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Post by martha on Dec 30, 2007 17:38:19 GMT -5
oh my gosh. i'm going to be in DC for a meeting in late january 2008. i've seen the painting image in one of the shots above .. that is permanently on display at the national portrait gallery many times (i lived in DC for 8 years until 2 years ago) .. this one: i am thrilled that this exhibit will be open! and now i understand why an old work colleague, who knows of my kate mania and is still in the DC area, recently sent me a cryptic note about a catalog related to a kate exhibit. oh joy. oh rapture ..
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Post by babytheleopard on Jan 2, 2008 19:20:59 GMT -5
Wow that is awesome!! I really would love to go see this exhibit. But it's in DC too far from me GAH! Oh well. Maybe a road trip next summer LOL That Bringing Up Baby picture was new to me!
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Post by martha on Jan 22, 2008 18:14:39 GMT -5
i'll be in DC this sunday ... i get in late morning and the museum is open until later afternoon. i think i have my time committed .. i'll be sitting in front of the oscars. wait .. in front of the portrait .. wait ... in front of .. whatever else is there. actually, this is a lovely museum in general. i lived in DC for eight years (until about 3 years ago) .. and i would make regular pilgrimages to this museum to see several things including the 'buddha gertrude stein' (jo davidson's terra cotta statue that was cast and is also installed, as a bronze, in bryant park behind the new york public library 42nd street branch .. in DC visit the terra cotta original .. in NYC visit the bronze casting) ... friends have told me that its a small but quality exhibit .. or to quote from PAT AND MIKE "not much meat on her but what's there is cherce".
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Post by martha on Jan 27, 2008 16:59:23 GMT -5
I returned a short while ago to my DC hotel after spending several lovely hours at this small but precious exhibit earlier today. I will post cell phone photos i probably was not supposed to take .. and some observations and verbal descriptions anon ..
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Post by martha on Jan 27, 2008 23:56:50 GMT -5
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Post by martha on Jan 28, 2008 0:06:03 GMT -5
just for kicks, jo davison's "buddah" gertrude stein in terra cotta i snapped again with my cell phone today in the national portrail gallery in DC. the original is a much more appealling pale pinky orangey than this washed out cell phone photo .. and the red background in reality is precisely the same red used in the KATE exhibit on the walls of the exhibition room. so the fact that the portrait gallery already conventionally uses a hue that is so so hepburn was just .. well, kismet. .. but i digress ... ahem ...gertrude ..
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Post by Hep on Jan 28, 2008 7:57:58 GMT -5
Great pics! I cant wait to go in Apirl.
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Post by Judy on Jan 28, 2008 9:41:23 GMT -5
Thanks for the photos. My plans to get there in December had to be cancelled, but I hope to make it there soon.....Now, if only they weren't selling a certain book in the gift shop. At least I'm told they are. That's a "shanda," as my father might have said in Yiddish - a shame...actually, when used idiomatically, it comes closer to meaning a desecration. Yeah, a desecration. But back to pleasanter thoughts - that large photo at the entrance! Makes my heart go all pitter pat...Believe it or not, one of my favorite parts of walking through the Sotheby's exhibit was seeing those enormous enlargements (is that redundant ?). And I think my favorite of those - well, I had a bunch of favorites, like all of them! - was the one of her and Luddy sitting on the pier. Her face out in the sun was COVERED with freckles. Smaller versions of that photo that I'd seen just did not do them justice. ;D But back to the exhibit. Just stop a minute and think. Can you think of another actress of her generation - or any, really - where an exhibit about them would include not only their awards and film photos and posters but also an item of clothing associated with them OFF screen? ...Okay, maybe Garbo's slouch hat....But that's pretty rare company and I think that's what defines an icon. This is by no means a put-down of other beloved favorites of mine - or others. That isn't to say that others didn't perhaps wear certain things that would be instantly recognizable by their fans. But would they be included in an exhibit? I don't think so. I think this is quite unique to Kate....IMO
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Post by martha on Jan 28, 2008 10:10:51 GMT -5
Now, if only they weren't selling a certain book in the gift shop. At least I'm told they are. .... But back to the exhibit. Just stop a minute and think. Can you think of another actress of her generation - or any, really - where an exhibit about them would include not only their awards and film photos and posters but also an item of clothing associated with them OFF screen? ...Okay, maybe Garbo's slouch hat....But that's pretty rare company and I think that's what defines an icon. This is by no means a put-down of other beloved favorites of mine - or others. That isn't to say that others didn't perhaps wear certain things that would be instantly recognizable by their fans. But would they be included in an exhibit? I don't think so. I think this is quite unique to Kate....IMO i didn't make it to the gift shop so don't know what book(s) are available .. but i might get back there today .. [hmm, maybe this morning.. meeting doesnt' start for a few hours] ... oh -- a friend sent me one of the exhibit give away brochures (you know those tri fold kind of descriptive things you find at the entrances to museum exhibits?) .. i filed it away and assumed i would find more about the kate exhibit her at the museum .. and they were nowhere to be found. i finally asked at the information desk as i was leaving ...according to the volunteer ... they are completely out of the pamphlets .. people took them by the handfuls, she said. she thought it was because of the beautiful portrait photo was on the front .. all i know is that its a simply beautiful product. perhaps i'll scan the one i have and share here if they don't reprint more .. on the clothing item. ... thoughts similar to those you've articulated here, judy, occurred to me while paying my respects. few individuals personal items so powerfully evoke their presence (FDR's cigarette holder, political folks for sure)... for some its items worn in performance (Chaplin's cane, Garland's sequined mandarin collar jackets worn in performance and in