Monuments Men: The True Story

So, this past month, as everyone has been talking about all the great Oscar movies and the fun new comedies, my focus was on something a bit different. I had been waiting to see the movie The Monuments Men for ages and so, opening weekend, my mom and I decided to go see if it lived up to our expectations. 

And it totally did! Now, I know that it received mixed reviews, so I'm going to say this right now. This a story about how museum curators and art specialists become reluctant action heroes (kind of) to save the most amazing art in Western Europe. This is not your typical war movie, with big battle scenes and lots of explosives. That would be bad for the art. And despite the fact that there are many comedians in the film, this is not a comdey. It is Hollywood's version of a true event and -as in all life stories - there are highs and lows, so it is part comedy, part drama, and part action movie all rolled into one. 

Anyway, I loved this move, so I decided to do some more digging into the true story of the Monuments Men. I am still deciding whether or not to read the book the movie is based on by Robert Edsel. But in the mean time, I did some searching to find out more about the true story. And those searches led me to the Archives of American Art and their current exhibit The Monuments Men: On the Frontline to Save Europe's Art, 1942-1946. 

I decided to go and check it out. An important piece of information on the logistics of the exhibit. The Archives of American Art is located in an office building on 9th Street in DC. However, the exhibit is in a room that the Archives has in the National Portrait Gallery/ America Art Museum complex. Hopefully this clears up any confusion if you decide to go (I was a bit lost at first). 

When I finally figured out where I was suppose to go, I entered the museum complex through the Portrait Gallery side and made my way towards the atrium. 

And through the door on the left side. There are no signs directing you towards the exhibit and the people I asked were a bit confused with what exhibit I was looking for. So, I figured that I would give you directions. 

Once through this door, go to the end of the short hallway and turn right into the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery.  

There, now you've made it to the exhibit!

The exhibit is small but effective, telling the story of these remarkable men and women through photographs and documents. Although there are only six cases of objects in the exhibit, the pieces chosen by the curators seem to tell a complete story. 

It begins with the George Leslie Stout's concerns about the potential loss of centuries worth of European art and his original proposal concerning the "Protection of Monuments." Stout was an art conservator at the Fogg Musuem at Harvard and one of the main advocates for the need to protect European art - and thus European history and culture - from destruction. 

Draft Proposal for protection of monuments, December 1941.Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. 

The call for action went out from many of the country's top museums shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor and many members of the art community heeded the call. 

Monuments Men Walker Hancock (second from left) and George "Ole Pops" Stout (second from right), June 1945. Thomas Carr Howe papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. 

The exhibit continues to tell of the search for the massive collection of art that the Nazis had stolen and hidden away. 

**Spoiler: If you have not seen the movie yet and want to be surprised how it plays out, stop reading now. The next parts will give pieces of the movie away.**

Inventory list of looted art from the Göring collection found at Berchtesgaden and transported by truck to Munich Central Collecting Point for repatriation, July 26–August 4, 1945. Thomas Carr Howe papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

One of the most important recoveries in the movie was the recovery of Michelangelo's Madonna and Child. It occurs almost at the end of the movie and appears to be the most important discovery for the team. We see some of the repatriation of art, but much of it is glossed over by George Clooney's character (Based on George Stout) in his debriefing with Roosevelt. 

Rescuing Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child, Altaussee, 1945. Thomas Carr Howe papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

But the exhibit goes further. It shows the vast amount of art that had to be catalogued and repatriated. Images of the crate stacked on top of crate and stack after stack of painting convey the shear volume of this operation. 

Herr Sicher, George Stout and Thomas Carr Howe inspecting paintings, 1945 July 9. Thomas Carr Howe papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

One of the most interesting characters in the movie is Claire Simone (played by Cate Blanchett). She is one of the only women in the movie but plays an extremely important role. That character is based on Rose Valland, a French art historian who worked tirelessly to save thousands of pieces of art during and after Nazi occupation. Part of the exhibit that I really enjoyed was seeing her during the cataloguing and repatriation of the recovered art. 

Edith Standen and Rose Valland examine artwork, armor, and sculpture to be returned to France, May 1946. James J. Rorimer papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

At the back of the exhibit was an interactive panel, which allowed visitors to call a number and hear an interview with one of the original members of the Monuments Men. In theory, this is an amazing idea, a way to draw the audience further into the story. In reality, however, it just didn't work for me. All the interviews I tried were fuzzy and hard to hear, likely because of their age and the original quality of the recording. If there was a way to clean up the recordings, I think I would have really enjoyed that part of the exhibit. 

Over all, I truly enjoyed the Monuments Men exhibit. As an art fan and a member of the museum field, the importance of this story really hits home. Throughout the movie, people keep asking the Monuments Men if the art is worth the sacrrifce. I believe that it is. Because it is not just something pretty to admire, but a part of history and culture that reflect where society is at that point in time. And I am grateful to all the men and women involved in the protection and recovery of this art.

On a side note, this elderly couple was in the room the entire time I was there (I tend to take much longer than most people in exhibits because I am taking and retaking photos and making sure I jot down enough information in my notes). They seemed to have a true connection with the event, making me wonder if they had seen any of this up close. 

The exhibit opened the same day as the movie, February 7th, and will be on display until April 20, 2014. The museum is part of the Smithsonian, so admission is free. The museum complex is open from 11:30am to 7:00pm. 

And if you have time, enjoy a cuppa in the atrium, it really is beautiful! 

Iconic Hollywood

Some of the most iconic Hollywood costumes went on a short vacation to the UK last year and became one of the hits of London. Part of the extremely popular exhibit "Hollywood Costume," these costumes were on display in the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London. If anyone had gone to the Smithsonian last winter and was disappointed not to see the Ruby Slippers at the National Museum of American History, they were hanging out in London for a while.

