The Morgan opens 1st major exhibit on the life of Ernest Hemingway

PanARMENIAN.Net - In July 1918, Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) was serving as a volunteer with the Red Cross on the Italian Front during World War I when he was seriously wounded by mortar fire. He was just eighteen.

Later he would write, “When you go to war as a boy you have a great illusion of immortality. Other people get killed; not you ... Then when you are badly wounded the first time you lose that illusion and you know it can happen.”

Ernest Hemingway: Between Two Wars is the first museum exhibition devoted to one of the most celebrated writers of the twentieth century, Art Daily reports.

Hemingway’s direct, spare style influenced successive generations of authors around the world. And tens of millions would read his books and never forget the stories and characters in such masterpieces as The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea.

Organized in partnership with Boston’s John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, the exhibition explores the most dynamic period of Hemingway’s creative life, from 1918 to the aftermath of World War II, and his recurrent theme of confronting the fullness of life—and the finality of death—with grace and courage. Utilizing almost one hundred rarely exhibited manuscripts and letters, photographs, drafts and typescripts of stories, first editions, and artifacts from the author’s life, the exhibition reveals the man behind the myth, his struggles and triumphs. Ernest Hemingway: Between Two Wars is on view at the Morgan Library & Museum from September 25, 2015 through January 31, 2016.

“It is impossible to talk about the history of twentieth-century American literature…or world literature for that matter…without talking about Ernest Hemingway early in the conversation,” said Colin B. Bailey, director of the Morgan Library & Museum. “His novels such as The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and For Whom the Bell Tolls are among the best known and acclaimed books of the modern era. His style of writing spare, raw, direct—turned literature on its head. The Morgan is very pleased to collaborate with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum to present this landmark exhibition and offer an intimate view of one of the icons of American literature.”

Tom Putnam, Kennedy Library Director, said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with the Morgan on this first-of-its-kind exhibition capturing Hemingway as he revolutionized the literary landscape. The Nobel-Prize laureate is often portrayed as a larger than life figure. The materials on display— most for the very first time—will serve to humanize the man and edify his creative talent.”