1100 Jefferson

The Many Facets of Latino Art

 

Frank Romero, "Death of Ruben Salazar," 1986

“SAAM is committed to having a collection that reflects who America is,” says E. Carmen Ramos, curator of Latino art for the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Ramos was hired in 2010 to assess SAAM’s Latino art holdings and consider ways to grow it and raise its profile. The results of her efforts are strikingly evident in SAAM’s new exhibition curated by Ramos: “Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art.“

“I took a historical approach to the Latino art category, which really was intensely forged during and after the civil rights era. The exhibition primarily focuses on artists working since the 1950s, including vets who had served in the war and began to think about their place in the national culture that they’d been defending,” Ramos says.

This moment in American history, she explains, was a defining one for Latino artists, many of whom were activists engaged in the social issues of the day. “But there are many others whose work wasn’t about that alone. They were also exploring their place in American culture.”

Olga Albizu, "Radiante," 1967

“Our America” includes 92 works by 72 artists, 63 of which have been acquired by SAAM since 2011. The artists featured in the exhibition reflect the diversity of Latino communities in America, with their roots in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, among other places. “Latino art is as varied as as any snapshot of modern and contemporary art,” Ramos says. “Many reframed American history in a way that incorporated their experience and culture. Others retooled contemporary American art’s classic genres—such as pop art—putting their own personal stamp on it.“

Ramos is convinced that visitors to “Our America” will come away “with the idea that there’s no single American culture. I hope they will realize that [Latino artists] are part of a larger national conversation of who we are. Latinos are part of and belong to the American experience.”

Written by Cecelia Reed, The Smithsonian Associates.

Visit americanart.si.edu for more information.

Luis Jimenez, "Man on Fire," 1967

 

 

Emilio Sanchez,"Untitled, Bronx Storefront, 'La Rumba Supermarket,'" late 1980s

Shutdown Had Minimal Effects Thanks to Volunteers, Community

The Encore Chorale rehearsed at The Church of the Epiphany during the government shutdown. This was one of many of our programs that moved to a new location to avoid cancellation. The ensemble is preparing for a free holiday concert performance in December.

Below is a letter from the Director of Membership and Marketing regarding The Smithsonian Associates’ activity during the government shutdown. It is published in The Smithsonian Associates November issue.

 

Dear Fellow Members,

This issue has been put together in a very different way than any other. Because of the government’s shutdown, The Smithsonian Associates’ offices in the S. Dillon Ripley Center on the National Mall are closed. Our staff have either been relocated to nonfederal space, or have been working remotely from home. And we haven’t missed a beat!

Customer service lines are open. Scheduled programs are taking place in new locations. Volunteers continue to be our lifeblood. It’s business as usual under some decidedly unusual conditions. Why? The answer is a simple one: to continue to serve our members. 

In carrying out that mission, we’ve benefitted from the assistance and collaboration of organizations that welcomed our audiences including the Navy Memorial, George Mason University’s Arlington Campus, Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, Congressional Cemetery, First Congregational United Church of Christ, and the British School of Washington.

To everyone who has helped us continue, we offer our sincere thanks. We’ve been heartened—and at times, moved—by the support and understanding shown to us. We’ve been lucky to be able to keep providing our members the programs they value and expect. We’re also fortunate because our members are an essential part of our team—and we have seen your support in action. 

It’s almost beside the point that we’re not, as we often remind you, federally funded: The support that keeps us going is yours. Your role as members has taken on a heightened importance over recent weeks. And these weeks have reminded us that whether we’re working on the Mall or anywhere else, we’re always working for you.

Compiled by Sonja Trierweiler, social media specialist at The Smithsonian Associates.

Joan Holloway and her Sword

The final cocktail that Jack Rose Dining Saloon served up is the Joan-inspired drink, “Va Va Va Voom.” I was personally excited for this one because not only did it have interesting, delicious flavors, but Joan is my favorite character. I particularly love her distinct styles on the show, especially her unique pen necklace. Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant noted that she had actually found the pen necklace at a flea market, and she liked the idea of Joan using it as her “sword.” You know what, Janie? Me, too. Mixologist Amy Russell of Jack Rose Dining Saloon had a fun time coming up with this drink recipe, which she coined “Va Va Va Boom.”

