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The New York Public Library Season Preview 2006-2007 Programs & Events LIVE at the NYPL programs Calendar of Exhibitions Humanities and Social Sciences Library The Declaration of Independence Through August 5, 2006 French Book Art | Livres d'Artistes: Artists and Poets in Dialogue A Rakish History of Men's Wear September 8, 2006 - April 7, 2007 Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan October 20, 2006 - February 4, 2007 Where Do We Go from Here? The Photo League and Its Legacy (1936-2006) Russia Imagined, 1825-1925: The Art and Impact of Fedor Solntsev Prints of the American Revolution March 9, 2007 - June 23, 2007 Selections from the C.W. McAlpin Collection of George Washington Portraits Making the Scene: The Midtown Y Photography Gallery (1972-1996) The Gutenberg Bible Ongoing through Summer 2007 The Declaration of Independence June 29, 2007 - August 4, 2007 The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Josephine Baker: Early Years Through September 4, 2006 From Color to Light: Designs of Beni Montresor Dance in Cuba September 12, 2006 - November 4, 2006 500 Years of Italian Dance October 17, 2006 - January 20, 2007 Stars & Treasures: 75 Years of Collecting Theatre Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Changing Streetscapes: New Architecture and Open Space in Harlem Science, Industry and Business Library Places and Spaces: Mapping Science Through August 31, 2006 Hours, Tours, The Library Shops, and Information
Humanities and Social Sciences Library The Declaration of Independence The Library is honored to safeguard a fair copy (clean, full-text version without corrections or alterations) of the Declaration of Independence in Thomas Jefferson's hand. In the days immediately following ratification on July 4, 1776, Jefferson made several copies of the text that had been submitted to the Continental Congress, underlining the passages to which changes had been made. The Library's copy is one of two known to survive intact. It is shown together with the first Philadelphia printing and the first New York printing of the final version issued by Congress. These versions are complemented by the earliest newspaper printings; the second official version ordered by Congress, published by a woman printer in Baltimore; and a letter from Franklin to Washington mentioning that the Declaration was being drafted. French Book Art | Livres d'Artistes: Artists and Poets in Dialogue
The exhibition showcases collaborations between poets and artists such as André Breton and Marcel Duchamp, André Malraux and Fernand Léger, and Paul Eluard and Pablo Picasso. The Bibliothèque littéraire Jacques Doucet is a renowned resource for and treasure house of these moments of French literary and artistic triumph. Additionally, a substantial proportion of the exhibition will be drawn from The New York Public Library's holdings, primarily from the Spencer Collection.
This exhibition surveys men's dress from antiquity to the present, noting how through the centuries male style has swung from ostentation to restraint and back again. Masculine clothing has changed over time owing to a multitude of social, economic, and attitudinal transformations. At first, individuals chose garments that proclaimed their rank or special status as warriors and leaders. Later, sumptuary laws (restricting what could and could not be worn), chivalric codes, and the rituals of royal courts played a role in the development of masculine garments. By the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, male fashion leaders were admired both overtly and covertly. The growth of a new bourgeoisie in the late 18th century further influenced the outward expression of modern masculinity, as dandies took upon themselves the role of fashion leaders. A Rakish History of Men's Wear examines such topics as the enduring elements of masculine high style, the influence of the dandy, factors that led to the genesis of the modern suit, and how contemporary casual dress derives from modern popular culture and gender stereotypes. Drawing mainly from materials in the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, the exhibition tells the story of men's dress with an emphasis on the social aspects of costume and fashion history.
