Face-to-Face, from the National Portrait Gallery

L. Michael Seidman, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center and a former clerk of Justice Marshall's, discusses a portrait of Thurgood Marshall by Betsy Graves Reyneau. Thurgood Marshall played a major role in the 1940s and 1950s as a leader in the struggle to end racial discrimination in the United States. From 1938 to 1961, he served as chief staff lawyer for the NAACP. Marshall devoted much effort to tailoring arguments that led the Supreme Court to its unanimous 1954 Brown v. the Board of Education of the City of Topeka decision, which ruled segregation of public schools by race to be unconstitutional. But he realized that the struggle was not over. At a party celebrating the Brown decision, Marshall warned his colleagues, "I don't want any of you to fool yourselves, it's just begun; the fight has just begun." He went on to become the first African American Supreme Court justice, nominated by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967. The work is on display at the National Portrait Gallery in the new permanent exhibition "The Struggle for Justice" on the museum's second floor. Recorded at NPG, February 25, 2010. Image info: Thurgood Marshall / Betsy Graves Reyneau / Oil on canvas, 1956 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Harmon Foundation

James Barber, historian at the NPG, discusses Booker T. Washington. In the face of racial hatred, segregation, and disenfranchisement following the Civil War, it was unrealistic, Booker T. Washington contended, to expect African Americans to gain entry into America's white-collar professions. Instead, he suggested they establish themselves as a skilled and indispensable laboring class. With that accomplished, racial discrimination would gradually disappear. In 1881 Washington put this theory to the test, becoming the director of the newly created Negro Normal School in Tuskegee, Alabama. As the school grew, Washington became viewed as the nation's leading spokesman for African Americans. Yet by the century's end, many critics began to challenge his "get along" philosophy. Recorded at NPG, February 18, 2010. Image info: Booker T. Washington / Cast after: Richmond Barthe / Bronze, 1973 cast after 1946 original / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Rose Weiss and Braden Paynter of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, discuss a portrait of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass became the first nationally known African American in United States history by turning his life into a testimony on the evils of slavery and the redemptive power of freedom. He had escaped from slavery in 1838 and subsequently became a powerful witness for abolitionism, speaking, writing, and organizing on behalf of the movement; he also founded a newspaper, the North Star. Douglass's charisma derived from his ability to present himself as the author of his own destiny at a time when white America could barely conceive of the black man as a thinking and feeling human being. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is not only a gripping nonfiction account of one man's struggle for freedom; it is also one of the greatest American autobiographies. This powerful portrait shows Douglass as he grew in prominence during the 1840s. Recorded at NPG, February 4, 2010. Image info: Frederick Douglass / Unidentified artist / Oil on canvas, c. 1844 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Francis Flavin, historian at the U.S. Department of the Interior, discusses a portrait of Zitkala-Sa, Native American writer and educator, by Joseph T. Keiley. This portrait pictures Zitkala-Sa--also known as Gertrude Bonnin--at age twenty-two, during a period when she taught at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. Although she left Carlisle to study violin at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music, she is best remembered not as a musician but rather as a writer and political activist. In 1900 she began publishing short stories and essays about her childhood and about the issues then affecting Native Americans. Following her marriage in 1902, she resettled in the West, where she worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, led community service programs, and taught school again. In 1916 Zitkala-Sa was elected the secretary of the Society of American Indians, an appointment that prompted her to move to Washington, D.C. There she worked on various Native American campaigns, including the effort that led to the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924. Recorded at NPG October 29, 2009. Image info: Zitkala-Sa 1876-1938 / Joseph T. Keiley (1869-1914) / Glycerine-developed platinum print, 1898 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

George Klein, author of "Elvis: My Best Man" speaks about Elvis Presley. Introduction by Warren Perry, curator of "One Life: Echoes of Elvis" http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/elvis Recorded at NPG January 23, 2010.

Jason Schultz, archivist at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, speaks about the meeting of Richard Nixon and Elvis, at the White House on December 21, 1970. Recorded at NPG January 21, 2010. Image info: Richard M. Nixon and Elvis Presley at the White House / Series: Master Print File, compiled 1969-1974 (Collection RN-WHPO) / 12/21/1970 / National Archives at College Park - Archives II (College Park, MD)

