complimentary tickets will be made
available that night at the door, based on availability. A limited
number of reserved seats are also available to anyone who purchases
advanced tickets to any Graceland attraction for November
21,
subject to availability. Tickets must be reserved by calling
901-332-3322 or 800-238-2000. For additional information visit
Graceland.com/Christmas.
Graceland’s
celebrations continue into the holiday season when the annual Holiday
Concert Weekend returns
December
13-14,
and for the third year, fans and visitors can enjoy a festive weekend
filled with two incredible concerts, holiday-themed evening tours of
Graceland
Mansion,
carolers, a holiday brunch and more.
The Home for the Holidays with Elvis Concert on Friday night is an unforgettable concert experience conducted by Robin Smith of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. Enjoy Elvis’ holiday favorites performed live on stage with Elvis’ vocals, backed by the full, rich sound of a 32-piece orchestra, featuring local Memphis musicians, plus vocalists, a choir and dancers.
Historic Hotels and Recipients Honored at the Awards Ceremony and Gala at Pinehurst Resort (1895)
Historic Hotels of America® logo
Historic
Hotels of America®and Historic
Hotels Worldwide® are pleased to announce the winners of the
2019 Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence. Recipients were
honored at a special ceremony and gala at Pinehurst Resort (1895)
on Thursday, November 7. Awards were presented before an
audience of more than 200 industry leaders, owners, senior
management, and representatives of the finest historic hotels from
across the United States of America and from around the world. Honors
were given in multiple categories ranging from Hotelier of the
Year and Hotel Historian of the Year to Best Historic
Resort, Historic Hotelier of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, and
others.
“These 2019 winners represent more nearly 500 years of history and include the finest legendary and iconic historic hotels from across the United States of America and from around the world” —Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Director, Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide.
From
more than 200 nominees, the following Historic Hotels of America
and Historic Hotels Worldwide hotels and hoteliers were
honored with these prestigious annual awards for 2019:
Blackburn Inn (1828) Staunton, Virginia (Photo: Business Wire)
Historic
Hotels of America New Member of the Year: Blackburn Inn (1828)
Staunton, Virginia
Hotel Bethlehem, Historic Hotel Bethlehem (1922) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (Photo: Business Wire)
Best
Historic Hotel (76-200 Guestrooms): Historic Hotel Bethlehem
(1922) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
The Wigwam (1929) Litchfield Park, Arizona (Photo: Business Wire)
Best
Historic Hotel (201-400 Guestrooms): The Wigwam (1929) Litchfield
Park, Arizona
The Hermitage Lobby, The Hermitage Hotel (1910) Nashville, Tennessee (Photo: Business Wire)
Best
City Center Historic Hotel: The Hermitage Hotel (1910) Nashville,
Tennessee
Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa (1847) Point Clear, Alabama (Photo: Business Wire)
Best
Historic Hotel (Over 400 Guestrooms): Grand Hotel Golf Resort &
Spa (1847) Point Clear, Alabama
Featuring Yara Shahidi, Kate Moss, Megan Thee Stallion, Spike and Tonya Lee and more.
Coach
hasunveiled
“Wonder For All,” its campaign for the 2019
holiday season. Starring a fun, diverse cast that includes actress
Yara Shahidi, model Kate Moss, rapper Megan Thee
Stallion in her first-ever fashion campaign, Spike and Tonya
Lee, and more friends of Coach, the campaign
follows the band of revelers as they gather at an impromptu party at
a New York brownstone. Capturing the magical mood of the season, it
champions the belief of coming together for the holidays and the
inclusive, authentic spirit of New York.
Coach Logo (PRNewsfoto/Coach)
Photographed
by Juergen Teller, who debuted his first campaign for Coach
this fall, the colorful, irreverent print campaign highlights the
individuality of the campaign’s cast members. Set on the Upper West
Side and featuring Shahidi, Moss, Megan Thee Stallion as well
as model Fernanda Ly, actor Miles Heizer and an
unexpected feathered friend, it sees the cast in joyful, unfiltered
scenes that highlight the house’s spirit of playfulness and the
authentic self-expression that defines New York City.
The
campaign also introduces the house’s new Horse and Carriage
collection. Seen on Kate Moss and a new version of the Kat
Saddle Bag, the collection reimagines Coach’s iconic Horse and
Carriage motif as a cool, colorful pattern on bags and
ready-to-wear. First introduced in the 1950s, the Horse and Carriage
is a symbol of Coach’s legacy of leathercraft and New York heritage,
and the house’s first-ever code.
Meghan Thee Stallion in Coach’s 2019 “Wonderr for All” Holiday Campaign, her very first fashion campaign ever.
“Wonder
For All” is also a series of short
films written and directed by Bunny Kinney. Featuring
Spike and Tonya Lee, actress Camila Morrone, winner of
Season 8 of Ru Paul’s Drag RaceBob the Drag Queen,
and writer, actor and producer Ben Sinclair, as well as
special appearances by the Shahidi family and the Newark
Boys Choir, the films celebrate the magic and spontaneous fun of
being together during the most festive time of year.
Coach
customers in Japan will be able to play a limited-edition Rexy
holiday video game where the house’s beloved mascot snowboards
through animated Coach worlds with the goal of reaching the holiday
party.
The 93rd edition of the iconic holiday event ushers in the season with its signature giant character balloons, floats of fantasy, the nation’s finest marching bands, whimsical groups, musical performances, and the one-and-only Santa Claus
Start the countdown, in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 … Let’s Have a Parade!
A
spectacle like no other awaits millions, as the 93rd Annual Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade®, the nation’s most cherished holiday
tradition, kicks off the holiday season. On Thursday, November 28
at 9 a.m., the time honored phrase Let’s Have a Parade™
will ring from the starting line as the march of fantasy takes to the
streets of New York City. With more than 8,000 volunteers dressed as
clowns, guiding the flight of larger-than-life character balloons,
transporting spectators to new worlds on signature floats, bringing
the beat in the nation’s best marching bands and entertaining the
crowds as part of dazzling performance groups, the annual march is
jam-packed with entertainment. With more than 3.5 million spectators
in New York City and more than 50 million television viewers
nationwide, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is America’s premiere
holiday celebration.
“Spectacle
is synonymous with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and each year
we aim to create an even bigger one than the last, with incredible
must-see entertainment for millions of spectators nationwide,”
said Susan Tercero, executive producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade. “Featuring an amazing line-up of high-flying character
balloons, jaw-dropping animated floats, world-class marching bands
and performance groups, artists covering a variety of musical genres,
and of course, the one-and-only Santa Claus, we are ‘Parade Ready’
and can’t wait to take to the streets of New York City to once
again herald the arrival of the holiday season.”
A
NATIONAL SPECTACLE
The
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the nation’s biggest and
most anticipated holiday celebration. Broadcast nationally on NBC,
with millions of families nationwide tuning in to watch the
excitement unfold, the TODAY Show’s Savannah Guthrie,
Hoda Kotb and Al Roker will host the three-hour broadcast
from 9 a.m. – noon (in all time zones).
For
more than nine decades, the magic of the holiday season has begun
with the march of the Macy’s Parade, as the spectacle
enthralls the nation with its signature mix of whimsical elements and
dazzling performances. For the 93rd edition, the line-up will feature
16 giant character balloons; 40 novelty balloons, heritage
balloons, balloonicles, balloonheads and trycaloons; 26
floats; 1,200 cheerleaders and dancers; more than 1,000
clowns; and 11 marching bands.
To
kick off the revelry, a special must-see opening number featuring a
who’s who of actors, singers, dancers and more, all joined by the
cast and Muppets of Sesame Street, will start the Thanksgiving Day
party with a smash.
Following
the opener, on 34th Street, Broadway’s best shows will take
a star turn in front of Macy’s famed flagship with special
performances. In addition, the show-stopping Radio City Rockettes®
will bring their signature high-kicking magic to Herald Square.
For
spectators in New York or those traveling to the city to see it live,
the 93rd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade begins at 9
a.m., kicking off from 77th Street and Central Park West.
The procession will march to Columbus Circle, turn onto
Central Park South and then march down 6th Avenue/Avenue of
the Americas. At 34th Street, the Parade will make its
final turn west and end at 7th Avenue in front of Macy’s
Herald Square.
INFLATABLE
ICONS
Since
1927, when the Parade’s character balloons first joined the
revelry, the inflatables have become a signature element featuring
some of the world’s most beloved characters. Over time, the
inflatables have morphed from air-filled characters carried on sticks
to high-flying giants, balloonheads and even hybrid inflatables with
vehicles inside (balloonicles) or tandem tricycles (trycaloons).
New
giants joining the line-up this year include Astronaut Snoopy by
Peanuts Worldwide, Green Eggs and Ham by Netflix, and
SpongeBob SquarePants & Gary by Nickelodeon. In celebration
of his 75th birthday, a heritage balloon and fan favorite will return
to the Parade as Smokey Bear once again takes to the skies
over Manhattan.
