CELEBRITIES AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Today, sports figures and celebrities leave their mark on American society as much as the industrialists, explorers, politicians and writers did in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The National Portrait Gallery displays many portraits of those persons who have inspired us in the sports arena or on the silver screen.

Muhammad Ali: a silkscreen by Andy Warhol

Muhammad Ali: oil painting by Henry C. Casselli, Jr.

Michael Jackson: synthetic polymer and silkscreen by Andy Warhol

Joe Louis: oil painting by Betsy Graves Reyneau

Oscar Robinson: February 16, 1961 Time Magazine cover by Russell Hoban

Bobby Hull: March 1, 1968 Time Magazine cover by Leroy Neiman

Arthur Ashe: acrylic on canvas by Louis Briel

L.L. Cool J: oil painting by Kehinde Wiley

Katherine Hepburn: oil painting by Everett Raymond Kinstler

In addition to this portrait of Katherine Hepburn, her unprecedented four Best Actress Academy Awards are now part of the National Portrait Gallery's permanent exhibition...

From left to right are her Academy Award for Morning Glory in 1933. Interestingly, that particular statue was the very first to be referred to by a Hollywood reporter as an Oscar. She also won in 1967 for Guess Who's Coming Dinner, the very next year for 1968's The Lion in Winter and 1981's On Golden Pond. Nearly 50 years went by between her first and last award. Note how different each statue is from the others.

The National Portrait Gallery presents the wonderful diversity of individuals who have left, and are leaving, their mark on our country and our culture. As a Smithsonian Museum, admission is always FREE at the National Portrait Gallery. Click here to visit the National Portrait Gallery's website. 

All photos in this blog post were taken by my husband and me during our visit in September, 2013.

 

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

On its website the National Portrait Gallery states the museum "...tells the history of America through individuals who have shaped its culture. Through 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."

Here are some of those people...

Samuel Clemens: Who hasn't read the classic stories he wrote under his pen name Mark Twain?

Henry Clay Frick (along with his daughter, Helen): He made his fortune supplying coke for steel manufacturing; he then partnered with Andrew Carnegie to form the world's largest steel company. At his death he donated his extensive collection of European paintings to create the celebrated Frick Collection in New York City.

Andrew Carnegie: He sold his Carnegie Steel Company to J.P. Morgan which created U.S. Steel. Having built one of the world's largest fortunes, Carnegie gave away over $350 million during his lifetime, 90% of his fortune: He stated, "The individual who amasses great wealth must in the end apply his fortune for the benefit of all."

 



Daniel Boone: Boone spent his life pushing westward, always dissatisfied with where he was. Eventually he ended up in Kentucky, opening that area for white settlement. One reason Boone kept moving was that when the government caught up with him on the trail he had blazed, it usually voided his land claims and expelled him. Although the reality of Boone's career did not embody the romantic legend others applied to it, the persistence of Boone as a symbol indicates how strongly the idea of a lone frontiersman shaped American history.

Dave Crockett: Unlike Daniel Boone, Crockett created a totally different image of the frontiersman: a jocular, colorful type who liked tall tales and whiskey. Crockett was a soldier, state representative from Tennessee, an author and a road showman. He is however most noted for fighting, and dying, in the Battle of Alamo.

 
Ulysses S. Grant: Not interested in the military, Grant only entered West Point to receive an education. Unsuccessful in business ventures, he reentered the military at the beginning of the Civil War. Eventually President Lincoln made him commander of the entire Union Army. He was elected to two terms as president.

The National Portrait Gallery presents the wonderful diversity of individuals who have left, and are leaving, their mark on our country and our culture. In my next blog post I'll show you a few more.

Admission is always FREE at the National Portrait Gallery. Click here to visit the National Portrait Gallery's website. 

All photos in this blog post were taken by me during my visit in September, 2013.

MARTIN LUTHER KING AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

To mark the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, the National Portrait Gallery is holding an exhibition titled One Life: Martin Luther King, Jr. through June 1, 2014.

The exhibition's curator: "...In his thirteen years of public life as an advocate for civil rights, economic opportunity, and world peace, King motivated others not only by communicating his vision for a brighter future but by acting boldly to challenge injustice. Despite enormous odds and the ever-present risk of failure, King led by example, exhibiting courage and character as he maintained his steadfast commitment to nonviolent resistance and direct action."

Along with memorabilia from the National Portrait Gallery collection, the one-room exhibition contains historic photographs tracing the trajectory of King's career.

Martin Luther King Jr. with Coretta Scott King and their daughter Yolanda on the steps of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in 1956.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy ride the first integrated bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1956.

King after being arrested in Albany, Georgia in July, 1962 for peaceful demonstrations outside the local city hall. Although sentenced to 45 days in jail, the local sheriff ordered his release after 3 days.

King watches as President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2, 1964. He received one of the pens used to sign the bill.

Martin Luther King receives the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize.

Martin Luther King along with Dr. Benjamin Spock (left) in an anti-Vietnam march in NYC in 1967.

The National Portrait Gallery tells the stories of America through the individuals who have shaped U.S. culture through the visual arts, performing arts, and new media.

The National Portrait Gallery is conveniently located at Eighth and F Streets NW, in Washington D.C., above the Gallery Place–Chinatown Metrorail station (red, yellow, and green lines).

Open: 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. Closed Christmas Day.

Admission is always FREE at the National Portrait Gallery.

For more information about the Martin Luther King exhibition, click here.

Click here to visit the National Portrait Gallery's website.

All photos in this blog post were taken by my husband during our visit in September, 2013.