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!)

When Harry Met Pablo: Truman, Picasso, and the Cold War Politics of Modern Art from WHHA on Vimeo.

PS If you have any questions for Matthew, feel free to leave them in the comments below.

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(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.

*This chart was inspired by The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War, by Catherine Grace Katz. Though the original doodle was typo-free, I managed to insert a mistake in the middle of a time-consuming motion graphic. If anyone has evidence that Stalin doodled wolverines, I’d love to remove my asterisk. After two minutes of half-assed research, I discovered that wolverines could hold their own in a fight against wolves. Wolverines are smaller but aggressive — and they have more stamina. Not only that, but they live in Russia. These facts lead me to believe that if Stalin happened to be hypothetically doodling wolverines, it would likely have been indicative of a bad mood. I'd love to say this goof was because the Michigan Wolverines won the championship a couple of nights ago and were on my mind, but I’m not going to lie to you. Continuing the spirit of honestly, I’d like to also admit that I am not done traveling down the vortex of wolverine research. These guys are something else.

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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:

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Follow along on Instagram for more doodles, presidential trivia, and shameless self-promotion.