Coach To Debut As First Luxury Fashion Brand In Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
In
2005, the Macy’s Parade began to feature what would become a
collection of high-flying artwork created in collaboration with
renowned contemporary artists. The special series, entitled Macy’s
Blue Sky Gallery, has featured some of the art world’s finest
creators. This year, for the eighth edition of the series, the
world’s most renowned female contemporary artist will take her
iconic art to new heights as Yayoi Kusama joins the Macy’s
Parade with her Love Flies Up to the Sky balloon. The design
was developed by the artist from face motifs that appear in her
“My Eternal Soul” series of paintings–a
body of work that she began in 2009. Vibrant and animated, the
paintings embody Kusama’s innovative exploration of form and
revolve around a tension between abstraction and figuration. The
artist’s signature dots — which recur throughout her practice —
are also featured prominently in the Macy’s Parade balloon design.
Previous balloons in the Macy’s Parade Blue Sky Gallery series have
included works from famed artists Tom Otterness, Jeff Koons, Keith
Haring, Takashi Murakami, Tim Burton, KAWS, and
FriendsWithYou™.
Returning
giant balloon characters include Diary of A Wimpy Kid® by Abrams
Children’s Books; Sinclair Oil’s DINO®; The Elf on
the Shelf®; Goku; Illumination Presents Dr. Seuss’
The Grinch; Jett by Super Wings™; Olaf from Disney’s
“Frozen 2”; Chase from PAW Patrol®; Pikachu™ by
the Pokémon Company International; Pillsbury Doughboy™;
Power Rangers Mighty Morphin Red Ranger; Ronald McDonald®;
and Trolls. Completing the inflatable lineup is the famed
Aflac Duck, Sinclair Oil’s Baby DINOs and the Go
Bowling balloonicles, as well as Universal Orlando Resort’s
The Nutcracker.
Programming Launches With Talk on Museum’s Latest Book, “We Return Fighting: World War I and the Shaping of Modern Black Identity”
Programming Lineup Features Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, Susan Rice, Beverly Guy-Sheftall and Treva Lindsay
To
commemorate the
upcoming
Veterans
Day and
the centennial of World
War I,
the Smithsonian’s
National
Museum of African American History and Culture
has announced a public program on the museum’s latest book, We
Return Fighting: World War I and the Shaping of Modern Black
Identity,
Thursday,
Nov. 7.
Guest curator Krewasky
Salter will
join Howard
University Professor Greg Carr
for a one-on-one discussion on the WWI experience told through the
lens of African American soldiers, military families, women, anti-war
advocates and public intellectuals who played a vital role in WWI and
how they hoped to live out post-Civil War expectations of full
citizenship upon returning home. The
discussion
is free and open to the public. More information about the book and
the upcoming WWI exhibition is available on the museum’s
website.
The
book event is the highlight of an lively November programming
schedule that also features a program on African American feminism
with Beverly Guy-Sheftall and Treva Lindsay, an
intimate conversation with former National Security Adviser to
President Obama and U.S. ambassador to the United NationsSusan Rice and an interactive program on how economic and
social inequities negatively affect the health of communities of
color in the latest installment of the program series, A
Seat at the Table.
All
programs held in the museum’s Oprah
Winfrey Theater will
stream live on the
museum’s
Ustream channel at ustream.tv.
November
Programming
Lectures
& Discussion: Is Womanist To Feminist As Purple Is To Lavender?:
African American Women Writers and Scholars Discuss Feminism
Inspired
by Alice Walker’s expression on feminism, Is Womanist To
Feminist As Purple Is To Lavender? African American Women Writers and
Scholars Discuss Feminism refers to a quotation taken from her
seminal anthology of essays, In Search of Our Mothers’
Gardens: Womanist Prose. In the piece, Walker gave name to
the idea of the importance of theorizing feminism from an African
American perspective. Through performance and discussion, the program
will explore feminism and womanism in contemporary African American
women’s intellectual and literary thought featuring Beverly
Guy-Sheftall, a pioneering veteran of the field of African
American feminism, and Treva Lindsey, a leading representative
of the contemporary generation of feminist scholars. Before and after
the discussion, two dynamic poetry performers, Holly Bass and
Venus Thrash, will explore feminism creatively. The program
will end with an audience Q&A and book signing. Admission is
free; however, registration is required at
https://nmaahc.si.edu/event/upcoming.
A
Seat at the Table: Racial Disparities and Health
Sunday,
Nov. 3; 6:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (Heritage Hall)
The
museum will host a thought-provoking conversation on racial
disparities in health outcomes in this latest installment of the A
Seat at the Table program series. Cindy George of Texas
Medical Center’s TMC Pulse magazine will moderate a
discussion between National Medical Association Director Martin
Hamlette and University of Maryland Professor Craig Fryer
about how economic and social inequities negatively impact the health
outcomes of communities of color. After the presentation, audience
participants will have the opportunity to share their stories and
ideas on ways of improving their health and the health of their
communities. A Seat at the Table is an interactive program for
participants to consider challenging questions about race, identity
and economic justice over a family-style meal. To purchase tickets
and to learn about the latest installment of A Seat at the Table,
visit https://nmaahc.si.edu/event/upcoming.
Lectures
& Discussion: We Return Fighting: World War I and the Shaping of
Modern Black Identity
Photo Courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture)
Ahead
of Veterans Day, the museum will host a public program on the
its latest book: We Return Fighting: World War I and the Shaping
of Modern Black Identity. Through essays and photos, the book
tells the stories of how black soldiers fought a war abroad and came
home to combat racial injustices in the United States. Copies of the
book will be available in Heritage Hall. For ticket
information and more details on the book event, visit
https://nmaahc.si.edu/event/upcoming.
Cinema
at NMAAHC: WAVES
Sunday,
Nov. 10; 2 p.m. (Oprah Winfrey Theater)
The
museum will host a special screening of the movie Waves.
The film, starring Sterling K. Brown and Lucas Hedge,
is set against the vibrant landscape of South Florida. Waves
traces the epic emotional journey of a suburban African American
family—led by a well-intentioned but domineering father—as they
navigate love, forgiveness and coming together in the aftermath of a
loss. For ticket information and more details on the book event,
visit https://nmaahc.si.edu/event/upcoming.
Cultural
Expressions: Mindful Eating for the Holiday
To
kick-off the holiday season, the museum will host a panel discussion
on how we all can eat healthier during the holidays. With
Thanksgiving around the corner, many Americans gather with friends
and family to feast on good food. Foods enjoyed by African Americans
traditionally represent an important cultural touchstone during the
holidays. However, many dishes, while delicious, are not always the
healthiest choices. In this program, nutritionists and food
historians will discuss the history behind favorite holiday foods and
how to adapt recipes using more healthful ingredients. For ticket
information and more details on the book event, visit
https://nmaahc.si.edu/event/upcoming.
Birthright
Citizens: A History of Race & Rights in Antebellum America
Saturday,
Nov. 16; noon (Robert F. Smith Family History Center, Level 2)
Special
guest Martha S. Jones will discuss how African Americans
fought for their legal rights through the courts, conventions and the
legislative process from her award-winning book Birthright
Citizens: A History of Race & Rights in Antebellum America.
With a focus on 19th-century Baltimore, Birthright Citizens
uses archival records and new scholarly research to uncover how free
blacks influenced the terms of citizenship for all Americans. Jones
is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and a
professor of history at Johns Hopkins University. To register
for the event, email familyhistorycenter@si.edu.
December
Programming
Tough
Love: Conversation Between Susan Rice and Lonnie G. Bunch III
Susan
Rice, former national security adviser and U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, will discuss her recently published memoir, Tough
Love. Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III will be in
conversation with Rice for an hour, focusing on the challenges that
Rice faced while leading the National Security Agency during the
Obama administration, along with pivotal moments in her storied
career. Books will be available for sale and signing courtesy of
Smithsonian Enterprises. For ticket information and more
details on the book event, visit
https://nmaahc.si.edu/event/upcoming.
Yayoi Kusama Joins the 93rd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade® With the Debut of the “Love Flies Up to the Sky” Balloon
Yayoi Kusama joins the Parade’s illustrious Blue Sky Gallery – a series of balloons which highlight inflatable artworks by some of the world’s most renowned contemporary artists; the new high-flying art coincides with an exhibition of Kusama’s new work at the celebrated David Zwirner Gallery in New York City
This
Thanksgiving, the world’s most renowned female contemporary artist
will take her iconic art to new heights as Yayoi Kusama joins
the legendary Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade®. On
Thursday, November 28, 2019, Kusama’s Love Flies Up to the
Sky balloon will debut in the annual holiday spectacle in front
of more than 3.5 million spectators and more than 50 million viewers
nationwide, as the latest entry in the Parade’s Blue Sky Gallery
series, which invites celebrated contemporary artists to
contribute artworks to the high-flying lineup.