The Japanese literary tradition, dating from as early as the 8th century, is among the richest and most enduring of any country in the world, and ehon, or "picture books," although little known in the West are one of the glories of world art. Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan will demonstrate the variety of visual languages used by artists over many historical periods from 764 to 2005. It will include approximately 200 books with printed illustrations, as well as related manuscripts, drawings, woodblock prints, and photographs. Drawn from the Library's collections, a wide range of works will be featured, including two examples of Empress Shôtoku's Million Prayer Towers (764-770), Utamaro's celebrated Shiohi no tsuto (Gifts of the Ebb Tide , also known as The Shell Book, 1789), and Hokusai's Fugaku Hyakkei (One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji, 1834). The exhibition will also showcase more recent examples of Japanese book art, with books by some of the leading photographers of the 20th century, modernist books by artists like Koshiro Onchi, avant-garde works associated with early 20th-century movements such as MAVO, precursors of present-day anime, and works by internationally known contemporary artists like Hiroshi. The exhibition will be organized into five thematic sections. Section One, "Origins," on view in the Library's Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Gallery, will introduce visitors to early Japanese manuscripts and Buddhist works from the 8th through 17th centuries, which were precursors to the printed books in the main body of the exhibition. Sections Two through Five will be on view in the D. Samuel and Jeane H. Gottesman Exhibition Hall. Section Two, "The Art of the Book," focuses on the structural elements and choices available to artists, the language of the book, types of books, formats, bindings, and genres. In this section, the visitor will view some of the most celebrated, beautiful, and rare examples of the Japanese book with printed illustrations, many in the finest copies known. The final three sections present groups of pictures of similar subjects drawn in different styles, following a traditional Japanese classification that reflects an ancient Chinese division of the universe in "Heaven" (ten), which includes religious, cosmic, and supernatural themes; "Earth" (chi), which concerns nature, natural history, topography, and landscape; and "Humanity" (jin), which is devoted to scenes from literature, history, and fantasy, as well as representations of daily life. The Library will publish a 320-page companion volume featuring 70 key works from the exhibition, with 250 color illustrations. Where Do We Go from Here? The Photo League and Its Legacy (1936-2006)
Among the League's advisors, members, and teachers whose work will be shown are Ansel Adams, Margaret Bourke-White, Vivian Cherry, Morris Engel, George Gilbert, Rosalie Gwathmey, Lewis Hine, N. Jay Jaffee, Dorothea Lange, Helen Levitt, Walter Rosenblum, Ed Schwartz, Ann Zane Shanks, Lee Sievan, Aaron Siskind, David Vestal, Todd Webb, Weegee, Dan Weiner, Sandra Weiner, and Ida Wyman. Works are drawn from the Photography Collection of the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs. Russia Imagined: The Mastery of Fedor Solntsev, 1820-1870 The artist and designer Fedor Solntsev (1801-1892) was at the forefront of an artistic and intellectual movement begun in the early 19th century to forge a distinctly Russian national identity. Over his prodigious career, Solnstev traveled extensively throughout European Russia and created more than 5,000 images based on his observations of medieval art, architecture, antiquities, regional costumes, and national types. In so doing, he created a visual aesthetic that provided inspiration for his fellow Russian architects, designers, and painters. Solntsev's interest in the past and his study of the burgeoning fields of archaeology, ethnography, historic preservation, architecture, and decorative design place him on a par with noted European and American contemporaries such as A.W.N. Pugin and Alexander Jackson Davis, whose work is also featured in the exhibition. Russia Imagined will be drawn from the Library's wide-ranging holdings of Solntsev materials and comparative works representing the national revivals in western and northern Europe, and supplemented by two examples from A La Vieille Russie of porcelain designed by Solntsev for the tsars. Prints of the American Revolution Printmaking in America expanded during the Revolutionary War to fulfill the increasing needs for visual reportage of current events, easily distributable political propaganda, and tokens of patriotism. This exhibition will feature prints and drawings of key figures, battles, and events of the Revolutionary era and will examine the roles these images played in the struggle for independence. Drawn primarily from the Print Collection's outstanding holdings of American historical prints, it will include such highlights as Paul Revere's A View of Part of the Town of Boston in New England and Brittish [sic] Ships of War Landing Their Troops, Henry Pelham's The Fruits of Arbitrary Power, and Amos Doolittle's engravings of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Selections from the C.W. McAlpin Collection of George Washington Portraits The Charles Williston McAlpin collection of portraits of George Washington came to the Library as a gift in 1942. It consists of over 1,700 works, ranging from engravings, etchings, and lithographs, to textiles, embroideries, and porcelains. The exhibition will display a selection of pieces from the collection, most of them decorative, allegorical, or utilitarian, that depict Washington in the roles of Commander-in-Chief, President of the United States, private citizen, and mourned hero. Making the Scene: The Midtown Y Photography Gallery (1972-1996) While photographs are exhibited widely today, their acceptance into the mainstream