Warren Perry, curator of the "Echoes of Elvis" exhibit, discusses a sculpture of Elvis Presley by Robert Arneson. Elvis as Julius Caesar is Robert Arneson's variation on Elvis as the King of Rock and Roll. Arneson's sly, monumental tribute is a humorous homage to Elvis's place at the pinnacle of twentieth-century entertainment. Satire, caricature, and exaggeration are all part of Arneson's portraiture. His early work as a cartoonist is evident in his irreverent ceramic sculptures, which are often visual puns full of political and social commentary. Arneson deliberately pushed artistic boundaries by rejecting traditional decorative or functional work in clay to create boldly expressive sculptures that would shock and amuse his audiences. Recorded at NPG January 14, 2010. Image info: Robert Arneson (1930-1992) / Glazed ceramic, 1978 / Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Sydney and Frances Lewis Foundation, 1985 / Copyright Estate of Robert Arneson / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Interview by Warren Perry, curator of "Echoes of Elvis." Elvis Presley released hundreds of records throughout a career that spanned slightly more than two decades. He also starred in thirty-one feature films and two documentaries. He was photographed throughout his career, and images of him on film are part of the American visual experience. However, the King of Rock and Roll only sat for one portrait painter--Ralph Wolfe Cowan. Elvis sat for Cowan in 1969, and Cowan produced the portrait that hangs today at Graceland. At the time, Cowan also made sketches for this portrait but left them alone until 1988, when he completed this work. At the time this portrait was drafted, Elvis was transitioning from making films to performing live; from 1968 until his death in 1977, he toured regularly. Of Elvis, Cowan said, he "was funny and had charisma that was bigger than life. I enjoyed our friendship." Cowan's portrait is on display as part of the National Portrait Gallery's new exhibition "One Life: Echoes of Elvis." ( http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/elvis/ ) This one=room exhibition marks the seventh-fifth anniversary of Elvis Presley's birth and also includes works by William Eggleston, Red Grooms, Robert Arneson, and others. Recorded at NPG, May 27, 2009. Image info: Elvis Presley / Ralph Wolfe Cowan (born 1931) / Oil on canvas, 1976-88 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of R. W. Cowan

Carolyn Carr, deputy director of the NPG, discusses the photograph "Sarah, David" by artist Yolanda del Amo. She also discusses the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition."Sarah, David" by photographer Yolanda del Amo is on display at the National Portrait Gallery as part of the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2009. Del Amo's portrait, and works from forty-eight other artists, are on display until August 22, 2010. To view images of the works, see the exhibition Web site at http://www.portraitcompetition.si.edu/exhibition2009/AllFinalists.aspx . Although "Sarah, David" was not place-winning, it was highlighted as a commended piece. Carolyn Carr, deputy director of the National Portrait Gallery, recently discussed "Sarah, David" at a Face-to-Face portrait talk. Recorded at NPG, November 11, 2009. Image info: "Sarah, David" by Yolanda del Amo / Brooklyn, New York / C-print, 2007 / 101.6 x 127 cm (40 x 50 in.)

Maya Foo, researcher at NPG, discusses Joshua A. Norton. After going bankrupt in 1858 owing to a failed attempt to control a commodities market in San Francisco, Joshua A. Norton proclaimed himself "His Imperial Majesty Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico."Despite having lost his mental equilibrium, Norton enjoyed a twenty-two-year "reign," during which he used his celebrity status to trumpet San Francisco's virtues and to recommend improvements. Local newspapers published his "decrees," which included a proposal--far-fetched in its day--to build a suspension bridge between Oakland and San Francisco, thus connecting the East Bay to the city.As this photograph shows, Norton often wore a navy commodore's costume and a silk hat with feathers. Period publications described Norton as "the gentlest, most inoffensive, and most agreeable monomaniac that ever lived." It was reported that thirty thousand people attended his funeral, a testament to his extraordinary popularity. Mayo Foo, researcher at the National Portrait Gallery, discussed Joshua A. Norton at a Face-to-Face portrait talk. This circa 1870 portrait by Henry Bradley and William Rulofson is on view at the Portrait Gallery, in the exhibition "Faces of the Frontier: Photographic Portraits from the American West, 1845-1924," on the museum's second floor. Recorded at NPG October 8, 2009

Ann Shumard, curator of photographs at NPG, discusses Domingo Ghirardelli (of chocolate fame). A confectioner from Italy, Domingo Ghirardelli established himself as a chocolate merchant in Lima, Peru, before immigrating to California in 1849. Unsuccessful as a miner, Ghirardelli returned to the confectioner's trade shortly thereafter, opening his first shop in Stockton, California. Ghirardelli's business selling chocolate, coffee, and dried fruit was profitable, leading him to open a second store in San Francisco. Although a fire destroyed this establishment in 1851, he rebuilt. Ghirardelli was one of only two chocolate manufacturers in the United States before the Civil War, and his product dominated the western market. By the 1880s he was importing more than 450,000 pounds of cocoa beans a year. The photographer of this carte-de-visite portrait was George H. Johnson, who--like Ghirardelli--relocated to California during the gold rush. He also failed as a prospector, but earned a reputation for opening one of the first photography studios in San Francisco. Recorded at NPG, october 22, 2009. Image info: Domingo Ghirardelli / George H. Johnson / Albumen silver print, 1860 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; gift of Sidney S. Lawrence III, in memory of Polly Ghirardelli Lawrence