particular at Carnegie Hall, ... that kind of thing) ...With Kate's sweater, her personal wardrobe item, these thoughts were quickly followed by the thought that kate would find it a absolute HOOT that any such thing of hers (ooo, remember that HATS at the southeby exhibit, judy? sigh) ... would be displayed and reviewed in this manner. i'm listening to her guffaw in my head .. don't you think? that said, the display itself is absolutely perfect. the sweater is not hanging on a hanger, not framed on a wall, not flat and pinned down like parchment, but loosely draped ... its charming and beautiful and looks friggin comfortable .. you just wanna put the lovely thing on your own shoulders. not in an acquiring i-need-to-own-a-piece-of-my-beloved-kate's life sense .. but in a very human way of sharing her aesthetic. i'd want to touch one at brooks brothers today if i saw one (its brooks brothers by the way, but of course, and appears to be cotton) if displayed like this. wait .. perhaps i will look for one (turtle neck, long sleeved ....) its a beautiful sweater .. smile oh, THIS will continue to make me smile today ... in response to another thread ..
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Post by Judy on Jan 28, 2008 11:12:03 GMT -5
Now, if only they weren't selling a certain book in the gift shop. At least I'm told they are. .... But back to the exhibit. Just stop a minute and think. Can you think of another actress of her generation - or any, really - where an exhibit about them would include not only their awards and film photos and posters but also an item of clothing associated with them OFF screen? ...Okay, maybe Garbo's slouch hat....But that's pretty rare company and I think that's what defines an icon. This is by no means a put-down of other beloved favorites of mine - or others. That isn't to say that others didn't perhaps wear certain things that would be instantly recognizable by their fans. But would they be included in an exhibit? I don't think so. I think this is quite unique to Kate....IMO i didn't make it to the gift shop so don't know what book(s) are available .. but i might get back there today .. [hmm, maybe this morning.. meeting doesnt' start for a few hours] ... oh -- a friend sent me one of the exhibit give away brochures (you know those tri fold kind of descriptive things you find at the entrances to museum exhibits?) .. i filed it away and assumed i would find more about the kate exhibit her at the museum .. and they were nowhere to be found. i finally asked at the information desk as i was leaving ...according to the volunteer ... they are completely out of the pamphlets .. people took them by the handfuls, she said. she thought it was because of the beautiful portrait photo was on the front .. all i know is that its a simply beautiful product. perhaps i'll scan the one i have and share here if they don't reprint more .. on the clothing item. ... thoughts similar to those you've articulated here, judy, occurred to me while paying my respects. few individuals personal items so powerfully evoke their presence (FDR's cigarette holder, political folks for sure)... for some its items worn in performance (Chaplin's cane, Garland's sequined mandarin collar jackets worn in performance and in particular at Carnegie Hall, ... that kind of thing) ...With Kate's sweater, her personal wardrobe item, these thoughts were quickly followed by the thought that kate would find it a absolute HOOT that any such thing of hers (ooo, remember that HATS at the southeby exhibit, judy? sigh) ... would be displayed and reviewed in this manner. i'm listening to her guffaw in my head .. don't you think? that said, the display itself is absolutely perfect. the sweater is not hanging on a hanger, not framed on a wall, not flat and pinned down like parchment, but loosely draped ... its charming and beautiful and looks friggin comfortable .. you just wanna put the lovely thing on your own shoulders. not in an acquiring i-need-to-own-a-piece-of-my-beloved-kate's life sense .. but in a very human way of sharing her aesthetic. i'd want to touch one at brooks brothers today if i saw one (its brooks brothers by the way, but of course, and appears to be cotton) if displayed like this. wait .. perhaps i will look for one (turtle neck, long sleeved ....) its a beautiful sweater .. smile oh, THIS will continue to make me smile today ... in response to another thread .. I'm lucky in that a friend sent me one of the brochures early on, so I have one in my collection, but I'm sure others here would love to see your scans. I STILL don't know how to post scans - or if one can. Oh, yeah, as I wrote in that piece about Sotheby's, I think she'd be laughing her ass off. But I don't think it would be derisive laughter - oh, she might look at us as thought we were in need of psychicatric assistance and TELL us all to stop being so ridiculous and get a life, but I think that secretly she'd enjoy it. Be amazed by it. Yeah...I remember the hats, and the hair rollers and everything else...I remember walking through those rooms searching, searching, searching for "Spencer's Goose." I COULD not find it...Then at one point, I was standing aside looking from one room through to the next and I looked UP....And there it was, hanging from the ceiling. Now where else would it/should it have been, silly goose? But when I spied it, I got the chills, and those Max Steiner violins came through loud and clear ....And I remember touching all those things you weren't really supposed to touch (I think we've passed the statute of limitations). And I remember standing for quite a long while in front of that gorgeous Robert McKnight marble sculpture of her (the one that's in WOTY). Seeing it in a photo just did not do it justice. I went back to look at it again and again. Even bid on it, but stopped bidding so that I'd have the dough for something else. JS PS...Speaking of Brooks Bros., I'm a J. Press girl from way back. My father was their head tailor for over 50 years....Just across the street in NYC (and for years right next door). He made clothing for plenty of famous folk - my personal favorite being Cary Grant - he spoke to Bette on the phone (when he was making suits for Gary Merrell) and others. Don't I WISH that Kate had walked in there one day? Even if it would have been when I was a child...Just to get the stories....Oh, well. By the way, I'm not sure I ever told this here but one day my father's tailors went out on strike and he had to finish a tux for Cary, so he brought it home and was sewing it at our kitchen table....I wrote a fan letter and he stuck it in the pocket. I had visions of Cary about to make a speech at a Faberge function and pulling out my mash note instead of his speech....But I got an autograph. Signed to - who else? - "Judy, Judy, Judy." Still have it.
