How Green Was My Valley. 1941. USA. Directed by John Ford

These notes accompany the screenings of John Ford’s </i>How Green Was My Valley</a> on May 11, 12, and 13 in Theater 3.</p>

By 1941, John Ford (1894–1973) had attained the peak of the Hollywood studio system. Aside from a few of his later Westerns, How Green Was My Valley remains unchallenged as his best film. It beat out Citizen Kane</a> for the Oscar (partially due to industry antipathy toward Orson Welles), but it also stands head-and-shoulders above any other film that Hollywood, in its collective wisdom, ever managed to choose for its top award.

Museum Studies, Class of 2011

When you were younger, perhaps you wanted to be an artist when you grew up. Perhaps you were the kid in class who was always doodling, who designed all of the posters for the dances and parties, and who would have rather hung around the art room than go out to recess with the other kids.

Five for Friday, written by a variety of MoMA staff members, is our attempt to spotlight some of the compelling, charming, and downright curious works in the Museum’s rich collection.

Originally a local commemoration of an outnumbered Mexican army’s 1862 victory over French troops at the Battle of Puebla, Cinco de Mayo has grown to include a major American celebration of Mexican culture and Mexican American heritage. In (belated) celebration of the holiday, here is just a tiny sample of MoMA’s rich collection of work by Mexican artists—and by artists from the U.S. and abroad who have responded to Mexico’s people and natural beauty. (If this piques your interest, be sure to visit MoMA this fall for our Diego Rivera: Murals for The Museum of Modern Art</a> exhibition.)

Film canisters holding 35mm print of Dr. No

James Bond took up residence at MoMA 25 years ago this June. You might have thought a posh London apartment or a secluded villa on the Caribbean island of Mustique might better suit the suave international man of intrigue, but in fact Bond—well, the 35mm films at least—resides in Hamlin, Pennsylvania, zip code 18427.

The Looking at Music 3.0 exhibition includes Lee Quinones’s 1991 Century of the Wind screenprint from the YOUR HOUSE IS MINE portfolio, which decries New York City’s skyrocketing real estate prices. Considered one of the most influential artists to emerge from the city’s 1970s subway art movement, Quinones continues to produce work ripe with provocative sociopolitical content and intricate composition.

Leading Museum visitors through a Gallery Conversation

Part of the 12-month internship program is the opportunity to facilitate a Gallery Conversation, a one-hour guided tour of the galleries for the public. As a 12-month intern, I was given the opportunity to pick any topic or works I loved and research diligently—but what I have learned is that when I speak to the public, the research is less important than the conversation.

Citizen Kane. 1941. USA. Directed by Orson Welles

These notes accompany the screenings of Orson Welles’s </i>Citizen Kane</a> on May 4, 5, and 6 in Theater 3.</p>

Orson Welles (1915–1985) would have been 96 this Friday. Like the other three greatest American-born directors (D. W. Griffith from La Grange, Kentucky; John Ford from Portland, Maine; and Howard Hawks from Goshen, Indiana), Welles (from Kenosha, Wisconsin) was a product of that essentially rural America which began to disappear with the coming of the Industrial Age.

Five for Friday, written by a variety of MoMA staff members, is our attempt to spotlight some of the compelling, charming, and downright curious works in the Museum’s rich collection.

Jocks and nerds don’t mix, in theory, but sports and art overlap more often than one might think. In the case of basketball, players such as Bill Russell paved the way by attending beat poetry readings and collecting art. Many current and recent players boast impressive art collections and are becoming more involved with the art world.

The Off the Shelf series explores unique MoMA publications from the Museum Archives.

Right: Cover of A Partridge in a Pear Tree, illustrated by Ben Shahn. Second ed. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1951. Left: Frontispiece from 12 Fables of Aesop, illustrated by Antonio Frasconi; narrated by Glenway Wescott. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1954.

April is National Poetry Month! To celebrate the final days we thought we’d look at MoMA poetry books. MoMA has published a number of books of poetry, from the lyrically illustrated and hand-lettered A Partridge in a Pear Tree (1951), by Ben Shahn, to 12 Fables of Aesop (1954), illustrated by Antonio Frasconi and narrated by Glenway Wescott. One of my favorites is Three Young Rats and Other Rhymes, the delightfully illustrated book of 83 nursery rhymes selected by former MoMA curator James Johnson Sweeney and illustrated by Alexander Calder.

We caught up with Cey Adams, founding creative director of Def Jam Recordings, in MoMA’s Looking at Music 3.0 exhibition gallery, and he talked to us about his work, the emergence of hip-hop, and his unwavering allegiance to the possibilities of culture.