Friday, May 28, 2010

Item of the Week - Surprise in the Stacks

It's always a wonderful surprise to discover something new between the pages of a book in the Library Collection.  From time to time we like to share them here before returning them to the shelves.  Earlier this week while working with the Myers Library Collection we came a cross a delightful copy of  The Life of Francis Marion by William Gilmore Simms.  Beautifully bound this volume tells the story of the South Carolina Revolutionary War hero perhaps better known as the "Swamp Fox" This copy also contained a suprise which we discovered on the one of the first pages - a portrait in profile. Who is this lady? Is she a member of the Myers family? It's fun to wonder who drew her portrait here, when, and why. 

Women at the Chrysler Women and World War II

During the exhibition Women of the Chrysler: A 400-Year Celebration of the Arts, we’re celebrating the contributions of women to the history of the Chrysler Museum. Women from all backgrounds have played an integral role in the creation, development, and operation of the Museum from its very beginning. Each week during the exhibition, we’re a story about a woman or group of women accompanied by images from the Library's collections. This week's contribution was researched and written by Spring Library Intern Victoria Schwab. We invite you to join us in the Library to learn more about these dedicated women.


The women at the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Science were not discouraged by the hardships of World War II; rather they persevered by sustaining art and culture in Norfolk. Members of the Norfolk Society of Arts and Junior League regularly held exhibitions, lectures, and concerts in support of war relief. In 1942, ‘Women of the War Week’ was held to sell defense bonds and stamps encouraging citizens to “Stamp Themselves American.” Additional aid was provided through various shows including the Harvest Show, which raised $1,595.63. Aside from war relief, the Museum sponsored free concerts along with poetry and art competitions for individuals serving in the armed forces. The Museum’s commitment to the arts brought support and encouragement to residence in a time of crisis.
 
 -- Victoria Schwab, Library Intern

Friday, May 14, 2010

Lately, I’ve been reading Gregory Gibson’s Hubert’s Freaks: The Rare-Book Dealer, the Times Square Talker, and the Lost Photos of Diane Arbus. Photographer of both the popular and the unorthodox, Arbus lived an extraordinary adventure until her untimely death in 1971. She portrayed her subjects with uncompromising directness and dignity. Though born into an affluent New York family, Arbus chose to photograph in some of the darkest, most forbidden – and most interesting places in the city. She cut her professional teeth as a fashion photographer, but felt restrained by the rules of the fashion world and collaboration with her husband Allen Arbus. Later, through her technical studies with Lisette Model and the encouragement given by her famed tutor, Arbus honed her personal style. Eventually, her work revolutionized documentary photography. Interested in learning more about Diane Arbus? Please join us on May 19th for the latest installment of Books & Art, Wine & Cheese and have a look at ground-breaking photographs by female photographers in Women of the Chrysler.

--SCM

Join us for the Big Read!

The Jean Outland Chrysler Library partners with Old Dominion University’s Darden College of Education to encourage The Big Read.
This event, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, brings communities together to read, discuss, and celebrate selections from world literature.
Program participants will get a free copy of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club and the opportunity to discuss the acclaimed book at the Chrysler Museum that evening. A showing of the film A Conversation with Amy Tan will follow the discussion. For more information about The Big Read, visit http://www.neabigread.org./

Woman at the Chrysler: Docent Liven Art Scene

During the exhibition Women of the Chrysler: A 400-Year Celebration of the Arts, we’re celebrating the contributions of women to the history of the Chrysler Museum. Women from all backgrounds have played an integral role in the creation, development, and operation of the Museum from its very beginning. Each week during the exhibition, we’re a story about a woman or group of women accompanied by an online album of images from the Library's collections. We also invite you to join us in the Library to learn more about these dedicated women.

When I find myself in Huber Court or the Galleries on a weekday morning, I am always impressed by the hum of activity, and the many happy groups touring in a surprisingly orderly fashion. I especially enjoy overhearing bits and pieces of conversations between tour groups and the Docents who make this all possible. Next week these dedicated women and men will celebrate the conclusion of another successful year of leading thousands of children and adults in an enlightening conversation with the Chrysler Museum Collections and exhibitions.

As with many programs at the Museum, the Docent program grew from the hard work of a group of inspired Norfolk women. In 1958, the Junior League of Norfolk established a volunteer docent program to lead school tours at the Museum. Modeling their program after the National Gallery of Art, they began giving their first tours in the spring of 1959 with only six volunteers. These founding volunteers recognized the importance of the arts and the Museum to the quality of education offered in the region’s schools. As the demand for school tours grew, so did the number of volunteers. Consequently, the Junior League pledged $20,000 in 1966 towards the salary of the Museum’s first education director, Mr. Richard Carroll. His primary responsibility was to train the Museum’s Docents. During this time, women from the service clubs of Virginia Beach and Portsmouth also assisted with Museum education programs, including taking works of Art into schools. Even after Walter P. Chrysler Jr. brought his art collection to Norfolk in 1970s, the role of the Docents in the Museum’s mission remained essential, and continues to be a key part of the Museum today.

In honor of the millions of tours that have been given by Museum Docents during the last 50 years, we’ve created a slideshow of images from the Library archives of Docents doing what they do best – bringing people and art together.

Friday, May 7, 2010

This year, as The Azalea Festival becomes NATO fest, we thought we’d take a moment to reach into our archives and have a look back at the tradition of crowning Queen Azalea in Norfolk. The crowing of Queen Azalea was retired in 2009 and replaced with the new tradition of naming a Festival Ambassador, an honored armed forces service member - male or female – to represent their country to NATO and to the world. Representatives from member nations, the armed forces and the Hampton Roads community participated in the Annual Parade of Nations last week, at which the chosen Ambassador, French Air Force Captain Geraldine Ribereau was honored. Past Queens from the United States include Hollywood Actress Patricia Anne Priest (1954) – the first Queen, Lynda Bird Johnson (1961) and Luci Baines Johnson (1965), Tricia Nixon (1969), Jennie Elizabeth Eisenhower (1997), Jennifer Robb (2003) and many more. Please enjoy these photos of Queens past and some of the ladies of their courts. Want more? Stop by the Jean Outland Chrysler Library and have a look at several full-color brochures from the 1950s and 60s celebrating The International Azalea Festival and The Azalea Court as well as military life and tourism in Norfolk.




Azalea Festival