Photo Credits: Yayoi Kusama, the world-renowned artist, joins the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade’s Blue Sky Gallery series of balloons designed by contemporary artists with the introduction of her creation “Love Flies Up to the Sky” this November. (Photo: Business Wire)
The
Love Flies Up to the Sky balloon was developed by the artist from
face motifs that appear in her My Eternal Soul series of
paintings–a body of work that she began in 2009. Vibrant and
animated, the paintings embody Kusama’s innovative exploration of
form and revolve around a tension between abstraction and figuration.
The artist’s signature dots — which recur throughout her practice
— also feature prominently in the Macy’s Parade balloon design.
“In
2005, we began featuring inflatable artworks by the world’s most
renowned contemporary artists in the Macy’s Parade lineup with the
hope of bringing fine art to the masses and making it more
accessible,” said Susan Tercero, executive producer of Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade. “This year the world’s most popular
living female artist, the iconic Yayoi Kusama, joins the Parade’s
acclaimed Blue Sky Gallery series of balloons, making these creations
a collection of high-flying art worthy of museums around the world.
We can’t wait for millions to enjoy the hypnotic, colorful and
whimsical beauty of Love Flies Up to the Sky this Thanksgiving.”
Yayoi Kusama, the latest invited artist to light up the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Photo Credit: Yayoi Kusama
Contemporary
artist Yayoi Kusama was born in Matsumoto, Japan in 1929 and
has been creating art for more than eight decades. During her lengthy
career her work has transcended two of the most important art
movements of the second half of the twentieth century: pop and
minimalism. Today, she is the world’s best-selling female artist
and holds the record for the highest price paid at auction for a work
by a living female artist. According to a recent review of museum
attendance by The Art Newspaper, she is also the world’s
most popular artist. From 2012-2018, Yayoi Kusama had over 55
solo shows and exhibitions at more than 45 art institutions
worldwide, covering more than 23 countries and breaking longtime
attendance records. Over 6 million visitors have attended these
exhibitions, many often waiting more than two hours to enter the
exhibition and experience Kusama’s transformative work. The North
American Tour of Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors, which
traveled from 2017-2019 to six institutions, had over 599,800
visitors.
35th Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony To Take Place On May 2, 2020 At Public Auditorium In Cleveland, Ohio
Fans can cast their vote for Inductees at Google, Rockhall.com, or the Museum.
All Images courtesy of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
2020 induction logo
The
Rock and Rool Hall of Fame
(1100 Rock and Roll Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44114. Phone:
216.781.7625) today announced the nominees for 2020 Induction, and
the list includes previous nominees and first-time nominees. Nominees
for induction into the Class of 2020 are:
Pat Benatar Promotional Photo, 1984, from album “Tropico”
Pat
Benatar
Dave
Matthews Band
Depeche
Mode
The
Doobie Brothers
Whitney
Houston
Judas
Priest
Kraftwerk
MC5
Motörhead
Nine
Inch Nails
The
Notorious B.I.G.
Rufus
featuring Chaka Khan
Todd
Rundgren
Soundgarden
T.Rex
Thin
Lizzy
To
be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have
released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to
the year of nomination. Nine out of 16 of the Nominees are on the
ballot for the first time, including Dave Matthews Band, The
Doobie Brothers, Motörhead, The Notorious B.I.G.,
Pat Benatar, Soundgarden, T.Rex, Thin Lizzy,
and Whitney Houston.
Whitney Houston
Inductees
will be announced in January 2020. The Rock & Roll Hall
of Fame 2020 Induction Ceremony, presented by Klipsch Audio,
takes place at Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio on May
2, 2020. The Ceremony is preceded by Induction Week, which
includes a special dedication of the 2020 Inductee exhibit,
Celebration Day, and other events and activities at the Museum
and around town! Ticket on-sale information will be announced later.
Depeche Mose
Nominee
ballots are sent to an international voting body of more than 1,000
artists, historians and members of the music industry. Factors such
as an artist’s musical influence on other artists, length and depth
of career and the body of work, innovation and superiority in style
and technique are taken into consideration.
Nominees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2020, top to bottom: Kraftwerk, MC5, Motorhead, Nine Inch Nails, T.Rex
The
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame offers fans the opportunity to
participate in the induction selection process. Beginning today
and continuing through 11:59 p.m. EST on January 10, 2020,
fans can go to Google and search “Rock Hall Fan Vote” or
any nominee name plus “vote” to cast a ballot with Google, vote
at rockhall.com, or at the
Museum in Cleveland. The top five artists, as selected by the public,
will comprise a “fans’ ballot” that will be tallied along with
the other ballots to choose the 2020 inductees.
Above, The Dave Matthews Band (top) and Todd Rundgren (bottom)
Nominees
were announced live on SiriusXM VOLUME channel 106’s “Feedback”
morning show today with hosts Nik Carter and Lori
Majewski along with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation
President & CEO Joel Peresman.
The Notorious B.I.G
Rock
Hall donors and members get exclusive Induction ticket opportunities.
Donate or join by January 31, 2020 to be eligible. Visit
rockhall.com/support to
learn more.
Rufus, featuring Chaka Khan
Klipsch
Audio, a leading global speaker and headphone manufacturer, is a
strategic partner and presenting sponsor of the Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame, its Induction Ceremony events and the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame’s Main Stage. Klipsch’s renowned
products deliver the power, detail and emotion of the live music
experience throughout the iconic museum.
Black and white promotional photograph of Thin Lizzy, 1991
Follow
the Rock Hall on Facebook (@rockandrollhalloffame), Twitter
and Instagram (@rockhall) and join the conversation at
#RockHall2020.
The Renowned Chef’s Collective Of Chefs To Reimagine Recipes And Partner With Elite Napa Wineries To Raise Funds For Children’s Museum Of Napa Valley
Chef Charlie Palmer teams up with our visiting chefs and top Napa Valley Cabernet producers for this one of a kind food and wine event at Archer’s boutique hotel set in the heart of downtown Napa.
Chef Charlie Palmer announces American Fare, a celebration of American cuisine, will take place Monday, November 18 at Charlie Palmer Steak and Sky & Vine Rooftop Bar at Archer Hotel Napa. At American Fare, the Charlie Palmer Collective of chefs will each partner with top Napa Valley Cabernet producers to recreate recipes from Charlie Palmer’s American Fare cookbook. Guests will get to taste and judge who they think is best. Proceeds from this one-of-a-kind event will benefit the Children’s Museum of Napa Valley. Hotel packages and à la carte tickets are now available for purchase on american-fare.com.
“More
than 30 years ago, I made a commitment to featuring regional American
ingredients at Aureole,”
said Chef Charlie Palmer. “Since
then, our collective’s footprint has expanded tremendously but my
dedication to the constant progression of domestic cuisine is
unwavering. I’m excited to see how this next generation of talented
chefs has reimagined my Progressive American recipes.”
American
Fare will
feature sustainably raised, heritage breed, antibiotic-free pork,
beef, poultry and game courtesy of
Joyce Farms,
a family-owned company dedicated to using humane, all-natural and
regenerative farming methods.
American Fare showcases the very best of American-inspired bites and Cabernet wines from Napa.
Participating
Chefs
Francisco
Lopez, Jr., Executive Chef – Charlie Palmer Steak Napa
Jason
Collins, Executive Pastry Chef – Charlie Palmer Steak Napa
Scott
Romano, Executive Chef – Dry Creek Kitchen
Lisa
Kaufman, Executive Pastry Chef – Dry Creek Kitchen
Eduardo
“Lalo” Saavedra, Executive Chef – Charlie Palmer Steak Las
Vegas
Alexandre
Grégoire, Executive Chef – Aureole Las Vegas
Michael
Mahoney, Executive Chef – Charlie Palmer Steak Reno
Chris
Engel, Executive Chef – Aureole NY
Fernando
Marulanda, Executive Chef – Upper Story/Crimson & Rye
Michael
Ferraro, Director of Culinary Concepts, Charlie Palmer Collective
Mike
Ellis, Executive Chef – Charlie Palmer Steak DC
Participating
Wineries & Additional Stations
Atelier
Find Foods
Black
River Caviar
Charles
Krug
Clos
Du Vol
Duckhorn
Vineyards
Faust
John
Anthony
Journeyman
Meat Co
Louis
M. Martini
OHM
Coffee Roasters
Raymond
Vineyards
Red
Mare
Silver
Oak
Vintage
Sweet Shoppe
Whitehall
Lane
Events
American
Fare Event
Monday,
November 18, 2019
| 6:00-9:00 p.m. | Archer Hotel Grand Salon
$95
Chef
Charlie Palmer’s American Fare showcases the very best of food and
wine with American-inspired bites by the master chef along with
creations from the Charlie Palmer Collective, all paired with iconic
Napa Valley Cabernet wines. Guests will enjoy live music by Full
Chizel.
