"The history of the world is but the biography of great men," claimed Thomas Carlyle. If so, could the history of twentieth century America be revealed through the works of great American artists, architects and athletes? Decide for yourself on the basis of the following three items.
Baseball has been known as America’s “national pastime” or “national game” since the mid-19th century. As such, an embrace of the sport became shorthand for an embrace of American values and culture. For children of immigrants such as Hank Greenberg and Joe DiMaggio as well as racial/ethnic outsiders like Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax, mastery on the diamond was a more than a job, it was a way of becoming an American. Baseball as a space of assimilation, acceptance and ascendance is the theme of “Chasing Dreams: Baseball and Becoming American,” the new exhibition at the Jewish Museum Milwaukee. The lion’s share of the exhibition comes from the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, which the JMM has supplemented with artifacts from local organizations and collectors. The exhibition, which opens June 14 and closes September 7, is supplemented with a number of talks and events.
The Trout Museum of Art has just unveiled an exhibition of works by Norman Rockwell, the painter par excellence of twentieth century American life. “Norman Rockwell: a Portrait of America,” on display until October 25, is comprised of two collections of Rockwell’s work: “Norman Rockwell in the 1940s: A View of the American Homefront” and “Norman Rockwell and the American Family.” Some of the painter’s most celebrated works are on display, including his Saturday Evening Post covers that chronicled America during WWII and eighty illustrations from the 1950s and 1960s depicting post-war American family life from youth to old age. See the Trout Museum’s website for more information concerning the exhibition and its attendant programming.
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White picket fences weren’t exactly his style, but Frank Lloyd Wright is still the most iconic of American architects. His “organic architecture” sought to seamlessly fuse structure and surroundings, which intertwine his homes with the many faces of American nature. Further assuring his status as the paradigmatic American architect are Wright’s American System-Built Homes, which were stylish yet standardized and therefore affordable for the American middle class. Recently, for the first time in at least a decade, one of Wright’s American System-Built Houses (a “Model A203” to be specific) has been discovered – in Shorewood no less. The home was constructed in 1917, soon before America’s entrance into WWI, which diverted building materials to wartime needs and halted further construction of similar homes. The newly discovered Wright residence is located at 2106 Newton Avenue, however since it is a private residence the public is asked to respect the privacy of the residents… but that shouldn’t stop you from driving by.
