ICYMI: Harry and Pablo
ISSUE NO. 30.5 // ICYMI: HAPPY HOUR WITH HARRY AND PABLO!
If you missed the White House Historical Association History Happy Hour with Matthew Algeo, you’re in luck!
Not to brag, but I made my debut appearance as a moderator and pronounced “Ulaanbaatar” passably.
I think.
No one told me otherwise, anyhow. (Guess you’ll have to watch the video and see for yourself, huh?)
More to the point, this was a fascinating discussion about when Harry Truman visited Pablo Picasso, the communist maker of “ham and eggs art”.
Keep scrolling for three doodles of things I mentioned during History Happy Hour. (You can find Truman doodles here. Or, just wait a bit. I’m reading When Harry Met Pablo: Truman, Picasso, and the Cold War Politics of Modern Art next!)
PS If you have any questions for Matthew, feel free to leave them in the comments below.
(I’m just hopping into it with this, in an attempt to avoid spoilers. Maybe watch the video first so you have context.)
1.
Artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi’s story reminded me a bit of Suye Narita Gambino. Suye was caretaker of Grant’s Cottage on Mt. McGregor. After Pearl Harbor was bombed, she was held prisoner as an “enemy alien” on Mt. McGregor. Despite how she was treated by the United States, she wanted to become an American citizen. She first tried in 1938, but it took another 15 years before she was finally granted her citizenship.
Unlike Suye, Yasuo Kuniyoshi died without citizenship.
Help Yasuo Kuniyoshi obtain posthumous American citizenship
Learn more about him and sign Matthew’s petition
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2.
Joseph Stalin was a doodler. I’d like to think that’s where our similarities end.
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3.
There was a question about First Ladies and art… I had Pat Nixon in my head but couldn’t conjure any actual information on the spot. Voilà! The doodle is a bit of a bummer (it’s from my very first presidential sketchbook), but nevertheless. Pat Nixon was the first First Lady to arrange a one-person art show at the White House — Andrew Wyeth. (Check out this incredible photo from the reception. It’s worth a click for the white go-go boots alone...)
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If you made it all the way through my tangents and haven’t watched the video, here’s your chance:
Follow along on Instagram for more doodles, presidential trivia, and shameless self-promotion.