American
Fare After Party with Tito’s Handmade Vodka*
Monday,
November 18, 2019 | 9:00-11:00 p.m. | Sky & Vine Rooftop Bar
$40
Continue
the American Fare experience with a VIP after party with hand-crafted
cocktails featuring Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Mingle with Charlie
Palmer, guest chefs and winemakers with the best views in Napa.
*After
party tickets must be purchased with an American Fare event ticket.
Tickets
& Hotel Packages
A limited number of Archer Hotel Napa lodging packages are also available for purchase via american-fare.com
Hotel
Lodging Package ($550)
One
Night Accommodations for Two in Deluxe King Guest Room
Valet
Parking
Two
Tickets to Charlie Palmer’s American Fare Event
Two
Tickets to American Fare After Party with Tito’s Handmade Vodka
American Fare is sponsored in part by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Joyce Farms and Fiji. For more information and a complete listing of sponsors, visit american-fare.com.
Refreshing apple liqueur crafted with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey available now
At 70 Proof, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple Features A Perfect Blend Of Green Apples Enhanced By The Sweet Bold Notes Of Jack.
The
Jack Daniel Distillery introduces Jack Daniel’s Tennessee
Apple, a blend of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey with
finely crafted apple liqueur. The newest member of the Jack Daniel’s
family launches nationally this month.
Introducing the newest member of the Jack Daniel’s family: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple, a blend of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey with finely crafted apple liqueur. (Photo: Business Wire)
Jack
Daniel’s Tennessee Apple is crafted from Jack Daniel’s
Tennessee Whiskey, charcoal mellowed and matured in new American
oak barrels, and apple liqueur made from the highest quality
ingredients to deliver a delicious Jack Daniel’s experience. Jack
Apple is a deliciously smooth and refreshing apple-flavored whiskey
that’s uniquely Jack.
“Mr.
Jack was known for being an innovator and always exploring how to do
things differently, including adding different flavors and
ingredients,” said Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Jeff
Arnett. “Tennessee Apple couples the character of our Jack
Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey with the taste of crisp, green apples.
It’s like a freshly picked apple in a glass of Jack.”
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Apple logo
Jack
Daniel’s Tennessee Apple is
nationally available now in 50 ml, 375 ml, 750 ml and 1-liter
bottle sizes with a suggested retail price of $26.99 for 750 ml.
Presented in Partnership with Akomawt Educational Initiative and Jonathan James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag Nation)
The
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), is offering its first free
celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Monday, October
14, presented in partnership with the Akomawt Educational
Initiative and Jonathan James-Perry, Tribal Citizen of
the Aquinnah Wampanoag Nation.
The
community celebration re-positions Columbus Day as a holiday
to honor the original inhabitants of the Americas. Part of the Fenway
Alliance’s 18th annual Opening Our Doors Day, Indigenous
Peoples’ Day at the MFA recognizes the heritage of
Native Americans and the histories of their nations and communities,
promoting the artistry of indigenous peoples in Greater Boston and
New England. Throughout the day, visitors can explore the Native
North American Art Gallery, enjoy music and dance, and drop in on
a variety of family art-making activities. Indigenous Peoples’ Day
is sponsored by Ameriprise Financial. Additional programming
support is provided by The Lowell Institute.
“The
MFA was founded in 1870 and stands on the historic homelands of the
Massachusett people. This event is one step in building bridges and
engaging indigenous communities with the Museum through local and
region-wide partnerships with artists, performers, educators, tribal
nation leaders and community members,” said Makeeba
McCreary, Patti and Jonathan Kraft Chief of Learning and
Community Engagement at the MFA. “As a museum, we acknowledge
the long history of the land that we occupy today and seek ways to
make these narratives more prominent and visible within our
galleries.”
During the celebration, visitors are invited to share their perspectives on Cyrus Dallin’s Appeal to the Great Spirit (1909), a monumental sculpture on the MFA’s Huntington Avenue lawn, through a community-activated art project. Visitor feedback will help to inform the interpretation of the work—continuing conversations that began during a spring 2019 lecture and community discussion. In the afternoon, a welcome and blessing will be held by Matthew Teitelbaum, Ann and Graham Gund Director; Elizabeth Solomon, Member of the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag; Jonathan James-Perry, Tribal Citizen of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Nation; and Chris Newell, Passamaquoddy, Akomawt Educational Initiatve.
Additional
highlights of the community celebration include:
Tours
in the Native North American Art Gallery co-led by MFA
curators and educators from the Akomawt Educational Initiative
Native
American hoop dance performances by Toronto-based
professional hoop dancer Lisa Odjig (Ojibwe), telling the
story of creation; narrated by renowned musician Chris Newell
(Passamaquoddy), also the co-founder and director of education at
the Akomawt Educational Initiative
Vocal
performances by Jennifer Kreisberg
(Tuscarora, North Carolina)
Hand
drum and contemporary powwow song performances by the Iron River
Singers, an intertribal northern style group composed of Ojibwe,
Abenaki and Wampanoag singers from the South Coast of Massachusetts
Interactive
songs and dances by The Kingfisher Dance
Theater, featuring members of the Southern New England
Native community
Art-making
activities led by Elizabeth James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag)
and Kerri Helme (Mashpee Wampanoag)
Weaving
and beadwork demonstrations with artist
Sparrow Plainbull (Haliwa-Saponi)
Indigenous
Peoples’ Day one of 11 annual community celebrations at the
MFA, co-created with valued community partners, artists and
performers, highlighting external perspectives and local expertise.
The series includes Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Lunar New Year,
Nowruz, Memorial Day, Highland Street Foundation Free Fun Friday,
Latinx Heritage Night, ASL Night, Diwali and Hanukkah.
Schedule
of Indigenous Peoples’ Day Events. Museum
admission is free all day, 10 am–5 pm
Share
Your Thoughts
10
am–4 pm | Huntington Avenue Lawn
What
do you see when you look at Cyrus Dallin’s sculpture Appeal
to the Great Spirit? Share your thoughts about this artwork.
Your response will inform its future interpretation.
Welcome
and Blessing
1:30
pm | Shapiro Family Courtyard
Matthew
Teitelbaum, Ann and Graham Gund Director; Jonathan James-Perry,
Tribal Citizen of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Nation; and Chris Newell,
Akomawt Educational Initiative
Native
American Hoop Dance Featuring Lisa Odjig (Ojibwe)
11
am and 2 pm | Shapiro Family Courtyard
Watch
as two-time World Hoop Dance Champion Lisa Odjig tells the story of
creation using music, dance and multiple flexible hoops. Narrated by
renowned musician and MC Chris Newell (Passamaquoddy).
Jennifer
Kreisberg (Tuscarora Nation)
Noon
and 3 pm | Remis Auditorium
Mother,
singer, composer, producer, teacher, and activist—Jennifer
Kreisberg (Tuscarora, North Carolina) comes from four generations of
Seven Singing Sisters through her maternal line. She is known for
her fierce vocals and soaring range.
Iron
River Singers
Enjoy
hand drum and contemporary powwow songs from Iron River Singers, an
intertribal northern style group comprised of Ojibwe, Abenaki, and
Wampanoag singers from the South Coast of Massachusetts.
The
Kingfisher Dance Theater
11:30
am, 1 pm, and 3 pm | Gallery 250
Enjoy
interactive song and dance with members of the Southern New England
Native community.
Art-making
Activities
10
am–1 pm | Education Center in the Druker Family Pavilion, Room 159
Elizabeth
James-Perry (Aquinnah Wampanoag): Wampum
11am–4
pm | Gallery 168
Sparrow
Plainbull (Haliwa-Saponi): Weaving and beadwork
Examining
the Collection Tours
10:30
am and 2:30 pm | Gallery LG33
Join
Akomawt Educational Initiative educators and MFA curators in the
Native North American Art gallery as they discuss the defining
characteristics of “Native art” and who gets to make these
decisions. Hear about techniques used in the works on display and
learn about the ever-changing cultural contexts in which we
understand them.
Guided
Tours
Meet
at Sharf Visitor Center
Join
a free guided tour to explore highlights from the Museum’s many
collections.
10:30
am | Highlights of the Museum Collections
11:30
am | Art of Asia
12:15
pm | Art of the Americas
12:30
pm | 3 in 30 Minutes
1
pm | Introduction to the Contemporary Collection
1:45
pm | Art of Europe
2:30
pm | Art of the Ancient World
3:15
pm | Highlights of the Museum Collections
Education,
access and community programs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
(MFA), connect visitors from Boston’s neighborhoods, New England
and around the world with art. The MFA welcomes more than one million
visitors annually, serving many through its learning and community
engagement programs. Opportunities for free and discounted admission
for students, teachers, children, EBT card holders and military
personnel and veterans can be found at mfa.org/visit, including free
access for college students through the MFA’s University Membership
and Pozen Community College Access program. Visitors can also learn
about access programming for visitors with disabilities online, which
includes free entry for personal care attendants. Additionally, the
MFA Citizens program offers free one-year family memberships to newly
naturalized U.S. citizens living in Massachusetts. The Museum is free
for all after 4 pm every Wednesday and offers 11 free community
celebrations annually. Each year, the Museum welcomes approximately
55,000 students and teachers—kindergarten through high school—for
school group visits. Additional educational programming includes
gallery talks, lectures, artist demonstrations, studio art classes
and art-making workshops for hospital patients. In 2020, the MFA is
marking its 150th anniversary with a yearlong celebration of
generosity, community and inclusion through a series of special
events and initiatives.