art world has been a long process, periodically fraught with controversy and debate. One of the more recent manifestations of this debate occurred in the late 1970s, when the rise of postmodern theory led to a reevaluation of the medium and a critical scrutiny of the museum's role in the promotion of photography's status. Until recently, less attention has been paid to the role of alternative spaces, particularly those devoted to the exhibition of photography. If the triumph of art photography now seems like a foregone conclusion, prior to the 1980s, very few galleries showed photography exclusively and emerging photographers were faced with limited options for exhibiting their work outside museums. The Midtown Y Photography Gallery was the first non-profit organization in New York City with a mission to provide a public space for the display of photographs, helping dozens of photographers make the scene that it helped to bring about over 25 years, from 1972 to 1996 when the gallery closed. This exhibition offers a broader vision of the photography that was seen during the period in which photography became a mainstay of the art world, as well as an intimate portrait of one New York gallery. Making the Scene is drawn from the Midtown Y Photography Gallery Archive, bequeathed to The New York Public Library in 1998, and housed in the Photography Collection of the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, and the Manuscripts and Archives Division. The exhibition offers a retrospective survey of individual photographers shown at the gallery, including a large selection of Sy Rubinís "14th Street" project, as well as works from several group and theme shows. Other photographers represented in the exhibition include Dawoud Bey, Larry Fink, Bruce Gilden, Peter Hujar, Abelardo Morrell, Susan Unterberg, and many more. The Gutenberg Bible The first substantial printed book in the West is the royal-folio two-volume Gutenberg Bible on display, comprising nearly 1,300 pages and printed in Mainz on the central Rhine by Johann Gutenberg (ca. 1390s-1468) in the 1450s. Arguably the greatest achievement of the second millennium, the Gutenberg Bible was probably completed between March and November 1455, when Gutenberg's bankruptcy deprived him of his printing establishment, and epitomizes Gutenberg's triumph. Over possibly twenty or more years, at Mainz and perhaps at Strasbourg, he developed printing from movable type in the West. Perhaps some 180 copies of the Gutenberg Bible were originally produced, including about 45 on vellum. Of these, 48 integral copies survive, including 11 on vellum. The Lenox copy on display, printed on paper, was the first Gutenberg Bible to come to the United States, in 1847.
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center Josephine Baker: Early Years This exhibit of images documents Josephine Baker's great Paris triumph, Le Revue Negre, the show that established her international reputation as a performer. The exhibit, developed by Jean-Claude Baker, has been augmented by reproductions of rarely seen White Studio photographs from her earlier 1920s appearances in Broadway revues.
Beni Montresor designed scenery and costumes for opera houses and festivals around the world, among them the Metropolitan Opera House, the Royal Opera House, Teatro Colón, and the Italian and American Spoleto Festivals. He also designed sets and costumes for major ballet companies, worked in Italian film, and is remembered for his imaginative work in children' s books. From Color to Light: Designs of Beni Montresor is a multimedia exhibit from the Fondazione AIDA, Verona, augmented with artifacts from the collections of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and costumes loaned by the New York City Opera. Dance in Cuba In 2001, Gil Garcetti traveled to Cuba for the first of what would be several visits. Captivated by the essential role of dance in everyday life, he photographed dancers, ranging from professional ballerinas to street performers. This, the first museum exhibition of Garcetti's Cuban images, features fifty-nine photographs, most of which are drawn from his acclaimed new book, Dance in Cuba (2005). 500 Years of Italian Dance: Treasures from the Cia Fornaroli Collection 500 Years of Italian Dance: Treasures from the Cia Fornaroli Collection pays tribute both to the rich history of Italian dance and to the remarkable Cia Fornaroli Collection, a jewel of the Library's Jerome Robbins Dance Division. Assembled by Walter Toscanini, son of the famed Italian conductor and his wife, La Scala ballerina Cia Fornaroli, the collection documents the full sweep of Italian dance history from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. It encompasses some of the earliest writings on dance, including one of the very first Renaissance dance manuals, scores of books, letters, programs, and libretti, and hundreds of designs, photographs, lithographs, and ephemera. Stars and Treasures: 75 Years of Collecting Theatre
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Changing Streetscapes: New Architecture and Open Space in Harlem This exhibition features photographs and architectural renderings of the recent residential and commercial redevelopment of Harlem. Instead of focusing on the issue of gentrification, Changing Streetscapes visually documents through images rather than words how a neighborhood can change dramatically.
Science, Industry and Business Library
Places & Spaces: Mapping Science is a graphic depiction of the mapping of science. Expanding the concept of mapping geographic places, the designers have traced the development of science by following the path of research in individual disciplines. In addition to the panel maps, the exhibit will include two works by New York artists: Illuminated Diagrams by W. Bradford Paley and illuminated 3-D globes created by Ingo Günther. The exhibit will be accompanied by educational programs and will be available as a virtual exhibit.