“Being set in the 1960s, I had to include a tiki-inspired cocktail. One of my favorites is a Singapore Sling but I wanted to bring in some fall flavors. I chose Belle de Brillet pear liquor and Bittermens Elemakule Tiki bitters which have cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom flavors. Classically a Singapore Sling is topped off with club soda, but Joan deserves champagne.”

Recipe

1.5 oz of Roundhouse gin

0.75 oz Belle de Brillet

0.25 oz of Benedictine

0.5 oz of fresh lemon juice

10 drops of Bittermens Elemakule Tiki bitters

champagne or sparkling wine

Combine above ingredients, shake and double strain into a ice filled Collins glass. Top with your choice of bubble. Garnish with a pear slice.

Written by Sonja Trierweiler, social media specialist at The Smithsonian Associates.

 

The Three Martini Lunch

Janie Bryant led an intelligent and captivating discussion of her journey from a child dressing her dolls to an Emmy award-winning costume designer. Having been inspired by classic films such as Gone with the Wind when she was younger, to moving to France, to designing costumes for shows such as Deadwood and Mad Men, to starting her own fashion line, Janie’s impressive repertoire only supplemented her storytelling.

When I had a chance to talk with her after the interview, I mentioned that I really admired her storytelling. She said that seeing all of the slides with photos from earlier seasons of Mad Men and Deadwood, from favorite films of hers, and of her costume sketches brought back many memories that she wanted to share. Janie Bryant is quite the storyteller— both in the way she speaks and also in the way she portrays a characters’ personality through her costume choices. She said that costume design begins with the script—it sets the tone for everything. 

Much like analyzing a script for costume inspiration, designing cocktails from Mad Men characters utilizes a similar process and expertise, as conveyed in the second part of the program. Amy Russell, the genius mixologist from Jack Rose Dining Saloon, created cocktails to mimic the characters from the show, like Roger.

Janie said that “Roger is the peacock of the show,” and Amy channeled his carefree characteristics expertly. Amy explains,

“This drink was the toughest. How do you turn a vodka martini into a punch? I turned to a very popular 60s vodka drink which is a Harvey Wallbanger. I made an orange cordial and used Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters and Regans’ Orange Bitters to give it more depth and complexity. I kept it light so they can go down so easy, you won’t have a problem having three for lunch.”

Recipe

1.5 oz Aylesbury vodka

1.0 oz orange cordial

0.5 oz fresh lemon juice

0.125 oz of Galliano

Dash of Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters

Dash of Regans’ Orange Bitters

Combine above ingredients, shake, and double strain into an ice filled old fashioned glass. Garnish with a candied orange peel.

Orange Cordial

Add one cup of sugar, one cup of granulated sugar, and the peels of four oranges to a sauce pan and simmer for at least two hours. The more time the better it gets. Bring to room temperature and let it sit overnight. Strain the peels from syrup. The cordial is one part fresh orange juice to one part syrup. Keep the peels for garnish. 

 

Written by Sonja Trierweiler, social media specialist at The Smithsonian Associates.

Mad Men Style

Not only did Mad Men Style: Janie Bryant on Fashion and Character feature both the ever-glamorous Janie Bryant and some highly fashionable cocktails, but the attendees also came dressed to the nines. 

During her interview, Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant said that one of the reasons she loves fashion is because “clothes evoke emotion—that’s how we express ourselves. We can create and recreate a story based on the clothes we wear.”

Janie says she almost always has a particular purpose when designing a character’s clothing, and Peggy’s wardrobe is no exception. Peggy’s career and style has grown up throughout the show’s six seasons, as conveyed through her outfits’ transformations. Amy Russell of Jack Rose Dining Saloon had a similar vision when designing a cocktail themed after Peggy, which she aptly named “Breaking the Glass Ceiling.”

“This is where my nerd qualities come through. Peggy is a diminutive of Margaret. A class of classic cocktails is called a Daisy. It includes the spirit of your choice, citrus juice, and grenadine or orange liquor. If you make a Tequila Daisy, you are making a Margarita, which is Daisy in Spanish. Peggy is my favorite character.  She starts from the bottom and works her way up. I put a spin on a tequila daisy by using Fidencio Mezcal and a roasted jalapeño grenadine to reflect her feisty character.” 

