Let the American History Museum entertain you!

The entrance to Entertainment Nation, National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie
 

This is Althea Gibson's Wimbledon uniform when she won the women's singles title in 1957, the first black player to win the title there and at the U.S. National Championship. Displayed at Entertainment Nation, National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie

When the Dixie Chicks (now, just the Chicks) spoke out against George Bush and his Iraq war in 2006, they endured immediate backlash which didn't stop them from becoming the best-selling all-woman band and best-selling country group in the US. At the time I went right out and immediately bought two of their albums to show my support for the Chicks. This is a poster at Entertainment Nation, National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In 1992 Kristi Yamaguchi became the first Asian American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating. Her grandparents had been held captive by the U.S. government in a Japanese internment camp in World War II.  Her signed 1990s skates and photo are at Entertainment Nation, National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This is Cyndi Lauper's outfit from the cover of her solo debut album, She's So Unusual (1983). At Entertainment Nation, National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Who remembers Howdy Doody?  He's here, too, at Entertainment Nation, National Museum of American History with Mr. Rogers's red sweater and shoes/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Thank you, Billie Jean King for beating that rascal and "male chauvinist pig" (his words) Bobby Riggs in 1973 in a heralded moment in tennis!  This is the uniform she wore in the "Battle of the Sexes" match. At Entertainment Nation, National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Lone Ranger and Tonto are here, too. This is a mask Clayton Moore wore as the Lone Ranger, 1949-1957, found at Entertainment Nation, National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie

This is the Cardinal Wolsey costume worn by actress Charlotte Cushman around 1857 at the Entertainment Nation exhibition/Photo by Patricia Leslie

No need to identify these celebs at Entertainment Nation, National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Prince's "yellow cloud" guitar from 1983 at Entertainment Nation, National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie

All those area stranded Southwest Airlines customers waiting at National Airport must have found their way to the National Mall for that's where it seems like thousands converged like it was July 4th in December,  but, maybe it's always like this during Christmas week.

Anyway, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to the National Museum of American History, one of my stopping places during Christmas break.

At the information counter, I told the volunteer I was an area resident, searching for something new at the museum.  

Did he have any recommendations?

"Well," he said, "there’s the entertainment section which is new. I was up there about 30 minutes ago, and it was like…" and he trailed off like it was the Southwest Airlines counter at everywhere.

He was right; Entertainment Nation was crazy packed, like Disney World in a museum, the place was slammed, but not crowded enough that you couldn't move pretty fast through the aisleways if you know how to manuever.

But where was my fave, Michael Jackson? Maybe I missed him amidst all the people. 

Nowhere could I find Michael but there was Prince and his yellow guitar, and Cyndi Lauper's dress and Diana Ross's dress and lots more. Even, Mr. Rogers's sweater! 

It's Howdy Doody Time! 

But, no Michael.

Photographs by Richard Avedon adjacent to Entertainment Nation at the National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The reading room at the Richard Avedon photo show at the National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie 

 

The reading room at the Richard Avedon photo show at the National Museum of American History/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Meanwhile, across the hallway was a Richard Avedon exhibition, a disorganized mess and confusing to boot. He (1923-2004) was THE photographer of famous persons, just a few of whom are included in this maze.

The subjects are not identified with their pictures. No, across the aisle are labels with names and you only have to walk back and forth across the aisle to see who is pictured "left" and who is "far left" and who is "right" and who is "far right" and "center," and upstairs and downstairs, and there will be a test at the end to see if you can still walk straight.

A wheel chair would be useful at this presentation and the museum has a few to loan out!

The best part of the Richard Avedon show is the reading room where visitors may sit (or sleep, depending upon energy level) in comfortable chairs and leaf through actual copies of old (like 50 years old!) Life magazines, Highlights for Children, and more.

The magazines' advertisements are the best parts ("Do not let baby sleep on pillows!" admonishes one with a drawing of a mother tucking her baby on top of a pillow), and include many "motion picture" ads and a feature on It's A Wonderful Life!

Thank you, Richard Avedon's estate, for donating (I am guessing) these photos to the Smithsonian, but this exhibition could stand for reorganization, if you will.

I think I've figured out Michael Jackson's omission: his estate has not donated anything. Is that right? It is unfathomable that the Smithsonian with all its possessions would omit Michael Jackson from this inaugural exhibit so...

Please, Michael Jackson Estate if you are reading this, donate something, anything (THE glove? A show costume? P l e a s e) to the Smithsonian Institution so we all can enjoy it and not have his likeness and belongings omitted from this grand exhibition! Thank you for consideration.

And, thank you, contributors, for your gifts to the nation so we may see them up close and personal.

Applause to the Smithsonian for including all labels in Spanish, too!