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Post by martha on Jan 28, 2008 19:17:47 GMT -5
i visited the exhibit again tonight (i mean, why not, my hotel is within walking distance and the museum is open until 7pm) ... and was able to spend a few more moments with a few things ....
as judy mentioned in her article about the sotheby's auction ... part of the charm .. a big part of the charm .. of this small but powerful exhibit is watching and listening to others in the room. a middle aged couple talking with glee about an image from TLIW ("that was the role for which she got an oscar and tied with streisand, isn't it?") ... a young couple with a few adorable kids who loved the videos (like the little girl i snapped through the oscar display case yesterday) and wanted to check 'em all out. they laughed with kate's jokes and couldn't wait to try the next clip (they are invoked via a touch screen interface) ..
three display cases display different elements of kate's life: her oscars of course, the sweater we've talked about at some length ... and the first and final signature pages of the January 16, 1939 contract between Kate and Barry giving Kate the motion picture rights to THE PHILADELPHIA STORY. With this simple and powerful action she took over control of her own career, as we know .. and you can see her attention to detail (and the lifelong effort she must have expended on this detail) ... correcting with her fountain pen the typewritten spelling of her name from KathErine to KathArine .. then her big flourish of a left-leaning signature.
it was a wonderful contemplative yet joyous end to a long work day.
p.s. i checked the gift shop before leaving and didn't see ANY books about kate there, judy. which might not be a bad thing ... hopefully if people are inspired to look up more about kate they'll find the GOOD biographies. or better yet, just go to kate's own works. ME wasn't displayed in the exhibit but a copy of THE MAKING OF THE AFRICAN QUEEN *is* there ...
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Post by martha on Apr 7, 2008 21:11:58 GMT -5
hey judy .. didn't you visit this little memorabilia bonanza recently? if so .. what are your impressions (beyond the oscar statuette rear ends i find so adorable)? i was just in DC again for a week but working hard enough and was just far away enough that i didn't quite make it to this exhibit .. but i did make it to the temporary home of one pair of the ruby slippers (at one of the smithsonian museums) .. always a treat.
so, ms. judy .. [or anyone else who has been] .. comments?
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Post by HollywoodHepcat on Apr 8, 2008 12:31:50 GMT -5
I don't have anything new or sparkling to add to this conversation, but I thought I would share that my mother went to D.C. and visited the exhibit, not even thinking to pick up a brochure for her daughter, since, ya know, she HATES Katharine Hepburn and all. As her entire room covered with Kate's likeness/memorabillia serves proof.
... MY OWN MOTHER has visited more Kate places than I have. Which burns my goat! MY GOAT MY GOAT.
</rant>
Just thought I would share my... my IRRITATION with fellow Kate people.
Incidentally, didn't we chalk up a name for ourselves a while ago? Or am I confusing up my people? Oh life.
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Post by dreamer on Apr 8, 2008 16:12:37 GMT -5
Amber - as I have been told - there were no more brochures. They ran out of them and there were no new printed Understand your fustration - but am pretty sure that if your mom had the possiblity she would have brought you one Here is a little piece of the exhibit - found it at Flickr Hope it chears you up a bit
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Post by Shaun on Apr 9, 2008 0:04:14 GMT -5
I don't have anything new or sparkling to add to this conversation, but I thought I would share that my mother went to D.C. and visited the exhibit, not even thinking to pick up a brochure for her daughter, since, ya know, she HATES Katharine Hepburn and all. As her entire room covered with Kate's likeness/memorabillia serves proof. ... MY OWN MOTHER has visited more Kate places than I have. Which burns my goat! MY GOAT MY GOAT. </rant> Just thought I would share my... my IRRITATION with fellow Kate people. Incidentally, didn't we chalk up a name for ourselves a while ago? Or am I confusing up my people? Oh life. The Kate Power Fowards!
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