NEW YORK, NY.- The New-York Historical Society honors the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG)the trailblazing Supreme Court justice and cultural iconwith a special exhibition this fall. On view October 1, 2021 January 23, 2022, Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is based on the popular Tumblr and bestselling book of the same name. A traveling exhibition organized by the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, the show takes an expansive and engaging look at the justices life and work, highlighting her ceaseless efforts to protect civil rights and foster equal opportunity for all Americans.
It is a great honor that we celebrate Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a native New Yorker whose impact on the lives of contemporary Americans has been extraordinary, said Dr. Louise Mirrer, president and CEO of New-York Historical. Justice Ginsburg fought hard to achieve justice and equality for all, inspiring us with her courage and tenacity in upholding our fundamental American ideals. A special friend to New-York Historical, in 2018 she presided over a naturalization ceremony in our auditorium. The exhibition is a memorial tribute to her achievements and legacy.
Notorious RBG features archival photographs and documents, historical artifacts, contemporary art, media stations, and gallery interactives spanning RBGs varied roles as student, wife to Martin Marty Ginsburg, mother, lawyer, judge, womens rights pioneer, and internet phenomenon. Highlights include a robe and jabot from RBGs Supreme Court wardrobe; the official portraits of RBG and Sandra Day OConnorthe first two women to serve on the Supreme Courton loan from the National Portrait Gallery; and QR-code listening stations where visitors can hear RBGs delivery of oral arguments, majority opinions, and forceful dissents in landmark Supreme Court cases on their own devices.
The exhibition also displays 3D re-imaginations of key places in RBGs lifesuch as her childhood Brooklyn apartment; the kitchen in RBG and Martys home, with some of Martys favorite recipes and cooking utensils; and the Supreme Court bench and the desk in her chambers.
Personal materials range from home movies of RBG with Marty on their honeymoon and in the early years of their marriage to yearbooks from RBGs academic lifefrom her Brooklyn high school to Harvard, Columbia, and Rutgers Universitiesto a paper that she wrote as an eighth grader exploring the relationship between the Ten Commandments, the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the recently formed United Nations Charter.
Special to New-York Historicals presentation are remembrances from RBGs visit to the Museum in 2018 to officiate a naturalization ceremony of new citizens after she learned about New-York Historicals Citizenship Project which teaches U.S. history and civics to green card holders, a video featuring a map and photographs of key places in her life as a New Yorker, and an overview of the memorials that cropped up around her hometown in the wake of her passing. As part of New-York Historicals upcoming public program series, on December 8, Supreme Court expert Linda Greenhouse looks at where the courts stand following Justice Ginsburgs death. Families can explore the exhibition with a specially created family guide, and themed story times will take place throughout the exhibitions run.
After debuting at the Skirball Cultural Center in 2018, Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg has toured the country. After its New York run, the exhibition will travel to the Holocaust Museum Houston in Houston (March 2022) and the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. (September 2022).
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been coordinated at New-York Historical by Valerie Paley, senior vice president and Sue Ann Weinberg Director, Patricia D. Klingenstein Library; Laura Mogulescu, curator of womens history collections; and Anna Danziger Halperin, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Womens History and Public History, Center for Womens History.