Humanities and Social Sciences Library Tuesday - Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 12 noon - 6:00 p.m. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture *Tuesday, Wednesday, 12 noon - 8:00 p.m. Science, Industry and Business Library Tuesday - Thursday, 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Tours Humanities and Social Sciences Library : Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., a free one-hour tour of the landmark building. Group tours by appointment; call 212.930.0501 for reservations and fees. Gottesman Exhibition Tours are available free of charge Tuesday through Saturday, 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., and eligible Sundays, 3:30 p.m., Humanities and Social Sciences Library, first floor. Groups of ten or more people must make reserved group tour arrangements in advance; please call 212.930.0501. Group tour fees are $7 per person for adults and $5 for senior citizens. There is no charge for full-time students. Exhibition tours meet outside the entrance to Gottesman Hall. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts : There are no tours offered at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at this time. Call 212.870.1630 for general information. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture : Group tours are available by appointment. Call 212.491.2207. Science, Industry and Business Library : Tuesday and Thursday at 2 p.m., a free one-hour tour. For information, call 212.592.7000. The Library Shops The Library Shop at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday, 12 noon - 6:00 p.m. The Library Shop at the Mid-Manhattan Library Monday - Friday, 11:00 a.m. - 5 p.m. The Schomburg Shop Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Information Public Relations Office: 212.704.8600 Website: www.nypl.org The Library's Exhibition Calendar is regularly updated online at www.nypl.org/press. Contact: The New York Public Library, Public Relations Office: 212.704.8600
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Paris in the 19th and 20th centuries witnessed vivid collaborations between artists and writers, which regularly produced spectacular results. French Book Art | Livres d'Artistes: Artists and Poets in Dialogue, conceived by Yves Peyré of the Bibliothèque littéraire Jacques Doucet, will provide an enthralling assemblage of many of the finest results of such collaborations, celebrating well-known artists and wordsmiths, along with others less well-known outside their native France. There will be 126 major works on display, produced between 1874 and 1999, many of them from the Doucet collection, along with a number of complementary pieces of art that will further elucidate the creative process that went into the published books themselves. Many of the books displayed are unique copies bearing the hand of both their artists and writers, and the graphic counterpoints are virtually all unique by their very nature. A part of the gallery will be devoted to photographs of many of the authors and artists, captured in characteristic moments by such photographers as Man Ray and Brassaï. 
A Rakish History of Men's Wear 
Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan 
In January of 1948, the photographer Walter Rosenblum published the article "Where Do We Go from Here?" in response to the blacklisting of the Photo League by Attorney General Tom Clark. Disregarding the actual photographs produced by the League's members, the FBI emphasized the organization's commitment to social causes in order to allege subversive activities and political alliances. The claims of subversion were never substantiated, but the Photo League, a cooperative of amateur and professional photographers, was forced to disband in 1951 after an informant testified that it was a front for the Communist party. Now recognized as an important force in the development of American photography, the Photo League trained an entire generation of New York photographers, a number of whom continue to practice today. In recognition of the 70th anniversary of the League's founding, this exhibition celebrates the diverse oeuvre of these photographers and their unflagging commitment to their medium. It also serves as a reminder that the political climate of the nation can have real consequences on its cultural life. 
From Color to Light: Designs of Beni Montresor 
Since its founding in 1931, the Billy Rose Theatre Collection, a division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, has amassed more than nine million items, which together constitute the world's preeminent record of live theater in all its manifestations. The collection's holdings are of such repute that researchers from every continent have availed themselves of its treasures and resources. This year marks the 75th anniversary of this world-renowned collection and The New York Public Library will commemorate the occasion with celebratory events throughout the year. The centerpiece of this anniversary celebration will be a major exhibition featuring hundreds of rare or unique treasures from the collection. The exhibition will consist of artifacts that, in most cases, have been viewed by only a few researchers on-site and, in many cases, have never before been seen by the public. Among the items featured in the exhibition will be costume jewelry worn by Edwin Booth in Hamlet, costume designs by Cecil Beaton for the original production of My Fair Lady, a bejeweled belt worn by Sarah Bernhardt in Cleopatra, letters written by Harry Houdini, heartbreaking letters from American playwright Tennessee Williams describing the burden of alcoholism and its effect upon his writing, and a color caricature by Al Hirschfeld portraying George Bernard Shaw as a red-faced, horned devil. Many contemporary actors have loaned their personal treasures for this exhibition. One among many is a silver smelling-salts vial once owned by actress Ellen Terry and now a prized possession of actress Jane Alexander. 
Places & Spaces: Mapping Science