Rap star and actor James Todd Smith changed his name to LL Cool J (short for “Ladies Love Cool James”) at sixteen, when he released his first single, “I Need a Beat.” In the late 1980s, the success of his recordings helped make Def Jam a major label: his broad popular appeal and nine consecutive multiplatinum albums were significant in transforming rap from an underground genre to a mainstream cultural force. Beginning in 1993, he included gangsta rap in his repertoire. He has also crossed o... Read Full Story

Chester Alan Arthur, one of the few men to serve his entire presidency without ever being elected to office (John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Warren Harding, and Gerald Ford were the others), died on this day in 1886. Upon the murder of James Garfield in 1881, Arthur became the twenty-first president of the United States.Interestingly, although Arthur was never a combat soldier, he was given the title of brigadier general during the Civil War because of his work with the New Yor... Read Full Story

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery announced the acquisition of a painting of renowned opera mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne by John Foote. Celebrated as one of the most remarkable voices of the twentieth century, Horne is donating the portrait to the museum. The portrait was installed in NPG’s “New Arrivals” gallery Thursday.   “I am grateful for the generosity of Ms. Horne—her portrait is a wonderful addition to our collection,” said Brandon Fortune, the Portrait Gallery’s cur... Read Full Story

The writer, artist, musician, or otherwise creative individual who abuses alcohol or drugs is something of a cliché in the art world. And yet, some of these same individuals are anything but cliché, and occasionally one of them is responsible for an artistic revolution. Is the chemistry behind creation a catalyst or just a common denominator? In the tragic instance of Edgar Allan Poe, his dependencies were often all that he seemed to have—his vices and his immeasurable talent. Orphaned as a ... Read Full Story

Dave Woody of Fort Collins, Colorado has received first prize in the National Portrait Gallery’s 2009 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.  His photograph titled “Laura” (shown on right) was chosen as the winner from a field of over three thousand entries.  First prize was a cash award of $25,000 and a commission from the museum to portray a remarkable living American for the NPG permanent collection.  The portrait by Dave Woody, as well as works from forty-eight other arti... Read Full Story

Gertrude Stein rings bells, loves baskets, and wears handsome waistcoats. She has a tenderness for green glass, and buttons have a tenderness for her. In the matter of fans you can only compare her with a motion-picture star in Hollywood, and three generations of young writers have sat at her feet. She has influenced without coddling them. In her own time, she is a legend in her own country. . . . Keys to sacred doors have been presented to her, and she understands how to open them. She writ... Read Full Story

Martin Schoeller has exhibited his portraits internationally and has received numerous awards. His photographs have appeared in many prominent magazines, including the New Yorker, Gentleman’s Quarterly (GQ), Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone. A native of Germany who now lives and works in New York, Schoeller honed his skills by working with Annie Leibovitz. “Watching her deal with all of the elements that have to come together—subjects, lighting, production, weather, styling, location—gave me ... Read Full Story

“I have tried to get from my Great Father what is right and just,” exclaimed Red Cloud to government officials at the conclusion of his first trip to the East in 1870. Two years earlier, the celebrated Lakota leader had forced U.S. authorities to abandon a series of newly constructed forts meant to protect settlers moving across traditional Native lands. Beginning in 1870, however, Red Cloud would choose diplomacy, not warfare, to protect the Lakota’s land base and to ensure the tribe’s pol... Read Full Story

If you did not write a term paper on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter, it is possible you did not go to high school in the United States. Having to write a comparison paper on The Scarlet Letter and Arthur Miller's The Crucible is almost as ubiquitous as having to memorize the prologue to The Canterbury Tales, or at least it was at one time.Later on, if you went to an American college or university and took a literature course, you probably were hit with “Rappaccini’s Daug... Read Full Story

Photo by Warren Perry Today, baseball great Tommy Lasorda became part of the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. The former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers also celebrated his eighty-second birthday at NPG with many other baseball greats and the current commissioner of major league baseball, Bud Selig. Selig said that Lasorda was the perfect ambassador for baseball. Steve Garvey, one of the greatest first baseman ever to play the game, said of his old boss, Lasorda, “It is ... Read Full Story