And, if hungry, take your big wallet to NMAH. The fixuns' at the Museum's cafeteria ain't cheap. No charge for mustard!

What: Entertainment Nation "will feature a powerful, ever-changing selection of objects and interactive experiences" embracing theater, television, film, music and sports.

When: Now through "ongoing." The Museum is open daily, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. but hours on New Year's Day and January 2, 2023 hours may vary. Call to find out: 202-633-1000.

Where: National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20560. Museum entrances are located on Constitution Avenue on the first floor and Madison Drive (National Mall) on the second floor. There may be a short wait to enter the building.For more information: 202- 633-1000

Tickets: Always free admission at NMAH!

Metro stations: The Smithsonian and the Federal Triangle stations.

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Book review: 'We Carry Their Bones' shocks

I shunned this book when I saw it on the shelf of new non-fiction titles at the Falls Church library, knowing a little of the story and the horrible conditions, and not wanting to know more. 

The world is awful enough; I needed more proof?  

With that selfish attitude, I checked it out.  

The crimes against the boys were worse than expected, a story of abuse and terror like so many which are worse than fiction.

 

A forensic anthropologist, Erin Kimmerle, has written an objective account of this latest horror story, except when it comes to family and residents'  memories of what really went on inside the 111-year-old school in Florida to house and punish “bad” boys.

Some were guilty of the terrible crime of running-away from home (who hasn’t?); some were orphans; some, wards of the state. 

Some were as young as five-years-old but sentenced by a judge to the Dozier School for Boys where many were tortured, beaten, burned alive, murdered by staff at the prison outside Marianna, Florida and raped in the "White House."

No one was brought to trial. Almost three of every four boys buried at the institution's "cemetery," Boot Hill, were black and many families never received word about the deaths of their youngsters.

The "White House" is seen in 1936 in the background during construction of a dining hall/Wikipedia; State of Florida

Boys who were chained, as young as five years old, were unable to escape a fire in 1914 and died, unidentified.

One resident called it a "concentration camp for little boys."  They were threatened by guards who did ... what else?

From Dr. Marvin Dunn's report, The Infamous Dozier School | Dunn History:  The method of torture was for the prison guards to handcuff the teenagers and then hang them from the bars of their cells, sometimes for over an hour. The guards stated that their superiors approved the practice and that it was routine.

These were brutal crimes and hard to believe humans carried out these atrocities in this century, likely because most of the boys were black.

Families were unable to convince authorities of the truth behind the walls until momentum and a list of 500 grew among survivors and relatives of the dead to reveal the torture and murders.

Dr. Kimmerle worked for years with colleagues at the University of South Florida, students, other scientists,  government officials, and journalists to unearth the real story and the graves of 55 boys of whom the prison had only reported 31.  

Humanists owe deep gratitude to her and her team of students who pressed on, up against the will of Marianna's residents who resisted revelations which meant jobs for its citizens and cheap labor for area farms.

 

Dr. Kimmerle previously worked at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and, while pursuing her Ph.D., at the University of Tennessee's renowned "body farm," "the premier school" for forensic anthropologists run by Bill Bass.

Although legislation passed in the Florida House, 114-3, to bury the children properly, reimburse families for burials, and create a memorial, Matt Gaetz was one of the three Republicans to vote against the outlay of $500,000 which passed the Florida Senate and earned Gov. Rick Scott's signature, although Scott had earlier tried unsuccessfully to obstruct inspection of remains. 

Dr. Kimmerle pays tribute to former Sen. Bill Nelson for his efforts to reveal the truth.

It's likely these crimes continue at other institutions where children have no families to speak up for them, have no defense against ugly adults, and don't know what to do.

Can you help them? 

patricialesli@gmail.com

 

Sargent and Spain, NGA's Christmas gift to the nation

John Singer Sargent, Women at Work, c. 1912 oil on canvas, private collection. The shadows and contrasts here are stunning, one of my favorites in the show.

 

John Singer Sargent, Study for the Spanish Dance, c. 1879-1880,  oil on canvas, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO. Gift of Julia and Humbert Tinsman. Another of my favorites.  Look at the arms of both figures!  Her dress!  The combination with the background. Sargent has been called the greatest American impressionist painter although he never lived in the U.S. His parents were Americans, and he was born in Florence, Italy.

Attention, Parents! Firsthand experiences can mean so much more than schoolroom learning! Carpe diem for your brood! Read on.

For art lovers at Christmas, a finer pleasure than to walk the galleries of the Sargent and Spain exhibition at the National Gallery of Art would be hard to beat, and for a gift?

A finer gift that the new catalog ($55) of the American's time in Spain,would be hard to beat.*

John Singer Sargent,  Manuel García, 1904–1905, oil on canvas. Lent by Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. Garcia (1805-1906) was a renowned Spanish baritone and teacher whom Sargent was commissioned to paint on the occasion of the musician's 100th birthday, according to label copy. Sargent's affinity for the styles of the Spanish painter, Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) is evident in this work.

