Press Release
Press Release · Thursday, May 27, 1999

Wednesday, July 7—Picturing the Century
Documentary Photographs from the National Archives: History, Truth, and the Camera. A casual family snapshot, an elaborate publicity still, the journalist's photo-op, all record the present and preserve it for the future. What gives these documents a national character? And why do we believe them? Mary Panzer, Curator of Photographs, National Portrait Gallery, examines the way in which documentary photographs are made and how they work. Using images from the National Archives, we will see how a photograph can effectively unite the photographer, the subject, and the audience around a single set of assumptions about the nature of truth and American life. Ms. Panzer is the author of Mathew Brady and the Image of History. The audience may view the Circular Gallery exhibit, "Picturing the Century," following today's lecture. Noon. Room 105.

Thursday, July 8—Baseball
William Mead and William Marshall will discuss their respective books, Baseball Goes to War and Baseball's Pivotal Era, 1945-1951. Mr. Mead's book covers the World War II years, in which the bumbling St. Louis Browns won their only pennant while Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, and other stars were in uniform fighting—or playing ball—for Uncle Sam. William Marshall delivers a detailed picture of the crucial postwar years. After the slumping years of World War II, baseball faced new challenges: labor unrest, competing leagues, and a nascent desegregation movement. Noon. Room 105. Reservations are recommended, call 202-208-7345.

Thursday, July 8—Ernest Hemingway Centennial Birthday
Patrick Hemingway will discuss True at First Light. Written when Ernest Hemingway returned from his 1953 safari, this long-awaited posthumous work, edited by his son Patrick, is published in celebration of the writer's centennial anniversary. A blend of autobiography and fiction, Hemingway weaves a tale rich in laughter, beauty, and profound insight. 8:30 P.M. Room 105. Before the lecture, attendees can view an original Hemingway manuscript on display in the Rotunda through July 28. Reservations are recommended, call 202-208-7345.

Thursday, July 15—Biography
Jeff Young talks about his book Kazan—The Master Director Discusses His Films: Interviews with Elia Kazan, in which the renowned Academy Award-winning director reveals with brutal honesty the joys and complications of production and his unique insights on acting, directing, and producing. Bernard Weinraub of the New York Times claims "what makes this book especially timely is Mr. Kazan's discussion of the link between some of his films and his Congressional testimony, and the fact that his decision to name names was never very far from his artistic consciousness." 7 P.M. Theater. Reservations are recommended, call 202-208-7345.

Wednesday, July 21—Picturing the Century
Hans Namuth: Photographing the Arts in America. In 1950 Hans Namuth (1915–1990) took more than 500 photographs of Jackson Pollock at work. Out of this experience emerged his goal of photographing America's creative masters. During the next four decades, Namuth photographed such cultural luminaries as Willem de Kooning, John Steinbeck, Walter Gropius, and Steven Sondheim. Dr. Carolyn Kinder Carr, Deputy Director of the National Portrait Gallery, will talk about how Namuth came to photograph these individuals and the pictorial strategies he employed to reveal each subject's unique character. Dr. Carr is the author of Hans Namuth Portraits. The audience may view the Circular Gallery exhibit, "Picturing the Century: One Hundred Years of Photographs from the National Archives." Noon. Room 105.

Thursday, July 22—Baseball
William J. Ryczek will discuss his book, When Johnny Came Sliding Home: The Post–Civil War Baseball Boom, 1865–1870, an account of the early days of baseball. Mr. Ryczek illustrates the exciting and oftentimes painful transition of the sport from a loosely organized amateur pastime to an openly professional enterprise. Noon. Room 105. Reservations are recommended, call 202-208-7345.

Tuesday, July 27—Ernest Hemingway Centennial Birthday
Frederick Voss, the National Portrait Gallery's historian/curator of American art, will discuss his book, Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time. Voss examines Hemingway's life in light of various significant portraits. Filled with more than 70 drawings, paintings, and photographs, this book commemorates nearly every stage of Hemingway's life and career. Noon. Room 105. Reservations are recommended, call 202-208-7345.

August Program

Thursday, August 12—Stanley Kubrick Biography
Alexander Walker will discuss his book, Stanley Kubrick, Director. Walker's technical analysis of Kubrick's films reveals not only Kubrick's master craftsmanship but his nature, his character, and his obsessions as they evolved over four decades of work. Mr. Walker is a film critic for the London Daily Telegraph who knew Kubrick for over 30 years. This is the only book written about Kubrick with his cooperation and consent. 7 P.M. Room 105. Reservations are recommended, call 202-208-7345.

For additional PRESS information, please contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at (301) 837-1700 or by e-mail.

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