ART: PORTRAITS OF AMERICANS
Amy Sherald American Sublime (Whitney Museum of American Art)
Amy Sherald is an American portrait painter whose works feature mostly Black individuals. She is probably best known for her portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama, hung on a wall by itself. The exhibit is large and encompasses early works from 2007 to very recent ones. Many of the portraits are of ordinary people, and almost all of them are single individuals standing upright against a solid deep colored background. Some are holding objects, such as a rabbit in a hat, which take them out of strict reality into a sort of dream world.
Sherald’s latest works seem more political with a sharper focus on racism and gender issues. I was especially drawn to these recent pieces. The riff on the Statue of Liberty forces one to look again closely at the title and the work itself.
For Love and For Country takes the famous kiss in Times Square (Eisenstadt photo, 1945) as inspiration for a different depiction of love and service.
This year is the 10th anniversary of the Whitney Museum’s wonderful Renzo Piano building located in the Meatpacking District. (The Chief Penguin and I had the chance to tour the building with one of Renzo’s architects shortly before it opened.) To celebrate its location overlooking the Hudson River, check out Mary Heilmann’s Long Life mural and the funky colorful chairs for absorbing the view.
LITERATURE: EARLY FEMINIST
The Solitary Walker: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft by N. J. Mastro
In the late 18th century, Mary Wollstonecraft boldly challenged the traditional view of women’s place in society. Mentored and encouraged by publisher Joseph Johnson, she wrote reviews for his publications and penned A Vindication of the Rights of Women, the first of her works to argue that women were not naturally inferior to men.
Mastro’s debut novel, A Solitary Walker, follows Wollstonecraft’s writing career in London, her time in Paris covering the French Revolution, and her solo journey to Scandinavia to untangle lover Gilbert Imlay’s shipping affairs. Until her 30’s, Wollstonecraft vowed never to marry. The product of an abusive home, she guarded her heart against love and romance.
This is a rich and very engaging novel which brings Mary Wollstonecraft to life as she cherishes her independence, but ultimately realizes she too needs love to sustain her. Recommended for fans of historical fiction! It is worth noting that Wollstonecraft’s daughter, Mary Shelley, was also famous; she wrote Frankenstein, a novel that has inspired numerous plays and movies.
FILM: FEARLESS PUBLISHER
Becoming Katharine Graham (Prime Video)
If you lived through the 1960’s and 70’s, you likely know Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham’s story. Perhaps you have also read her forthright and moving autobiography, Personal History. Even so, this new documentary, Becoming Katharine Graham, is so compelling and timely, that I highly recommend it.
Katharine Graham’s father bought the Washington Post in the 1930’s, and it was a part of her life from childhood onward. When in 1963, her husband Phil Graham, then publisher, committed suicide, she took on the role. Graham was a mother and a deferential wife (or her word, “a doormat.”) The job of publisher pushed her into the forefront. She was the first American woman to hold this kind of position, and she served with an all-male board.
Throughout her 28 years as publisher, Kay Graham was challenged and determined and even fearless. She faced tough decisions regarding the Pentagon Papers and how the Post should cover the Watergate scandal. Her transformation into a female dynamo is documented with archival footage and interviews with the likes of Warren Buffet, Gloria Steinem, Carl Bernstein, and others. The film runs for 90 minutes.
Note: All unattributed photos by JWFarrington. Header photo is exterior of Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center.