Recipe

1.5oz Fidencio Mezcal

0.5oz fresh lime juice

0.75oz of roasted jalapeño infused grenadine

Combine above ingredients, shake, double strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass

Garnish with a lime spiral

Roasted Jalapeno Grenadine

Combine 24oz of POM juice and 3 cups of sugar, dissolve, and then bring to a simmer for ten minutes. Add two teaspoons of orange flower water. Blend with 5 mashed heavily charred jalapeños and let sit for 1-3 hours to taste.

Written by Sonja Trierweiler, social media specialist at The Smithsonian Associates.

Bitter Betty

Before sampling the incredible and creative drinks from Jack Rose Dining Saloon, attendees enjoyed a fascinating interview of Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant, moderated by cultural historian at the National Portrait Gallery Amy Henderson.

Janie is one of the few costume designers who still uses a sketchbook—she prefers colored pencils and black ink pens for her Mad Men sketches.

Betty’s blue gown design was especially captivating; it made one truly appreciate Janie’s creative, hand-drawn designs. Janie also discussed how fun it was designing for what she endearingly calls “Fat Betty”—the season in which Betty was struggling with her weight—because more than 90% of her wardrobe had to be built from scratch.

Following the interview, audience members were invited upstairs to try drinks and view Janie’s original, highly artistic sketches. Accompanying her blue gown Betty design was the Betty-inspired cocktail, “Blonde and Bitter,” concocted by mixologist Amy Russell from Jack Rose Dining Saloon. Regarding her inspiration for the cocktail, Amy says,

“Betty starts off as sweet and kind but you realize she is a bitter person the more you get to know her. I began with Dolin Blanc Vermouth which has a sweetness between dry and sweet vermouth. To bring in the bitter element, I used Salers Aperitif. The Fee Brothers cherry bitters bridges the gap between sweet and bitter. The Punkt Genau sparkling rose gives it a floral note and brings out the cherry bitters. The lemon juice adds the citrus notes to brighten the drink.”

Recipe

1.0   oz Salers Apertiif

1.0   oz Dolin Blanc vermouth

0.5 oz of fresh lemon juice

Dash of Fee Bros. cherry bitters

Combine above ingredients, shake and double strain into an ice filled old fashioned glass.

Top with a heavy splash of Punkt Genau sparking rose.

Garnish with an orange coin.

 

Written by Sonja Trierweiler, social media specialist at The Smithsonian Associates.

How to Kiss Don Draper

“You know, I’ve always wanted to kiss Don. I can now say I know exactly what it’s like.”

Or so thought an attendee at Mad Men Style: Janie Bryant on Fashion and Character on September 9^th after savoring the Don Draper-inspired cocktail.

Don may not have been at the Smithsonian that Monday evening, but thanks to Jack Rose Dining Saloon, a signature drink that combined bourbon, orange juice, lemon juice, Cherry Heeringand, and tobacco syrup made an appearance. Don’s drink, called “Live Like There’s no Tomorrow,” was just one of the five concoctions available. Others included Betty, Peggy, Roger, and Joan, but Don’s was something special, just like the character himself.

 

Mixologist Amy Russell of Jack Rose Dining Saloon explains how she came up with the concept for this subtly smoky drink:

“For Don, I took the flavors in a new old fashioned and broke them down into their components. I needed a surprise element that would take you off guard. Don does that to us every single season. While Don has an old fashioned in one hand, he has a cigarette in another. I infused simple syrup with Frog Cellars pipe tobacco. It brings out the wonderful aromas of tobacco without any of the harshness.”

 

If you, too, want to have a moment of privacy with Don, try your hand at recreating the cocktail based off this character’s mysteriously cloudy personality.

Recipe

1.5 oz Old Bardstown 80 bourbon

0.5 oz fresh orange juice

0.5 oz of fresh lemon juice

0.125 oz of Cherry Heering

0.5 oz of tobacco syrup

Combine above ingredients, shake and double strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

Tobacco syrup: Add one part pipe tobacco to two parts simple syrup. Let it sit for three hours at room temperature. Strain through a coffee filter.

Written by Sonja Trierweiler, social media specialist at The Smithsonian Associates.

 

 

Go Behind the Styles With Mad Men's Emmy-nominated Costume Designer

 

Two signature Betty Draper looks from season one. Image courtesy of Janie Bryant

Janie Bryant is an Emmy Award-winning costume designer best known for her work on AMC’s “Mad Men.” Photo by Palma Kolansky

There’s a lot to love about AMC’s “Mad Men,” not least of which is the fashion. Since 2007, the critically acclaimed television series has dazzled viewers with its attention to period detail, bringing the 1960s back to life with an extensive wardrobe of nipped-waist dresses and longline bras, fedoras and skinny ties. The show has become a modern style guide, launching fashion trends and even a popular tie-in clothing line from Banana Republic. “Mad Men”‘s fashion takes us, as Don Draper would put it, “to a place where we ache to go again.”