The MFA is located on the Avenue of the Arts at 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. For more information, call 617.267.9300, visit mfa.org or follow the MFA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
This year, the perfect costume is less about perfectionism and more about personalization
Americans
love Halloween and a unique costume is a must-have for a Hallowinning
celebration. But dressing up for Halloween this year involves more
than just looking good; there are a number of personal considerations
including customization and value that come into play when creating
the perfect costume. So, it’s no surprise that of those surveyed
nearly 90 percent of shoppers admired unique costumes put together
with second-hand items, and 74 percent said they’d shop thrift if
second-hand stores have a Halloween section, according to new
research by the Savers® family of thrift stores (Savers®, Value
Village™ and Unique®).
Savers logo (PRNewsfoto/Savers)
Trends
to Watch in 2019:
Disney,
Marvel & HBO-Inspired Costumes: Ninety-two percent of
Americans believe movies and TV shows will be the top inspirations
for Halloween costumes this year, with Avengers, The Lion King, Game
of Thrones, Captain Marvel and Toy Story topping the charts.
Gen
Zs Want to Stand Out, In Person & Online: Seventy percent of
Gen Zs want to stand out with their costume choice and the majority
(76 percent) plan to post their Halloween experiences on social
media.
DIY
and Customization Reigns: A “cool” costume needs to be
creative, original and homemade, according to survey respondents,
and 61 percent claim they’d like to wear a costume that no one else
will have. More than ever before, Americans are enjoying the
experience of DIY-ing their costumes, using a mix of previously
owned and brand-new items. Sixty-four percent plan on customizing
their costume with personal touches to “make it their own,”
with merely a quarter planning on buying a new, as-is packaged
costume.
You,
or Your Alter Ego? The jury is out. Sixty-eight percent of
Americans use their creative freedom to showcase bits of their
personality, while 59 percent match their costume to their alter
ego.
Keeping
costs down is also important for Halloween shoppers this year. A
whopping 80 percent of those surveyed spend $50 or less on a costume,
while 52 percent spend less than $25, so choosing secondhand is ideal
for those who still want a creative, original costume, at a price
point that works for them.
“As
the one-stop Halloween destination, Savers® offers a variety of
brand new and pre-owned Halloween merchandise,” said
Kristine Hung, Head of Marketing & Merchandising at Savers.
“Shopping second-hand during Halloween is a smart,
sustainable choice, considering today’s consumer cares about unique
style, the planet and their wallet.”
At
Savers®, enthusiastic Halloween shoppers can find a lot more than
just something to wear:
More
Than Just Second Hand: Want to let out your alter ego, or pull
together an imaginative look this Halloween? Every year, Savers®
offers an exclusive line of brand-new Halloween costumes called
“Alterego®,” wigs, makeup and accessories – perfect to
combine with the reused clothing and accessories that already fill
the aisles.
Costume
Consultants: Need some help getting creative? In-store costume
consultants and look books at Savers® can help you create a unique
look with DIY Halloween costumes, tips and tricks.
It’s
All About the Décor: Going all out for Halloween means more
than just dressing up. Savers® loads its shelves with new and
pre-loved Halloween décor to help decorate homes inside and out –
whether that means creating a haunted house for trick-or-treaters or
sticking to simple décor for a party.
Halloween
Hub: Savers.com provides a
store locator tool, costume inspiration and instructions for
Halloween DIY costumes and home décor.
Social
Media: More than 75 percent of Gen Zs plan to post their
Halloween experiences on social media and the same percentage of
Millennials plan on posting their kids’ Halloween experiences. Join
in on the fun by engaging with Savers® on social platforms via the
#Hallowinning hashtag on Facebook.com/Savers,
@SaversVVillage on Twitter and @Savers_thrift
on Instagram.
Savers®
believe good style is more than how you put together your closet and
home – it’s being able to do good while looking good – for
yourself, your neighborhood and your planet. As a for-profit,
purpose-driven retailer, the Savers® family of thrift stores provide
a wide selection of must-have secondhand clothing, accessories and
household goods at an affordable price and keeps more than 700
million pounds of reusable goods from reaching landfills each year.
Learn more at www.savers.com
*Methodology
Note: The Savers® Halloween Shopping Survey was conducted by Edelman
Intelligence during the summer of 2019 and polled 2,000 nationally
representative consumers aged 18 and older in the United States and
Canada.
September
24, 2019– The
Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA)
announced that eight-time Golden Globe winner and 15-time nominee,
Tom
Hanks,
will be honored with the coveted Cecil
B.deMilleAwardat
the 77th
Annual Golden Globe Awards.
The highly-acclaimed star of such legendary films such asBig,
Forrest
Gump,
Saving
Private Ryan,Cast
Away,and
the upcoming release of A
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
will accept the honor at Hollywood’s Party of the Year®
on
Sunday, January 5, 2020 airing
LIVE coast-to-coast from 5-8 p.m. PT/8-11 p.m. ET on NBC.
Tom Hanks the star of Columbia Pictures’ “Captain Phillips.” Photo Credit: AUSTIN HARGRAVE
“The
Hollywood Foreign Press Association is proud to bestow the 2020 Cecil
B. deMille Award to Tom Hanks,”
said HFPA President Lorenzo Soria. “For
more than three decades, he’s captivated audiences with rich and
playful characters that we’ve grown to love and admire. As
compelling as he is on the silver screen, he’s equally so behind
the camera as a writer, producer, and director. We’re honored to
include Mr. Hanks with such luminaries as Oprah
Winfrey,
George
Clooney,
Meryl
Streep,
Martin
Scorsese,
and Barbra
Streisandto
name a few.”
Hanks’
complex and moving performances have earned him the honor of being
one of only two actors in history to win back-to-back Best Actor
Academy Awards®, he won his first Oscar® in 1994 for his moving
portrayal of AIDS-stricken lawyer Andrew Beckett in Jonathan
Demme’s
Philadelphia.
The following year, he took home his second Oscar for his
unforgettable performance in the title role of Robert
Zemeckis’
Forrest
Gump.
He also won the
Golden Globe Award
for both films, as well as a Screen
Actors Guild (SAG) Award®
for the latter.
In 2013, Hanks was seen starring in Golden Globe-nominated filmCaptain Phillips, for which he received Golden Globe, SAG, and BAFTA nominations as well as in AFI’s Movie of the YearSaving Mr. Bankswith Emma Thompson. Hanks was most recently seen alongside Streep in Spielberg’s Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated filmThe Post, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe and won Best Actor with the National Board of Review. He will next be seen portraying Mr. Fred Rodgers in the upcoming biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Additional upcoming projects include the WWII drama Greyhound, which he also wrote, the post-apocalyptic BIOSand Paul Greengrass’ pre-Civil War drama News of the World.
Artist
in Exile: The Visual Diary of Baroness Hyde de Neuville, November 1,
2019 – January 26, 2020
Artist in Exile: The Visual Diary of Baroness Hyde de Neuville sheds light on this fascinating artist, whose life reads like a compelling historical novel.
This
fall, the New-York
Historical Society
introduces visitors to a little-known artist whose work documented
the people and scenes of early America. Artist
in Exile: The Visual Diary of Baroness Hyde de Neuville,
on view November
1, 2019 – January 26, 2020
in the Joyce
B. Cowin Women’s History Gallery of the Center for Women’s
History,
presents 114 watercolors and drawings by Anne
Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny,
Baroness
Hyde de Neuville (1771–1849).
Self-taught and ahead of her time, Neuville’s art celebrates the
young country’s history, culture, and diverse population, ranging
from Indigenous Americans to political leaders. Curated by Dr.
Roberta J.M. Olson,
curator of drawings at New-York Historical, this exhibition is the
first serious exploration of Neuville’s life and art—showcasing
many recently discovered works including rare depictions of European
scenes and people at work, a lifelong sociological interest—and is
accompanied by a scholarly catalogue.
“Baroness
Hyde de Neuville’s status as a woman, an outsider, and a refugee
shaped her view of America and Americans, making her a particularly
keen and sympathetic observer of individuals from a range of
socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds,”
said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical
Society. “Neuville
could never have envisioned that her visual diary—created as a
personal record of her travels and observations of early
America—would become an invaluable historical document of the early
republic. Yet her drawings vividly evoke the national optimism and
rapid expansion of the young United States and capture the diversity
of its inhabitants.”
Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny, Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771–1849) Self-Portrait (1771–1849), ca. 1800–10 Black chalk, black ink and wash, graphite, and Conté crayon on paper New-York Historical Society, Purchase, 1953.238 Born in France into an aristocratic family, Neuville received an education that probably included drawing lessons. In 1794, she married royalist Jean Guillaume Hyde de Neuville during the unsure times of the French Revolution. In 1800, the couple was imprisoned and forced into hiding. The future baron was condemned as an outlaw for his alleged participation in a plot to assassinate Napoleon. Fearing for her husband’s safety, the independent baroness attempted to disprove the charges. In 1805, she took her cause directly to Napoleon, pursuing the French Army across Germany and Austria and finally obtaining an audience with him in Vienna. Impressed with her courage, the Emperor allowed the couple to go into exile. They arrived in New York in 1807 and stayed for seven years. During their second residency (1816–22), when her husband served as Minister Plenipotentiary, they lived primarily in Washington, D.C., where Henriette became a celebrated hostess and cultural figure.
Born
to an aristocratic family in Sancerre, France, Henriette married
ardent royalist Jean Guillaume Hyde de Neuville, who became
involved during the French Revolution in conspiracies to
reinstate the Bourbon monarchy and was accused of participating in a
plot to assassinate Napoleon. In an effort to disprove the charges
against her husband, the baroness took her cause directly to
Napoleon, who was impressed with her courage and allowed the couple
to go into exile. They arrived in New York in 1807 and stayed for
seven years. During their second American residency (1816–22), when
her husband served as French Minister Plenipotentiary in
Washington, D.C., Henriette became a celebrated hostess. John
Quincy Adams described her in his diary as “a woman of
excellent temper, amiable disposition… profuse charity, yet
judicious economy and sound discretion.” In 1818, she presciently
stated that she had but one wish “and that was to see an American
lady elected president.”
Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny, Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771–1849) Peter of Buffalo, Tonawanda, New York, 1807 Watercolor, graphite, black chalk, and brown and black ink with touches of gouache on paper New-York Historical Society, Purchase, 1953.220 Neuville identifies her sitter as “Peter of Buffalo.” The word “tonaventa” refers to nearby Tonawanda, site of the Tonawanda Seneca Reservation. Neuville’s sitter has manipulated ear lobes pierced with one earring, which, like his bare feet, are traditional for Seneca tribesmen. He wears hybrid apparel: an undershirt, a fur piece, and leggings with garters, and carries a trade ax known as a halberd tomahawk, a knife, and a powder horn—as well as a string of wampum. Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny, Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771–1849) Pélagie Drawing a Portrait, from the “Economical School Series”, 1808 Black chalk, gray watercolor, graphite, and pink gouache on blue paper New-York Historical Society, Gift of Mark Emanuel, 2018.42.21 Neuville sketched studies of students at the Economical School (École Économique), the couple’s major contribution to cultural life of New York City. Incorporated in 1810, its mission was to educate French émigrés and fugitives from the French West Indie, and to offer affordable education to impoverished children. Its five board members included the future baron, who was secretary, as well as members of the New-York Historical Society. The baron admired American charity schools and wanted to provide the same opportunities to children and adults of both sexes. The baroness’ drawings of its students are the only visual evidence of this significant institution.
Artist
in Exile follows
Neuville’s life, reconstructing her artistic education and tracing
her artistic practice, which included portraiture, landscapes and
cityscapes, ethnographic studies, botanical art, and other genres.
Highlights of the exhibition include Neuville’s views of the Hudson
and Mohawk rivers, street scenes of her neighborhood (now known as
Tribeca), a watercolor documenting an “Indian War Dance”
performed for President
Monroe,
and portraits of subjects ranging from Indigenous Americans to
immigrant students at a Manhattan school founded by the Neuvilles.
The exhibition opens with Neuville’s miniature self-portrait (ca.
1800-1810) that was likely created for her husband to carry on his
travels. Pictured wearing a fashionable daytime empire-waist dress
over a chemisette, fingerless mitts, and hoop earrings, the baroness
looks away, not engaging the viewer as is customary with
self-portraits that are drawn using a mirror because she based it on
another study.
Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny, Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771–1849) Martha Church, Cook in “Ordinary” Costume, 1808–10 Watercolor, graphite, black chalk, brown and black ink, and touches of white gouache on paper New-York Historical Society, Purchase, 1953.276 Neuville’s inscription identifies the sitter as a cook named Martha Church, dressed in everyday attire. Neuville endowed the subject with dignity. It is unclear whether Church, a black woman, was a free domestic or a slave, or whether she was of Caribbean or African descent. Many of the artist’s works demonstrate a sociological interest and celebrate work.
Upon
first reaching the United States, the Neuvilles journeyed up the
Hudson River and to Niagara Falls, where Henriette was one of the
first to record many early settlements, buildings, and rustic scenes.
In the watercolor Distant
View of Albany from the Hudson River, New York (1807),
she drew the panoramic view from the sloop Diana
as
it traveled downriver from Albany, chronicling the river long before
artist William
Guy Wall’s
renowned Hudson
River Portfolio(1820–25).
The atmospheric vista conveys the majestic sweep of the Hudson and
the reflections on its surface. In Break’s
Bridge, Palatine, New York(1808),
Neuville, who was intrigued by engineering and technology, depicts a
newly constructed Mohawk River bridge destroyed by rushing waters.
The couple in the foreground of the image is the Neuvilles, with
their pet spaniel, Volero.
Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny, Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771– 1849) Distant View of Albany from the Hudson River, New York, 1807 Watercolor, brown ink, black chalk, and graphite with touches of gouache on paper New-York Historical Society, Purchase, 1953.242 Neuville drew the panoramic view from the sloop Diana, traveling downriver from Albany. Her atmospheric vista conveys the majestic sweep of the Hudson River, together with reflections on its surface. Albany became the state capital in 1796. Her works recording the river importantly predate The Hudson River Portfolio (1820–25).
Neuville
also captured vivid views of New York City residents and
buildings—many of them long since demolished—bringing to life the
burgeoning urban center and its ethnically diverse population. Corner
of Greenwich Street (1810)
represents a scene at the intersection of Greenwich and Dey streets.
Near the cellar hatch of the brick house at the center stands an
Asian man, who may be the Chinese merchant Punqua Winchong, making
this work one of the earliest visual records of a Chinese person in
the United States.
Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny, Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771– 1849) Indian War Dance for President Monroe, Washington, D.C., 1821 Watercolor, graphite, black and brown ink, and gouache on paper Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum Neuville’s scene depicts the “Indian War Dance” performed during the visit of a delegation of 16 leaders of the Plains Indian tribes to President James Monroe at the White House on November 29, 1821. The delegation included representatives of the Pawnee, Omaha, Kansa, Ottoe, and Missouri tribes. Neuville, who was in attendance, recorded the event, portraying at the left Hayne Hudjihini (Eagle of Delight), one of the five wives of halfchief Shaumonekusse (Prairie Wolf), wearing the horned headdress. In the upper background she sketched Monroe with his four companions, including the baron wearing a feathered bicorne hat.
The
Neuvilles contributed to the cultural life in New York as co-founders
of the École
Économique (Economical
School), incorporated in 1810 as the Society
of the Economical School of the City of New York.
Its mission was to educate the children of French émigrés and
fugitives from the French West Indies and to offer affordable
education to impoverished children. Henriette sketched the students
at the school, and many works from the “Economical School Series”
are on view in the exhibition, including the recently discovered life
size portrait, Pélagie
Drawing a Portrait(1808),
which demonstrates the school’s emphasis on drawing. Her series is
the only visual record of the school’s existence.
Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny, Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771– 1849) Corner of Greenwich Street, 1810 Watercolor, graphite, and touches of black ink on paper New York Public Library, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, Stokes 1810-E17b Neuville’s watercolor records Greenwich Street running perpendicular to Dey Street, where the Neuvilles lived. Nothing remains of this neighborhood, which would be occupied by World Trade Center. Near the cellar hatch of the brick house at the center stands an Asian man. He may be the Chinese merchant Punqua Winchong, who was in New York and Washington in 1807–08, and who attended one of the Neuvilles’ famous Saturday parties on March 28, 1818. This work is one of the earliest visual records of a Chinese person in the U.S.
The
couple returned to France in 1814 after the fall of Napoleon and the
restoration of King Louis XVIII and the Bourbon monarchy. In
1816, Louis XVIII appointed the baron French Minister
Plenipotentiary, and the Neuvilles returned to the U.S., settling in
Washington, D.C. They became renowned for their lavish Saturday
evening parties and their friendships with President James Monroe
and James and Dolley Madison. Among the notable events the
Neuvilles attended was an “Indian War Dance,” performed by a
delegation of 16 leaders of the Plains Indian tribes in front of
President Monroe and 6,000 spectators at the White House on November
29, 1821. Neuville’s watercolor documenting the event includes
likenesses of half-chief Shaumonekusse (Prairie Wolf) and one of his
five wives, Hayne Hudjihini (Eagle of Delight). Later, the “War
Dance” was also performed at the Neuvilles’ house.