Franklin Odo, Director of Smithsonian's APA program, discusses Chinese experience in 19th century American West. This unidentified man and his Chinese servant were photographed during the early years of the California Gold Rush. During the thirty-year period before the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, more than one hundred thousand Chinese immigrated to the United States. For many, "Gold Mountain"-the Chinese name for California-presented an extraordinary opportunity. Jobs were more plentiful in the West than at home, and some achieved a degree of economic independence. Yet most Chinese people endured tremendous hardship and discrimination in their new home. In response to the public outcry regarding "yellow peril," the Chinese were denied basic civil rights, forced into segregated areas, and ultimately, in 1882, refused entry into the United States. Before then, the Chinese-recruited to work on the transcontinental railroad's construction or in the mining industry-fulfilled the demand for inexpensive labor. Recorded at NPG October 15, 2009. Image info: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri; gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2005.37.103

Liz Rideal, of London's National Portrait Gallery, discusses John Singleton Copley's self portrait on display in the exhibition "American Origins."John Singleton Copley, proclaimed John Adams, is "the greatest Master, that ever was in America." While still a teenager, Copley was capable of gratifying Bostonians' desire for realistic portraits; by the time he was twenty, the essentially self-taught artist was painting better pictures than he had ever seen. Frustrated by the limitations of his provincial environment, where people, he complained, generally regarded art as "no more than any other useful trade," Copley longed to go to Europe to study. Increased political turmoil in the wake of the Boston Tea Party of December 1773--his father-in-law was one of the merchants who were supposed to receive the tea dumped in the harbor--spurred his departure for England in June 1774. There, in the flush of new success, he painted his own likeness. He never returned to America. Recorded at NPG September 10, 2009. Image info: John Singleton Copley self-portrait / Oil on canvas, 1780-1784 / National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Martin Schoeller has exhibited his portraits internationally and has received numerous awards. His photographs have appeared in many prominent magazines, including the New Yorker, Gentleman's Quarterly (GQ), Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone. A native of Germany, Schoeller, who now lives and works in New York, honed his skills by working with Annie Leibovitz. "Watching her deal with all of the elements that have to come together-subjects, lighting, production, weather, styling, location-gave me an insight into what it takes to be a portrait photographer," he explains. Equally important for Schoeller was the photography of German minimalists Bernd and Hilla Becher, who "inspired me to take a series of pictures, to build a platform that allows you to compare." Schoeller's portraiture brings viewers eye-to-eye with the well-known and the anonymous. His close-up style emphasizes, in equal measure, the facial features, both studied and unstudied, of his subject--presidential candidates and Piraha tribespeople, movie stars and artists--leveling them in an inherently democratic fashion. Schoeller's photographs challenge us to identify the qualities that may, under varying circumstances, either distinguish individuals or link them together, raising a critical question: What is the very nature of the categories we use to compare and contrast. Recorded at NPG September 28, 2009. Image info: Jack Nicholson / Martin Schoeller / Digital C-print, 2002 / Published in Entertainment Weekly, January 3, 2003 / Collection of the artist, courtesy Hasted Hunt, New York City / Copyright Martin Schoeller

Frank Goodyear,curator at NPG, discusses a portrait of Red Cloud by by Charles M. Bell, on view at the National Portrait Gallery in the exhibition "Faces of the Frontier.""I have tried to get from my Great Father what is right and just," exclaimed Red Cloud to government officials at the conclusion of his first trip to the East in 1870. Two years earlier, the celebrated Lakota leader had forced U.S. authorities to abandon a series of newly constructed forts meant to protect settlers moving across traditional Native lands. Beginning in 1870, however, Red Cloud would choose diplomacy, not warfare, to protect the Lakota's land base and to ensure the tribe's political and cultural independence. Although the westward migration of American settlers would continue largely unabated, Red Cloud remained dedicated to the future welfare of the Lakota, meeting with five different U.S. presidents over a period of thirty years. Washington photographer Charles M. Bell seated Red Cloud next to a papier-mache' rock and a painted seascape backdrop for this portrait, taken during one of the Lakota leader's many trips to the nation's capital. Frank Goodyear, associate curator of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, recently discussed Red Cloud at a Face-to-Face portrait talk. This 1880 portrait is on view at the Portrait Gallery, in the exhibition "Faces of the Frontier: Photographic Portraits from the American West, 1845-1924," on the museum's second floor. Recorded at NPG, October 2, 2009. Image info: Red Cloud 1821-1909 / Charles M. Bell (1848-1893) / Albumen silver print, 1880/ National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.