November 5, 2009, Filed Under: Art, Exhibitions + EventsFrom the Galleries: Halley’s Comet Halley’s Comet was last spotted by the unaided human eye in 1986, and isn’t estimated to be visible again until 2026. For those who can’t wait another 17 years, the Ransom Center’s exhibition, Other Worlds: Rare Astronomical Works, offers visitors an early glimpse of Halley’s Comet, as rendered by John… read more
November 3, 2009, Filed Under: Film, Research + TeachingHearing Music in the David O. Selznick Collection Occupying almost 5,000 document cases, the archive of film producer David O. Selznick is the Ransom Center’s largest archive. Nathan Platte, a Musicology Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan, navigated through this enormous collection last year with a dissertation fellowship jointly sponsored by the Ransom Center and The University… read more
October 29, 2009, Filed Under: Exhibitions + EventsMozart’s "A Musical Joke" ADDENDUM: The Ransom Center is pleased to share new information about the manuscript of Mozart’s “A Musical Joke.” During a recent visit to the Ransom Center, Neal Zaslaw, Herbert Gussman Professor of Music at Cornell University, examined the manuscript and has since been able to shed light on its origins.… read more
October 27, 2009, Filed Under: Books + ManuscriptsUpdate on the "Victorian Blood Book" This large, oblong decoupage book contains more than 40 collages consisting of carefully assembled engravings from books. The decoupage has been embellished with hand-colored drops of “blood” and handwritten religious commentaries. The emphasis throughout is on images of the Crucifixion, birds, and snakes, all dripping with blood. The album, familiarly… read more
October 22, 2009, Filed Under: Research + TeachingScholar explores Hemingway family papers As a fellow at the Ransom Center last year, independent scholar Mary V. Dearborn uncovered new information about the Hemingway family while studying the Ernest Hemingway collection and Leicester Hemingway’s New Atlantis collection. She’s currently working on a book based on her findings: The Hemingway Family: The Human Cost, which… read more
October 20, 2009, Filed Under: ArtCelebrating Day of the Dead Artist José Guadalupe Posada’s graphic legacy is as recognizable today as it was in turn-of-the-century Mexico, and his distinctive skeleton print calaveras have become synonymous with the traditional Day of the Dead celebration, which is November 1. Hector Dominguez-Ruvalcaba, Associate Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portugese at The… read more