Neuville’s
portraits of individuals celebrate the ethnic and cultural diversity
of the early American republic, and her portrayals are notable for
their ethnographic integrity and avoidance of stereotypes. In the
portrait of Peter
of Buffalo, Tonawanda, New York(1807),
the sitter has ear lobes pierced with earrings and bare feet,
traditional for Seneca tribesmen. Wearing an undershirt, a fur piece,
and leggings with garters, he carries a tomahawk, a knife, a powder
horn, and a string of wampum. In the portrait Martha
Church, Cook in “Ordinary” Costume(1808–10),
Neuville depicts a cook in her everyday attire, as part of the
artistic tradition of occupational portraits that originated in
Europe and appeared in New York in the early 19th century.
Anne Marguérite Joséphine Henriette Rouillé de Marigny, Baroness Hyde de Neuville (1771–1849) Tomb of Washington at Mount Vernon, Virginia, 1818 Watercolor, graphite, black chalk, and brown ink on paper Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum After George Washington’s death in 1799, his remains were placed in a family vault at Mount Vernon. During the Neuvilles’ second residency, the national hero’s tomb became an obligatory tourist stop. Unlike many other representations, Neuville included a view of the main house with its veranda overlooking the Potomac River, together with a unique anecdotal incident: a caretaker opens the vault’s wooden door to reveal stacks of coffins belonging to the Washington family. In 1831, a new family tomb was constructed, and the coffins were transferred to its vault.
Publication
and Programming
Accompanying
the exhibition is the scholarly publication Artist
in Exile: The Visual Diary of Baroness Hyde de Neuville,
published by GILES,
an imprint of D
Giles Limited.
Written by Dr. Roberta J.M. Olson with assistance by Alexandra
Mazzitelli,
the publication also features an essay by Dr.
Charlene M. Boyer Lewis.
A
gallery tour of Artist
in Exile,
led by curator Roberta
J.M. Olson,
takes place on January
6.
In honor of the baroness’ heritage, several French movies will be
shown as part of New-York Historical’s Friday night Justice in Film
series: 1938’s The
Baker’s Wife on
November 8
and 1946’s Beauty
and the Beast on
December
6.
On select weekends throughout the exhibition’s run, young visitors
can explore the baroness’ life and the art she created with touch
objects and Living Historians.
The
Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation
provided lead funding forArtist
in Exile: The Visual Diary of Baroness Hyde de Neuville,
with important support given by the
Wyeth Foundation for American Art.
Additional support provided by Furthermore,
a program of the J.M.
Kaplan Fund;
the Greater
Hudson Heritage Network;
Nicole,
Nathan,
and Brian
Wagner;
Helen
Appel;
Pam
Schafler;
David
and Laura Grey;
and Myron
and Adeline Hofer.
Beyond
Midnight: Paul Revere On View Through January 12, 2020
This
fall, the New-York Historical Society explores the life and
accomplishments of Paul Revere (1735–1818), the
Revolutionary War patriot immortalized in Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow’s 1861 poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride.” On view now
through January 12, 2020, Beyond Midnight: Paul Revere
separates fact from fiction, revealing Revere as a complex,
multifaceted figure at the intersection of America’s social,
economic, artistic, and political life in Revolutionary War-era
Boston as it re-examines his life as an artisan, activist, and
entrepreneur. The exhibition, featuring more than 140 objects,
highlights aspects of Revere’s versatile career as an artisan,
including engravings, such as his well-known depiction of the Boston
Massacre; glimmering silver tea services made for prominent clients;
everyday objects such as thimbles, tankards, and teapots; and
important public commissions, such as a bronze courthouse bell.
Organized by the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, and curated by Nan Wolverton and Lauren Hewes, Beyond Midnight debuts at New-York Historical before traveling to the Worcester Art Museum and the Concord Museum in Massachusetts for a two-venue display (February 13 – June 7, 2020) and to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas (July 4 – October 11, 2020). At New-York Historical, Beyond Midnight is coordinated by Debra Schmidt Bach, New-York Historical’s curator of decorative arts.
Paul Revere Jr. (1735−1818), A View of the Obelisk, 1766. Engraving. American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts; Bequest of Mary L. Eliot, 1927 The Stamp Act of 1765 was the first tax levied on the American colonies by England, requiring colonists to pay for a revenue stamp on all paper products. Following repeal of the act in March 1766, a celebration in Boston was planned. Its showpiece was a grand obelisk, painted with scenes, portraits, and text, lit at night by 280 lamps. Sadly, the obelisk was consumed in flames that night. Revere’s engraving of the design is the only remaining visual evidence of the obelisk. Paul Revere Jr. (1735−1818), A View of Part of the Town of Boston in New-England and Brittish [sic] Ships of War Landing their Troops! 1768, 1770. Hand-colored engraving, first state. American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts Protests broke out in Boston in 1767 after a series of taxes were levied on the colonies. In response the Massachusetts Royal Governor requested troops to maintain order. The deployment of British Regulars arrived in September 1768. In all 4,500 British troops Chester Harding (1792−1866), after Gilbert Stuart (1755−1828), Paul Revere (1735−1818), ca. 1823. Oil on canvas. Massachusetts Historical Society, Gift of Paul Revere Jr., 1973. These portraits of the elderly Reveres were based on likenesses made by Boston artist Gilbert Stuart in 1813. Both pairs of portraits descended through the large Revere family. Chester Harding (1792−1866) after Gilbert Stuart (1755−1828), Rachel Walker Revere (1744−1813), ca. 1823. Oil on canvas. Massachusetts Historical Society, Gift of Paul Revere Jr., 1973. Rachel Walker was Revere’s second wife. The couple married in 1773, and had eight children together, four of whom lived to adulthood. Many family members worked in the various businesses begun by Revere, learning trades, keeping books, managing staff, and building the family fortune. Generations of the Revere family, including the former owner of these paintings, preserved family papers, account and ledger books, and artifacts
“When
many of us think of Paul Revere, we instantly think of Longfellow’s
lines ‘One if by land, and two if by sea’, but there is much more
to Revere’s story,” said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO
of the New-York Historical Society. “This exhibition looks
beyond the myth of Paul Revere to better understand the man as a
revolutionary, an artisan, and an entrepreneur, who would go on to
become a legend. We are proud to partner with the American
Antiquarian Society to debut this exhibition in New York.”
Teapot associated with Crispus Attucks (d. 1770), 1740−60. Pewter, wood. Historic New England, Boston, Massachusetts; Gift of Miss S.E. Kimball through the Bostonian Society, 1918.1655 Five men were killed in the Boston Massacre, including an American sailor Crispus Attucks, a mixed-race former slave. Attucks was the first to fall. All five men became martyrs for the patriotic cause.
On
arrival, visitors are welcomed by a nine-foot-tall re-creation of the
grand obelisk made for a 1766 Boston Common celebration of the
repeal of the Stamp Act, the first tax levied on the American
colonies by England. Originally made of wood and oiled paper, and
decorated with painted scenes, portraits, and text praising King
George while also mocking British legislators, the obelisk was
illuminated from inside and eventually consumed by flames at the
Boston event. The only remaining visual evidence is Revere’s 1766
engraving of the design, also on view.
Paul Revere Jr. (1735−1818), engraver; attributed to Christian Remick (1726−73). The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated on King-Street, Boston on March 5th 1770 by a Party of ye 29th Reg[imen]t, ca. 1770−74 Hand-colored engraving. Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, GLC01868 British soldiers fired upon a crowd of unruly colonists gathered in front of Boston’s Custom House on March 5, 1770. News of the Bloody Massacre traveled quickly through the colonies. Boston artist Henry Pelham made an engraving of the scene, which he apparently shared with Revere while it was in progress. Without permission, Revere copied (with modifications) Pelham’s design and had 200 copies of his version on sale by March 28. Pelham, whose 575 prints were not ready until early April, wrote an angry letter to Revere protesting being scooped.
A
Revolutionary activist, Paul Revere was a member of the Sons of
Liberty, a secret group opposed to British colonial policy
including taxation that kept track of British troop movements and war
ships in the harbor. The exhibition displays Revere’s 1770
engraving of the landing of British forces at Boston’s Long Wharf.
Four versions of Revere’s provocative engraving of the 1770
Boston Massacre are also reunited in the exhibition. The
engravings capture the moment when British soldiers fired upon a
crowd of unruly colonists in front of the Custom House. The print
inflamed anti-British sentiment, and different versions of it were
widely disseminated as Patriot propaganda. Revere also helped plan
and execute the Boston Tea Party in 1773, hurling tea into
Boston Harbor. When war erupted in 1775, he delivered messages from
the Continental Army to New York, Philadelphia, and Connecticut.