The person behind this style revival is Janie Bryant, the show’s costume designer. Bryant researches, designs and curates all the looks on “Mad Men,” from Joan Harris’ curve-hugging sheaths to Bob Benson’s beach-ready shorts. Bryant has won numerous accolades (including six Emmy nominations and one win) for her period work on “Mad Men” and the 2004-2006 HBO series “Deadwood,” and frequently collaborates with brands and retailers to create contemporary fashions. She will be interviewed by historian Amy Henderson at a Smithsonian Associates seminar next week.

We caught up with the designer to talk about her work on “Mad Men,” her personal style, her upcoming reality show and, of course, the shorts that launched a thousand rumors and a parody Twitter account:

How much of the fashion on “Mad Men” is vintage, and how much is your original design?

 It’s always a combination. I design garments for the principal cast, and that always depends on the episode and the characters that are in the script and how much time and money I have. I buy vintage and I do a lot of rentals from the amazing costume houses here in Los Angeles. I will also buy vintage and redesign it, depending on what needs I have for each particular character.

How do you get inspired?

It really starts with the script. It’s inspirational to read what the characters are saying to each other, what actions they’re taking, where each scene is being set, so the script is really the beginning place for the costume design. From there, I start my research process by going through catalogs, old photographs, all different kinds of magazines—anything from a Sears catalog to a Vogue fashion magazine from the period and everything in between. That’s why I particularly love old photographs, because you truly get a sense of what people were wearing and how they wore it and where each wrinkle was. I will research newspapers. I’ll watch old movies. I do a lot of research because it’s always that visual inspiration of, “Oh! This reminds me so much of the character Betty,” or “This photograph reminds me so much of Don.”

Walk me through your design process for Joan’s purple suit (sketch below) from the first episode of “Mad Men” season six.

Season five was such an interesting character arc for Joan because she had a new position [as a partner] in the office and came into a new position economically. I felt like that was a great opportunity for Joan to have a little bit of an update. She’s been stuck in that late-fifties wiggle dress, hourglass look for many, many seasons. Joan will always wear clothing that totally accentuates her curves, but at the same time I felt like she could use a little fashion update. I wanted to incorporate a more A-line skirt. The vest and skirt combination was a very modern thing at this point in time, and the ruffled blouses were really coming into style as well, so I wanted to incorporate those elements for Joan, especially in the first episode of the season.

This professional look for Joan Harris was inspired by the character’s new position at the beginning of season six. Image courtesy of Janie Bryant

But Christina [Hendricks, who plays Joan] and I still laugh—we’re like, “Oh, Joan, she buys clothes and then she takes it to her seamstress and has it tailored two sizes too small!” It’s a funny little character thing that I love about Joan. Joan wears her clothes too tight—it’s fabulous.

Do you have a favorite character to design for? A favorite garment that you’ve created?

[With regard to] favorite characters, it changes so much because it really depends on what’s happening in the script. The fun thing about being the costume designer of the show is that there is such variety. Probably one of my favorite costumes of all time is Harry’s costume from last season, when the guys go to California. He’s in his long dramatic scarf, the yellow double-breasted sports coat. I love that costume so much! I love the whole aspect of the show moving along in time, and that was just one of those moments that you can really see things changing. . . . If [the show] stayed at 1960 for six years, I think that I would grow tired of that.

Betty Draper’s glamorous blue gown, featured in the season two episode, “The Gold Violin,” is one of Janie Bryant’s favorites. Image courtesy of Janie Bryant

I also loved the blue brocade gown that I designed for Betty in season two, with the blue silk organza overdress and the inset pearls and rhinestones. I love that dress. There’s so many! I hate choosing favorites—it’s so hard. I can’t even decide because it has varied so much. Megan was one of my favorite characters last year and Jane was one of my favorite characters in season five. One of my favorite costumes of all time was Jane’s ivory silk crepe jumpsuit with the rhinestone cutout.

You mean the Princess Leia look, from when she and Roger took LSD?

