December 17, 2013, Filed Under: Exhibitions + EventsNEH grants Ransom Center $500,000 to establish exhibition endowment The Ransom Center has been awarded a $500,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to establish an endowment that will sustain the institution’s exhibition program. The grant will support a range of activities including facilitating long-range planning, creating teacher training workshops related to future exhibitions, fostering collaboration with other… read more
December 13, 2013, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, Film75 Days. 75 Years: Actresses who had screen tests for role of Scarlett O’Hara Explore the Harry Ransom Center, search digital collections, or plan your visit. For 75 days, the Harry Ransom Center is raising funds for its 2014 exhibition The Making of Gone With The Wind. Opening on September 9, 2014, The Making of Gone With The Wind will reveal stories about the… read more
December 12, 2013, Filed Under: Books + Manuscripts, Film, Research + TeachingFellows Find: Gloria Swanson biographer discovers rich material in Ransom Center’s archive “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille,” says Norma Desmond in the famous end scene of Sunset Boulevard. Gloria Swanson, the actress who portrayed Desmond, is ready, as well. Bowdoin Professor Tricia Welsch received fellowships, which were funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Endowment, to conduct research in the… read more
December 10, 2013, Filed Under: Books + Manuscripts, Film, Research + TeachingBiographer Stephen Michael Shearer uses Gloria Swanson collection to paint a more in-depth portrait of the star in new biography Although best known for her role as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (1950), Gloria Swanson was a legendary actress even before then. She starred in countless silent films, working with celebrities Cecil DeMille and Charlie Chaplin. Vivacious and enigmatic, Swanson was known for her extravagant clothing, spending, and love life.… read more
December 3, 2013, Filed Under: Art, Exhibitions + EventsDirector of Amon Carter Museum discusses concept of “westering” Andrew J. Walker, Director of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, presents “Westering America: Frontier Thinking and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art” for the 2013 Amon Carter Lecture on Thursday, December 5 at 7 p.m. at the Harry Ransom Center. In his talk, Walker will explore… read more
December 2, 2013, Filed Under: Film, Research + TeachingFellows Find: How Hollywood producers used Alfred Hitchcock’s weight to their advantage Casey McKittrick is an Associate Professor of English at Western Michigan University. He spent June and July of 2012 researching the David O. Selznick and Myron Selznick archives at the Harry Ransom Center. His work, which was funded by the Warren Skaaren Research Fellowship Endowment, produced the first chapter, and informed several others, of… read more