Paul Revere Jr. (1735−1818), Tankard, 1760−70. Silver. Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts; Gift of The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of UnumProvident Corporation, 1999.502 Revere was a versatile artisan, producing more than 90 different forms in silver over the course of his 40-year career. Silver objects, like this tankard, demonstrate the wide range of objects his shop produced from teaspoons to toy whistles. Paul Revere Jr. (1735−1818), Coffeepot, tankard, teapot, butter boat, tea tongs, and spoons made for Lois Orne and William Paine, 1773. Silver, wood. Worcester Museum of Art, Worcester, Massachusetts; Gift of Frances Thomas and Eliza Sturgis Paine, in memory of Frederick William Paine; Gift of Dr. and Mrs. George C. Lincoln of Woodstock, CT in memory of Fanny Chandler Lincoln (1959); Gift of Paine Charitable Trust (1965), 1937.55-.59, 1965.336.337 Revere made an elegant 45-piece beverage service, the largest commission of his career, for Dr. William Paine of Worcester, Massachusetts, and his new wife Lois Orne in 1773. Never partisan when it came to profit, Revere completed the set for the Loyalist Paine just two months before the Boston Tea Party, the destructive protest that Revere, as one of the Sons of Liberty, helped plan and execute. Paul Revere Jr. (1735-1818), Tea service for John and Mehitable Templeman, 1792−93. Silver, wood. Lent by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Gift of James F. and Louise H. Bell; Gift of Charlotte Y. Salisbury, wife of Harrison E. Salisbury and great niece of John Templeman Coolidge; and Gift of James Ford Bell and his family, by exchange, and Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Byron Wenger, 1960−2001, 60.22.1-9, 94.88.1-2, 2001.165.1-.7. The Templeman tea service is one of Revere’s most impressive silver sets. Between 1792 and 1793, John Templeman and his wife Mehitable ordered numerous pieces to fill out their service, including several unusual forms such as a tea shell for scooping tea leaves and a locking caddy for safekeeping of the precious and expensive leaves. This set was purchased 20 years after the Templemans married. Originally from Salem, the couple moved to Maryland in 1794 where they owned 25 slaves. Undoubtedly, it was slave labor that kept this tea service polished to enhance the status of the Templeman name.
Paul
Revere was a master craftsman specializing in metalwork, including
copperplate engravings and fashionable and functional objects made
from silver, gold, brass, bronze, and copper. An innovative
businessman, Revere expanded his successful silver shop in the years
after the war to produce goods that took advantage of new machinery.
His fluted oval teapot, made from machine-rolled sheet silver, became
an icon of American Federal silver design. Among the silver objects
on view are two rare wine goblets possibly used as Kiddush cups made
by Revere for Moses Michael Hays—his only known Jewish
client—as well as grand tea services, teapots, tankards, teaspoons,
and toy whistles created in Revere’s shop. Also featured is a 1796
cast-bronze courthouse bell made for the Norfolk County Courthouse in
Dedham, Massachusetts. The exhibition also explores how Revere’s
trade networks reached well beyond Boston. He frequently bought and
sold raw and finished copper from New Yorker Harmon Hendricks and
supplied copper for Robert Fulton’s famous steamship.
The
son of a French Huguenot immigrant artisan, Revere belonged to an
economic class called “mechanics,” ranked below merchants,
lawyers, and clergymen. However, Revere was a savvy networker, and
what he lacked in social status, he made up for by cultivating
influential connections. Membership in the Sons of Liberty led to
commissions from fellow Patriots, but he also welcomed Loyalist
clients, setting aside politics for profit. On view are nine elements
from a grand, 45-piece beverage service that Revere created in 1773
for prominent Loyalist Dr. William Paine—the largest commission of
his career—just two months before the Boston Tea Party.
Paul
Revere died in 1818, but his fame endured, initially for his
metalwork and then for his patriotism. In the 1830s, Revere’s
engravings were rediscovered as Americans explored their
Revolutionary past, and his view of the Boston Massacre appeared in
children’s history books. In 1860, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
was inspired to write “Paul Revere’s Ride,” romanticizing (and
somewhat embellishing) the story of Revere’s journey to Lexington.
The poem first appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in January
1861—an original copy of the magazine is on view in the exhibition.
Artist Grant Wood’s painting Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
(1931), also on display, depicts a dramatic scene of Revere riding
past Boston’s Old North Church. This is also an embellishment: In
reality, Revere was on foot until he crossed the Charles River to
Cambridge and then rode a borrowed horse to Lexington. He was also
one of three riders and was stopped briefly by British officers and
then released. A map of the actual ride is on display. These works
and others enshrined Paul Revere at the heart of the nation’s
founding story. By the turn of the 20th century, the tale of Paul
Revere and his midnight ride was firmly established in the nation’s
psyche as truth, not fiction, and Revere’s contributions as a
metalsmith and artisan were overshadowed.
Paul Revere Jr. (1735−1818), Bookplate for Paul Revere, undated, removed from Hugh Latimer’s Sermons, London, 1758. American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts Revere’s lifelong ambition to better himself is clear from his own bookplate with an adopted coat-of arms.
Publication
and Programming
Drawing
on the American Antiquarian Society’s unparalleled collection of
prints and books, a catalogue accompanies the exhibition, Beyond
Midnight: Paul Revere, transforming readers’ understanding of
the iconic colonial patriot. Essays examine Revere as a patriot, a
manufacturer, a precious metalsmith, a printer, and an engraver. His
legacy as a polymath is documented in the book’s complete
illustrated checklist of the exhibition’s artifacts. The book is
available exclusively from the NYHistory Store.
A
robust line-up of engaging programs and family activities take place
throughout the exhibition’s run that delve into Revere and his
contemporaries. On October 17, historians Annette
Gordon-Reed and Philip Bobbitt discuss Thomas
Jefferson. On November 13, Nina Zannieri, Robert Shimp,
and Carol Berkin explore the truth behind Revere’s famous
ride. On December 12, George Washington is the topic of
conversation between scholars Denver Brunsman and Carol
Berkin. Also in the fall, architectural historian Barry Lewis
traces the history of the colonial and federal style on a date to be
announced.
On
weekends during Beyond Midnight: Paul Revere, Living
Historians are stationed at the Museum, bringing Paul Revere’s
world to life for young visitors. Kids can interact with skilled
tradespeople, like a milliner, apothecary, and bookbinder (October
5-6). Spies from the Continental Army’s intelligence system are
on hand to teach their secretive methods (November 2-3) while
hands-on explorations into historical tooth extraction, filings, and
tooth replacement may give visitors a new appreciation for their
dentists (November 23-24). On select Saturdays (October 19,
November 16, and December 7), families can discover the
history of colonial drinks, the global chocolate trade, and colonial
silver-smithing in a multi-sensory program supported by American
Heritage Chocolate. On October 20, aspiring young writers ages
12 and up can take part in a narrative poetry workshop with Writopia
Lab and develop original narrative poems that reveal inspiring
stories of key figures from the recent and distant past.
Major
support for Beyond Midnight: Paul Revere was provided by the
Richard C. von Hess Foundation
and the Henry Luce Foundation. The exhibition at New-York
Historical is made possible by the May and Samuel Rudin Family
Foundation, Inc. Additional support provided by Richard Brown
and Mary Jo Otsea. Exhibitions at New-York Historical are made
possible by Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang, the Saunders Trust
for American History, the Seymour Neuman Endowed Fund, the New York
City Department of Cultural Affairs in
partnership with the City Council, and the New York
State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew
Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. WNET is the
media sponsor.
Founded
in 1812 by Revolutionary War patriot and printer Isaiah Thomas,
the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) is both a national
learned society and a major independent research library located in
Worcester, Massachusetts. The AAS library today houses the largest
and most accessible collection of books, pamphlets, broadsides,
newspapers, periodicals, music, and graphic arts material printed
through 1876 in what is now the United States, as well as manuscripts
and a substantial collection of secondary texts, bibliographies, and
digital resources and reference works related to all aspects of
American history and culture before the 20th century. The Society
sponsors a broad range of programs—visiting research fellowships,
workshops, seminars, conferences, publications, lectures and
performances—for constituencies ranging from school children and
their teachers, through undergraduate and graduate students,
postdoctoral scholars, creative and performing artists and writers
and the general public. AAS was presented with the 2013 National
Humanities Medal by President Obama in a ceremony at the White
House.
The New-York Historical Society, one of America’s preeminent cultural institutions, is dedicated to fostering research and presenting history and art exhibitions and public programs that reveal the dynamism of history and its influence on the world of today. Founded in 1804, New-York Historical has a mission to explore the richly layered history of New York City and State and the country, and to serve as a national forum for the discussion of issues surrounding the making and meaning of history. New-York Historical is also home to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, one of the oldest, most distinguished libraries in the nation—and one of only 20 in the United States qualified to be a member of the Independent Research Libraries Association—which contains more than three million books, pamphlets, maps, newspapers, manuscripts, prints, photographs, and architectural drawings.
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