That’s the one, but it’s funny that you call it Princess Leia! [laughs] She was over-the-top, dramatic Princess Leia then.

How much input does the showrunner, Matthew Weiner, have on the costume design?

I talk with him about what I’m thinking and sometimes he will have specific desires for a character, but I never feel like he’s micromanaging me. We’ve always had a great, creative working relationship. I run my department and I have my creative discussions with him, and that’s how we work together. I have always felt like it’s very balanced and there’s a lot of independence.

This conservative flannel look from season two represents an early stage in Peggy Olson’s style evolution from schoolgirl drab to career woman chic. Image courtesy of Janie Bryant

How much interaction do you have with hair and make-up to create a character’s complete look?

We have lots and lots of discussions. I show them what the costume is going to be for each character and hopefully we have time to talk about it. They are very creative too. They see the costume, the color, the design of it, what I’m going for, and then they can do their thing. 

It’s usually the women’s fashion that gets the most attention. What are some of the subtleties of men’s fashion that we should note?

These looks for Don Draper and Roger Sterling illustrate the nuances of menswear on “Mad Men.” Image courtesy of Janie Bryant

I pay huge attention to the men. They all have different shirt collars and different cuff links, or may not have cuff links—like Roger Sterling, each one of his shirts is embroidered with his initials on the cuff. They each have a different color scheme. Each of the male characters wears a different kind of suiting. The variation really is endless, and I do love to make each one of those characters different. I think it’s really important for them to be very character-specific and character-driven.

The obvious way of seeing that is Harry. He’s so different from the rest of the male cast. But Pete is too, and his costume design has changed a lot over all the different seasons, which has been really fun—from his menswear being mostly made up of different hues of blues to his palette being much more refined and somber and serious as he has gotten older. That has been very interesting—the transition for that character, to go through all the different character arcs with him.

I want to ask you about one men’s look in particular: Bob Benson’s shorts from this past season. How did you settle on those shorts?

There were several details about those swim trunks that I loved. One, it was a fish print, which I thought was really important because he’s a character that everybody was sort of like, “Hmm, we don’t really know who this guy is.” I felt like the fish print gave that sort of slippery accent to his character. Also, his color palette was always just a little off. The shorts have an interesting color scheme going on—the fish are a little odd in color. [The shorts] just really spoke to me as far as “OK, that’s a Bob Benson swim trunk.” And it was also kind of nerdy too. I loved all those things about them.

Was it a challenge for you to dress Betty as the character gained and lost weight? How did you deal with that?

Yes, that is always challenging. It’s also an aspect of the show that I wanted to look perfectly flawless and natural to the audience. For season five, I designed 90 percent of her costumes and had them made, just because it was like designing for a totally different, new character. This [past] season, her weight loss was very challenging too—to go through all those different periods. We had a lot of fittings to figure out the proper amount of weight loss [and] how the costumes were going to fit with the weight loss. And not to mention, her hair color changed too. All of those factors went into the different costumes. I love that part of the show as well—the challenges that come up within the show.

How has Sally Draper’s style evolved as she has become a teenager?

I loved researching teen fashions for this period. It’s been really fun to go through the character changes with Sally. I always felt like when she was in the Francis home, it was very preppy, very east coast, almost like Sally dresses like Betty. But since she’s had the influence of Megan, she’s more fashionable, she’s into the go-go boots, the miniskirts, the hippie chic. All of those aspects have been really fun to play with with her character. I think it’s been fun for the audience too.

I got an email from a fan of the show who sent me a picture of herself in 1967 wearing the same exact dress that Sally Draper wore to the Thanksgiving dinner. It was amazing! I couldn’t believe it. I do a lot of research and so does my team—it is pretty extensive. But to have that visual confirmation of being so spot-on, that was a beautiful moment.

Does the fashion on “Mad Men” reflect your own personal style?

No, it doesn’t. I am all about sexy, modern glamour. I love pretty with an edge.

You’re now known as a vintage designer. Would you like to branch out into more contemporary fashions?

I am obsessed with period costume design. I love it. I guess I am known for vintage, but I really see it more as period costume design, as opposed to vintage. As far as my own brand, there are definitely aspects of vintage in my design. I am inspired by vintage, for sure.

Do you raid the closet at “Mad Men”?