John Singer Sargent, La Carmencita Dancing, 1890, oil on canvas, private collection. Sargent painted several portraits of La Carmencita whom he saw dance and met in New York where she entertained at music halls and private parties.  She traveled the world, showing off her talents and is screened in a short video at the exhibition, filmed at Thomas Edison's studio in 1894, a snippet, below. 

William K. L. Dickson (1860-1935) and William Heise (1847-1910), filmmakers, Carmencita, 1894, Thomas Edison motion picture film, Library of Congress.

Curator Sarah Cash talks about another of Sargent's La Carmencita's, this  one painted in 1890 and loaned by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.  The dancer was a native of Andalusia.  According to label copy, she so inspired the painter that he created this without commission, ten years after he had largely completed his dancers' oeuvre. 

The Sargent paintings and drawings hanging in the eight rooms at the National Gallery are lovely to behold, bewitching, enabling one to travel to time and scenes of yesterday, almost floating from one place to another.

John Singer Sargent, Escutcheon of Charles V of Spain, 1912, watercolor over graphite on white wove paper. Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art,  Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1915.  An "escutcheon" is a shield, this one belonging to Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain from 1516-1556. It's positioned above a large fountain dedicated to the king.  Curators speculate that because this is above eye level, Sargent may have used a photograph and painted it indoors.

John Singer Sargent, Tomb at Toledo, c. 1903? watercolor over graphite on paper sheet. Lent by Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence.  A tomb for Cardinal Juan Pardo de Tavera by 16th-century sculptor Alonso Berruguete at the church of Toledo's Hospital of St. John the Baptist, a favorite spot of the artist.

John Singer Sargent, Street at Camprodón, Spain, 1892 watercolor over graphite, with gouache, on paper, private collection.  This street, the Carrer de Isaac Albéniz, leads down to a medieval bridge over the Ter River and is named after a pianist and composer of Spanish folk music whom Sargent greatly admired.

John Singer Sargent, Granada, 1912 watercolor over graphite, with wax crayon, on white wove paper, lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond, 1950.  What more can I say?  Let's go!

John Singer Sargent, Group of Spanish Convalescent Soldiers (detail), c. 1903 watercolor over graphite, with gouache, on paper, private collection.

The last gallery at the exhibition is the "Learning and Engagement Gallery" with an interactive scrapbook, photographs of Sargent on a cruise, in his studio, and more/Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the photo above in the last gallery, Sargent stands in his Paris studio c. 1883-1884 at his infamous Madame X  which scandalized Paris.  Originally, the painting had one of the woman's straps loosely hanging over her right shoulder but due to outrage, Sargent pulled the strap up and moved to London to escape Parisian wrath.  The second version of Madame X is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, "an icon of the Met's collection."/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At the "Learning and Engagement Gallery"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Dignitaries at the opening of Sargent and Spain. From left, Miguel Albero Suárez, head of the Cultural Office, Embassy of Spain; Larry Di Rita, president, Greater Washington DC, Bank of America; Kaywin Feldman, NGA director, and curators Richard Ormond, Sarah Cash, and Elaine Kilmurray/Photo by Patricia Leslie

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) loved Spain and spent part of three decades on seven trips there between 1879 and 1912, painting the landscapes, the events, the people, the church, the variety of life he found, including the dancers and making copies of works by Velázquez whom he admired and whose styles he incorporated in his own works. 

The three curators NGA's Sarah Cash, the UK's Richard Ormond (the artist's grand-nephew), and Elaine Kilmurray, present 140 works, including some never-before-seen photographs, the only known pictures of Sargent in Spain discovered in research for the exhibition, some of them almost guaranteed to have been taken by the artist himself.

Dr. Ormond and Dr. Kilmurry are the world's foremost authoritities on Sargent and have collaborated on the nine-volume Sargent catalogue raisonné (1998-2016). They came for the National Gallery's Sargent opening in October when Dr. Kilmurray was gracious enough to give me a few moments of her time to chat.

She said she and Dr. Ormond have "done a number of [Sargent] exhibitions in the U.S., Spain, Italy, the UK," essentially, around the globe.

I asked her what sparked her interest in Sargent, and she explained that she had no "personal interest. I was invited to participate.My interest developed from that."

[The nine-volume catalog] has taken "a long time in research and writing, and Richard asked me to join him on what's been an amazing adventure!"

Their "lifetime's work" began in the early 1980s.

"Richard used to be at the National Portrait Gallery in London and then at the Maritime Museum in London when he was director. He's retired. We're both independent scholars."