I first wanted to see this exhibit last year when I was in London, but I couldn't really justify spending the pounds to see American costumes. Instead, my travel companion and I explored the V&A's permanent collections (one of my first blog posts http://exhibitlife.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-v.html). I hoped that I would be able to see it back in the States. So when I heard that it was making a stop in Richmond, I couldn't wait to go. 

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is hosting the exhibit this winter. While the museum itself is free, visitors need to purchase tickets for this special exhibit (although it is free for members). The tickets are time stamped to ensure that the exhibit does not get over crowded. I was lucky and was able to pick up a ticket for immediate entrance.

As I made my way towards the exhibit, I was guided by images of Batman and Spiderman.

And as I turned the corner, Rose and Austin Powers were waiting to greet me.

Because of the nature of this exhibit and the copyrights associated with films the costumes are associated with, photography is not allowed within the exhibit itself. But the VMFA was kind enough to grant me access to their media shots. So, this blog post will be a combination of their media shots and pictures I took outside of the exhibit. 

The exhibit starts with some well know costumes from fairly recent films: Matt Damon's non-descript gray outfit from The Bourne Ultimatum, Helen Mirren's Barbour jacket and scarf from The Queen, Beyoncé's  glittery stage outfit from Dreamgirls, and Edward Norton and Brad Pitt's outfits from Fight Club. These costumes start the exhibit off with an explanation of the costume design, how everything that goes into an outfit, from cut and color to buttons, is deliberate, to make the audience see the characters as authentic. 

Fight Club, 1999 ©20th Century Fox/The Kobal Collection/Merrick Morton.

Photo courtesy of the VMFA

The exhibit then examines how different costume approaches can create alternative personas for the same characters. By placing two different Cleopatra costumes side by side - Claudette Colbert's green gown from 1934 and Elizabeth Taylor's embroidered overlay from 1963. I loved seeing how the choices of two different costume designers affected the overall perception of the chapter. 

Being a child of the 90's, one of my favorite costumes in the exhibit is Kate Winslet's costume from Titanic. It is an iconic costume, from when the audience first meets Rose. The exhibit walks the visitor through the extreme details that went into the outfit. I couldn't get over the fact that the bow on the hat looks even bigger in person than it did in the film! It is positioned right next to the costume that Jack (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) wore for much of the movie. This provides an interesting juxtaposition between the presentation of the upper and lower classes. From the impeccable tailoring of Rose's suit to the detailed mending of Jack's breast pocket, these two costumes really are great examples of how the details add to the authenticity. 

Titanic (Kate Winslet),1997 ©20th Century Fox/Paramount/The Kobal Collection.

Photo courtesy of the VMFA

The next segment of the exhibit delves into the relationship between directors and costume designers. While costumes are used to highlight aspects of this relationship, the main focus of this section are interviews with certain directors, their costume designers, and lead actors. This section highlights The Birds, Closer, Gangs of New York (loved this interview!), and Sweeney Todd. 

Photo courtesy of the VMFA

Directly across from these interviews, the exhibit addresses Hollywood's long obsession with royalty. From different perceptions of Elizabeth the First, to a fanciful take on Marie Antoinette, to an amazingly detailed vision of Guinevere of Camelot, this section of the exhibit is sure to awe visitors, if simply because of the amazing craftsmanship that went into each costume. 

The last part of the first section of the exhibit takes a detailed look at multiple characters that Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro have played over their careers and the costumes that defined them. Again, the draw of this section is not necessarily the costumes, but the interviews with the actors about their work with the costume designers. 

Iron Lady, 2011 ©Film 4/The Kobal Collection.

Photo courtesy of the VMFA

From there, you enter a hallway that is meant to reasonable a sound stage, where parts of costumes from Gone with the Wind are housed in traditional museum cases. And at the end of the hall, is perhaps the most iconic Hollywood costume of all time: Marilyn Monroe's white dress from The Seven Year Itch. And it really is amazing!

The next few rooms focus on different genre's of movies: from action and suspense, to sci-fi and fantasy, and ending with femme fatals, musicals, and comedies. My favorite room was the middle one, which seemed to focus on sci-fi/ fantasy.

Photo courtesy of the VMFA

 The spotlight in this room was on the iconic Indian Jones outfit: the leather jacket, the fedora, and the whip (which I happened to get to just as the Indian Jones theme song began playing). It was amazing to watch video explaining the origins of each piece, from the whip to the pants. Behind the costume was the movie poster from Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom, along with quotes from the movie and the actors. My absolute favoirte was a quote from Harrison Ford which said:

"It's a very bizarre costume. It's this guy sporting a whip, whose usually off someplace really hot in a leather jacket."  

The exhibit ends with a focus on the Wizard of Oz, complete with a mock set of that includes the yellow brick road. I had a small issue with the placement of this section, because it was suppose to be the final piece of the exhibit, but with the way most people were moving around the room, it was in the middle. I would have liked to see it as the true end of the exhibit. Another disapointment: although the V&A had the original ruby slippers in their exhibit, the VMFA appears to have a reproduction pair. I guess the Smithsonian wanted the original pair back a bit sooner. 

Photo courtesy of the VMFA

My favorite find from the gift shop this time was a picture book of Audrey Hepburn's life. It was just so cute!

Overall, it was a fun exhibit. I highly recommend it to anyone who is in the Richmond area. But you have to hurry, because "Hollywood Costume" is only on exhibit through February 17th. 

And if you do go, I also suggest checking out the cafe. I found this amazingly cute ruby slipper cake pop that I just had to try.

 And it was both delicious and cute!