Mona Lisa |
The Mona Lisa is smiling
REVIEW BY MICHELLE JONES Mid-April 1961: the Bay of Pigs Invasion. May 5, 1961: Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space. Late May 1961: President and Mrs. Kennedy travel to Paris. Of the three events, the last might seem the least significant, but that visit—of which JFK famously quipped "I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it"—led to a spectacular feat. The first lady charmed Parisians with her style, grace and fluent French and scored an even bigger coup when the French Minister of Culture promised to loan her the "Mona Lisa," the most valuable work in the Louvre. Margaret Leslie Davis perfectly captures the magic of the Kennedy White House, behind-the-scenes maneuvering and the stories of the major players on both sides of the Atlantic in Mona Lisa in Camelot. In the beginning, only Mrs. Kennedy and AndréMalraux thought the "Mona Lisa" project was a good idea. John Walker, head of the National Gallery, was against it. So was the painting's guardian, Madeleine Hours, whose intimidating list of conditions for the exhibition made Walker even less enthusiastic. Despite the outcries of French citizens and art experts, Cold War tensions and a disastrous VIP reception, the tour was a resounding success. Even Walker was won over, saying, "This famous portrait stirred some impulse toward beauty in thousands of human beings, who had never felt that impulse before." Davis includes some wonderful images as she tells this story, among them: Mme. Hours stealthily watching the opening-day crowd; a little boy smuggling his puppy into the museum; New Yorkers queuing up in the bitter cold; and, during a 1970s tour, a line of Japanese officials bowing as the painting's plane left Tokyo. Davis also whisks visitors through the first lady's restoration of the White House and describes her legendary wardrobe (see also: Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years) all in the context of Mrs. Kennedy's masterful blending of culture and political life. Mona Lisa in Camelot is well written, extensively researched and meticulously rendered—a masterpiece in its own right.
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