Two scroll manuscripts in Poe's hand
containing the story, "The Domain
of Arnheim," undated
From Out That Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Edgar Allan Poe September 8, 2009 - January 3, 2010
Experience the enduring influence of Edgar Allan Poe in this comprehensive exhibition about the great American poet, critic, and inventor of the detective story. Commemorating the bicentennial of Poe's birth, this exhibition draws upon the extensive holdings of the Ransom Center and the University of Virginia to explore Poe's works, his relationships and mysterious death, and his literary reputation. Highlights include letters from and about the author, Poe's writing desk, original illustrations, and manuscripts of such works as "The Bells" and "The Raven."
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G. D. Cassini, Carte de la Luna (Map of the Moon), 1679
Other Worlds: Rare Astronomical Works September 8, 2009 - January 3, 2010
Discover "other worlds" and the changing notions of the solar system, the moon, and the planets over the centuries. In conjunction with the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, this exhibition, drawn exclusively from the Center's collections, showcases important astronomical discoveries of the last 500 years. Highlights include the Coronelli celestial globe (1688); Copernicus's De Revolutionibus (1543); first editions of works by Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton; and the first map of the moon.
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Frida Kahlo, (Mexican, 1907-1954)
Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace
and Hummingbird
Oil on canvas, 61.25 cm x 47 cm
Harry Ransom Center
© 2009 Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera
& Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. Av Cinco de
Mayo No. 2, Col. Centro, Del. Cuauhtemoc
06059, Mexico, DF
Frida Kahlo's Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird May 5, 2009 - January 3, 2010
The Ransom Center celebrates the homecoming of one of its most famous and frequently borrowed art works, the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940). Since 1990 the painting has been on almost continuous loan, featured in exhibitions at 28 museums in the U. S. and around the world, including Australia, Canada, France, and Spain.
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) taught herself how to paint after she was severely injured in a bus accident at the age of 18. For Kahlo, painting became an act of cathartic ritual and her symbolic images portray a cycle of pain, death, and rebirth. Kahlo's affair in New York City with her friend, the photographer Nickolas Muray (American, b. Hungary, 1892-1965), and subsequent divorce from the artist Diego Rivera left her heartbroken and lonely, but she produced some of her most powerful and compelling self-portraits during this time period.
Muray purchased the Center's self-portrait from Kahlo to help her during a difficult financial period. It is part of the Nickolas Muray collection of more than 100 works of art, which was acquired by the Center in 1966.
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The Gutenberg Bible
The Gutenberg Bible is the first substantial book printed from movable type on a printing press. The Ransom Center holds one of five complete copies in the United States.
The First Photograph
One of the finest pieces of the Ransom Center's photography collection is the first photograph, which Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce produced in 1826.