I have a couple of times, but not always. If I wear vintage, I like to wear one dramatic piece and not be in a costume. I’m obsessed with brocades, I’m obsessed with laces. A lot of those fabrics were very popular during the sixties. There are a lot of things that I truly love about the period, especially in the winter time. There’s nothing like going to New York City in a full-length leather cape with a fur trim.

Pete Campbell spotted Joan Harris wearing this purple sailor-collared number at Bonwit Teller in the season three episode, “Souvenir.” Image courtesy of Janie Bryant

When do you start working on the next (and final) season of “Mad Men”?

I haven’t gotten anything official yet, but I think I’ll go back probably sometime in the fall.

“Mad Men” is ending soon. Do you have a dream project that you would love to work on?

I am working on my own TV show, and that is my dream right now. It’s a reality design competition that merges costume design with fashion design. I love this whole idea because fashion designers are truly inspired by costume designers. I wanted to bring costume designers more to the forefront, but [the show is] also about how the garments that we see in film and TV really do show up on the runway. It’s a competition show that really merges those two worlds together, and I think as time has gone on, the two career paths have become more and more closely linked to one another.

We are in the process of getting it sold, which is really exciting. I’m working with the amazing producers from “Fashion Star,” and that’s where we are right now. We are working with the title of “Janie Bryant’s Hollywood.”

How have you been influenced by other costume designers?

I’ve always been obsessed with Gone with the Wind, My Fair Lady, Gigi, Sound of Music, An American in Paris, Jezebel. I really got into watching classic movies because I loved the costume design so much. But other designers like Sandy Powell, Catherine Martin, Colleen Atwood [are] amazing and I love their work.

I loved Sandy Powell’s work on Far From Heaven.

I’m obsessed with Orlando. I could see that film a million, trillion times. Her work on that is just breathtaking!

Janie Bryant will speak at the Smithsonian Associates seminar, “Mad Men Style: Janie Bryant on Fashion and Character,” on September 9, 2013. Tickets are available at smithsonianassociates.org.

Written by: Vicky Gan, Smithsonian Magazine

What the Great Gatsby Got Right about the Jazz Age

Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald and F. Scott Fitzgerald by Harrison Fisher, 1927; Conté crayon on paperboard; National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Fitzgerald’s daughter, Mrs. Scottie Smith

As someone who adores sequins and feathers, I am buzzing with anticipation over what the New York Times has dubbed “an eminently enjoyable movie,” Baz Lurhmann’s new film version of The Great Gatsby.  Will I like Leo DiCaprio  as Gatsby? Will Jay-Z’s music convey the fancy-free spirit of High Flapperdom?

F. Scott Fitzgerald is credited with coining the phrase “The Jazz Age” in the title of his 1922 collection of short stories, Tales of the Jazz Age. He also became its effervescent chronicler in his early novels This Side of Paradise (1920) and The Beautiful and the Damned (1922), along with another short story collection, Flappers and Philosophers (1920).  Published in 1925, The Great Gatsby was the quintessence of this period of his work, and evoked the romanticism and surface allure of his “Jazz Age”—years that began with the end of World War I, the advent of woman’s suffrage, and Prohibition, and collapsed with the Great Crash of 1929—years awash in bathtub gin and roars of generational rebellion. As Cole Porter wrote, “In olden days a glimpse of stocking/Was looked on as something shocking,/But now God knows,/Anything Goes.”  The Twenties’ beat was urban and staccato: out went genteel social dancing; in came the Charleston. Everything moved: cars, planes, even moving pictures. Hair was bobbed, and cigarettes were the new diet fad.

Gloria Swanson by Nickolas Muray, c. 1920 (printed 1978) (c)Courtesy Nickolas Muray Photo Archives; gelatin silver print; National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

According to his biographer Arthur Mizener, Fitzgerald wrote his agent Maxwell Perkins in 1922: “I want to write something new. . .something extraordinary and beautiful and simple.” Like today, newness was fueled by innovation, and technology was transforming everyday life. Similar to the way social media and the iPhone shape our culture now, the Twenties burst with the revolutionary impact of silent movies, radio and recordings. New stars filled the mediascape, from Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson, to Paul Whiteman and the Gershwins. Celebrity culture was flourishing, and glamour was in.