She talked a bit about Sargent's background:

"He was born in Italy; his family traveled. In the hot months they'd go to the Alps where it was cooler; in the winter they'd be in Rome, Bologna, Venice, Nice.

"He was really saturated in European art.

"His mother was an amateur water colorist; quite accomplished. He didn't go to school the way children do now; his education was the European experience. He spoke fluent French, pretty good Italian, some Spanish, some German. [And English.]

"He's very much a cosmopolitan artist. These early years of kind of a vagabond lifestyle, moving from one place to another had a huge impact on his artistic personality."


"Often when he was painting portraits, he would play music. It was a way to develop relationships with the sitter; it's background and I suppose it was something to talk about."

He loved Wagner, Kilmurray said. "At the time Wagner was [considered] progressive. Sargent had extensive musical contacts and was a considerable musician himself. He played piano. We think he played guitar and banjo in a kind of 'folksy' kind of way almost. But he was a very considerable pianist. He would not have been self-taught."

Although the title Gypsy Dancer is sometimes associated with Sargent's work, Kilmurray explained that for cultural sensitivities, the National Gallery of Art has elected to avoid the term "gypsy" which, in 2022, is considered "derogatory.

"We tried to respect," others, she said, emphasizing national in the name, National Gallery of Art. Roma has been substituted for gypsy, she said. 

Dr. Kilmurray explained that artists frequently did not title their works but titles evolve through sales and exhibitions.

"The world we are living in now is very sensitive and the National Gallery is being national, trying to respect that."

Indeed, the catalog states (p. 242): "Some titles and dates also reflect new research and language--for instance, the term 'gypsy' is strongly associated with negative stereotypes and has been removed from the titles of Sargent's works."

Sargent was a workaholic, Kilmurray said, always painting until his death. 

Large photographs of the artist are found hanging in the last gallery, one with his celebrated Madame X which shook the world and Sargent, too, forcing his move from Paris to London to escape the Parisian criticism.

Prepare to be delighted at this exhibition with loaned works from private collectors and 46 institutions and named individuals.

*Also available, prints, magnets, and journals, from $12. Order here. NGA also has a Sargent ornament! ($24)* NGA's Catherine Southwick, with the help of Diana Seave Greenwald and Katherine Pratt-Thompson, researched and prepared a chronology and year-by-year listing of  Sargent's time in Spain. The catalog has 256 illustrated pages.


The people of the United States and visitors are grateful to the Bank of America, the national tour sponsor, and others for providing support for the exhibition which next moves to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Feb. 11 - May 14, 2023.


What: Sargent and Spain


When: Through January 2, 2023. The National Gallery hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily.

Where: West Building, National Gallery of Art, 6th and Constitution, Washington

How much: Admission is always free at the National Gallery of Art.

Metro stations for the National Gallery of Art:
Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives, or L'Enfant Plaza

For more information: (202) 737-4215

Accessibility information: (202) 842-6905

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Sandy Hook remembered at NRA headquarters

At National Rifle Association headquarters today in Fairfax, VA, protesters gathered on this sad day of the 10th anniversary of the murders of 20 school children and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. Activists direct attention to the lack of gun control in the United States, fostered by the NRA and compliant legislators. Those who want to help reduce violence in schools may contact Sandy Hook Promise/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie
 

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Aalayah Eastman, a survivor of the 2018 Marjorie Stoneman Douglas shooting in Parkland, Florida addresses the crowd at NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Fairfax County Public School Board member Karl Frisch from Providence District holds a sign "Graduations NOT Funerals" at NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA where he was a speaker/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors member James R. Walkinshaw (center, green scarf) from Braddock District addressed the crowd at NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA, calling the NRA, "morally bankrupt"/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Was it coincidence that VDOT's construction crew came during the hour of short speeches at the anti-gun violence rally at NRA headquarters in Fairfax, VA to unload a heavy piece of equipment at the speakers' tent and compete with speakers, attempting to drown them out? Had the NRA sought help from the state agency?  

As one speaker said:  "Nothing will keep us quiet!" Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

It was odd, or maybe it wasn't, that VDOT unloaded a heavy piece of equipment at NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA at the speakers' tent to compete with speakers/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On the 14 of every month at NRA headquarters in Fairfax, VA,  protesters gather to remember the slaughter of the 26 innocents at Sandy Hook Elementary School. One "regular" said today's crowd on Dec. 14, 2022, was about double the usual number who come. Protesters lined both sides of the street/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The names and ages of the innocents killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT on Dec. 14, 2012. On the hearse are two signs: "10 years" and "Are We Safer?" At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

At NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA/Photo by Patricia Leslie

About half the drivers which passed the scene at NRA headquarters Dec. 14, 2022, Fairfax, VA, did, indeed, honk/Photo by Patricia Leslie

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