Mona Lisa Goes State-side
In 1961, when the newly elected American President John F. Kennedy made an official visit to Paris, he didn’t impress French President Charles de Gaulle but Jackie (née Bouvier) America’s First Lady certainly impressed André Malraux, French minister of cultural affairs.
How could she not. She was young, beautiful, elegant, charismatic and bi-lingual. She had French ancestors. Her degree was in French Literature*. As a student she spent a year in Paris. Best of all, from his point of view, she was a fan of the many books written by Malraux and had always wanted to meet him. She said later he was ‘the most fascinating man I've ever talked to’.
She cheekily asked Malraux if France might be persuaded to lend the Mona Lisa to America so that thousands who were unable to visit Paris could see it. He said he would do what he could to persuade the Louvre.
A year later, Malraux was guest of honour at a White House dinner. Jackie, sitting next to him, reminded him of his promise.
The Mona Lisa is owned by the French people. Parisians, incensed by the thought of their pride and joy leaving the Louvre, rioted. President de Gaulle had to impose an immediate media blackout reporting on the contentious decision.
Despite irate art professionals around the world protesting, despite Parisian art authorities vehemently opposed to the idea, the First Lady had her way.
Although the Mona Lisa under French Law cannot be sold so has no price tag, the insurance premium was, by today’s valuation, eight hundred million pounds (Guinness World Record). Presumably the White House picked up the tab.
The five hundred year old fragile portrait, painted on a wooden panel, accompanied by armed guards travelled in its own stateroom on the SS France ocean liner in an alarm-monitored temperature-controlled box. The temperature was not allowed to fluctuate by more than one degree.
Ships with firefighting equipment surrounded the SS France as it entered New York Harbour on 19 December 1962. Mona Lisa was a long way from her home in Florence and her adopted home in Paris. Greeted by federal security officials, she was placed in an air-conditioned armoured van.
Making her way from New York to the National Gallery in Washington, traffic was brought to a halt. The van shot every red light along the route.
For the next three weeks, the Mona Lisa was stored in a security vault while finishing touches were made to the prestigious exhibition scheduled for January 8, 1963.
The official unveiling coincided with the opening of the 88th Congress. The private ceremony was packed with every member of Congress and the Senate, the President’s cabinet and all nine Supreme Court justices.
‘Never before’ said Kennedy ‘had a work of art directly and expressly been lent to a President and his wife, never before had the organization of an exhibition ever been an official matter for the White House….this painting ...is the second lady that the people of France have sent to the United States and though she will not stay with us as long as the Statue of Liberty, our appreciation is equally great’.
The Cuban Missile Crisis had taken place three months prior to the unveiling so he went on to say ‘Our two revolutions helped define the meaning of democracy and freedom’
Millions travelled long distances and queued for hours to see the world famous lady at the National Gallery in Washington. Two rifle-bearing Marines were stationed either side of the priceless work of art. When Madame Madeleine Hours**, Head of the Louvre laboratory who accompanied the painting realised the room’s temperature was rising she was about to check the device tracking conditions when a paranoid guard on high alert punched her to the ground. She recovered to recount the tale.
The Mona Lisa then travelled to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York where another drama awaited. The sprinkler system malfunctioned overnight, splashing water on the painting’s surface for hours. Luckily, it was protected by thick glass.
She was there for the month of February 1963. The Exhibition set attendance records, over a million visitors, even though temperatures outside were below freezing. Many Americans had never been to an art exhibition before let alone seen an original work of art. Mona Lisa demystified the museum experience.
America’s joy was short lived. Tragically, ten months later, in November 1963 its much loved President, Jack Kennedy, was assassinated.
* A cultured woman, passionate about literature, ended her days as a successful New York book editor for the publisher Doubleday,
** Madame Hours who helped set up the laboratory after the second world war, was its Head for thirty-seven years.
Post and Photography by Pamela (BA History of Art).
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