Paul Whiteman in “King of Jazz” by Joseph Grant, 1930; India ink and pencil on paper; National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Carol Grubb and Jennifer Grant Castrup

Accompanied in a champagne-life style by his wife Zelda, the embodiment of his ideal flapper, Fitzgerald was entranced by the era’s glitz and glamour. His story “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz,” he admitted, was designed “in the familiar mood characterized by a perfect craving for luxury.” By the time he wrote Gatsby, his money revels were positively lyrical:  when he describes Daisy’s charm, Gatsby says: “Her voice is full of money,” and the narrator Nick explains, “That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jungle of it, the cymbals’ song of it.” 

Fitzgerald acknowledges the presence of money’s dark side when Nick describes Tom and Daisy: “They were careless people—they smashed things up. . .and then retreated back into their money. . .and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”  But his hero Gatsby is a romantic. He was a self-made man (his money came from bootlegging), and illusions were vital to his world view. Fitzgerald once described Gatsby’s ability to dream as “the whole burden of this novel—the loss of those illusions that give such color to the world so that you don’t care whether things are true or false as long as they partake of the magical glory.”

Rudolph Valentino by Johan Hagemeyer, c. 1921; gelatin silver print; National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Alan and Lois Fern Acquisition Fund

Gatsby sees money as the means to fulfilling his “incorruptible dream.” When Nick tells him, “You can’t repeat the past,” Gatsby is incredulous:  “Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can.”   (Cue green light at the end of the dock: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into time.”) As critic David Denby recently wrote in his New Yorker review of the Luhrmann film: “Jay Gatsby ‘sprang from his Platonic conception of himself,’ and his exuberant ambitions and his abrupt tragedy have merged with the story of America, in its self-creation and its failures.”

It was the American Dream on a spree. Fitzgerald ends Gatsby intoning his dreamlike vision of the Jazz Age: “the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning—”

 

Written by Amy Henderson, curator at the National Portrait Gallery.

The Civil War: An American Experience Like No Other

Many books have been written about the American Civil War. None tells the story quite the way Smithsonian Civil War: Inside the National Collection does. You’ll find yourself wandering through this book, stopping to consider the role of the recently invented telegraph in the war effort; transfixed by abolitionist John Brown’s intense gaze captured in an 1840s portrait; disturbed by a slave ship’s manifest that lists the attributes of the 83 human beings on their way to auction.

It’s an opportunity to go on a hand-curated tour of a great Smithsonian exhibition mounted between the hard covers of this remarkable book.

Planned to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War, the book’s 150 thematic essays, written by Smithsonian curators and historians, follow the thread of the conflict chronologically, from the pre-war years through the war and into Reconstruction. The narrative is illustrated with 550 images of artifacts and objects drawn exclusively from the Smithsonian’s collections.  

Thirteen museums and archives are represented in this book. A true collaborative effort, the book drew on curators, historians, and volunteers who carefully searched through cabinets, store rooms, and locked vaults to consider for inclusion tens of thousands of Civil War artifacts, some of which had never been seen by the public. An editorial committee tackled the soul-searching task of deciding which objects would be the most treasured, significant, and interesting. “Everybody had a different perspective about what was a treasure,” says Carolyn Gleason, Smithsonian Books director.

There is an image of the original “Old Glory” flag and the silk top hat Lincoln wore to Ford’s Theatre the night he was killed, along with the inkstand he used to write the Emancipation Proclamation and his (secrets-filled) gold watch. There are rare photographs of Stonewall Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, and a group portrait of the notorious Mosby’s Rangers. Heartbreaking personal stories tease out the humanity captured in images of camp life and life in Andersonville Prison. Horrible battlefield conditions are brought home in an essay on treating the wounded, illustrated with the often-inadequate and grisly equipment field surgeons used to operate. There are futuristic aircraft designs from the Civil War era as well as an essay on the bugles, drums, and other musical instruments that were carried to war. We’re reminded of the important role that photography played in reporting the war in images such as the one Alexander Gardner took of the dead bodies at Gettysburg. Other images show sculptures, posters, gowns, guns, uniforms, and personal keepsakes. The depth and breadth of the treasures in this volume are remarkable.

Here is a story of a war and a people who looked for ways to use its hard lessons to try to create a better nation. As Jon Meacham writes in his foreword, “If we fail to understand or to remember always that history is not clinical but human…then we risk limiting the roles we ourselves play in the unfolding drama of the nation and of the world.”

Written by Cecelia Reed, The Smithsonian Associates

Visit Smithsonianbooks.com for more information.