{"id":78319,"date":"2015-10-03T16:26:02","date_gmt":"2015-10-03T20:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/donnadrewsawyer.com\/?page_id=78319"},"modified":"2015-12-18T13:59:20","modified_gmt":"2015-12-18T18:59:20","slug":"historic-people-in-provenance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/donnadrewsawyer.com\/?page_id=78319","title":{"rendered":"Historic Characters in Provenance"},"content":{"rendered":"

The primary characters in Provenance<\/em> all come from my imagination. Many of the secondary character were real people in history whom I called upon to play fictional roles in my characters’ lives. Some, like Josephine Baker and the Rockefellers, are well-known historic figures to most of us. Others, like Belle Greene and Eugene Bullard were amazing revelations. Why their history is not an everyday part of our common knowledge significantly diminishes America. How could we not know their stories? Provenance<\/em> will not right their history, but perhaps it will make a few more of us aware of great Americans.<\/p>\n

Below are brief descriptions of some of the historic characters in Provenance<\/em> as well as resources for learning more about them.<\/p>\n

\n

Belle da Costa Greene<\/span>
\n(December 13, 1883 \u2013 May 10, 1950)
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Belle<\/a>
Belle da Costa Greene by Paul Cesar Helleu c. 1913<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Born Belle Marian Greener into a distinguished and educated Washington, D.C. family (her father, Richard T. Greener, was the first black graduate of Harvard). As an adult she changed her name and began passing for white. She became the powerful librarian to J.P. Morgan, defying the restrictions of gender and race. The book An <\/strong><\/em>Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene<\/strong><\/em>\u2019s Journey from Prejudice to Privilege by Heidi Ardizzone<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0was a valuable resource in learning more about his remarkable woman.\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Eugene<\/a>
Eugene Jacques Bullard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eugene Jacques Bullard<\/strong><\/span>
\n(October 9, 1895 \u2013 October 12, 1961)<\/strong>
\nBorn Eugene James Bullard, in Columbus Georgia. He was America’s first black military aviator \u2013 though he could not fly for his country. Bullard joined the French Air Service in 1916, and received his pilot\u2019s license in 1917. He flew for the Lafayette Flying Corps of the French Air Service and took part in 20 combat missions earning the nickname, \u201cBlack Swallow of Death.\u201d When the U.S. entered the war he could not serve in the United States Army Air Service because only white pilots were allowed \u00a0so he continued to fly for the French.<\/p>\n

For his service during World War I and World War II France awarded him the Knight of the L\u00e9gion d\u2019honneur, M\u00e9daille Militaire, Croix de Guerre, Volunteer\u2019s Cross (Croix du combattant volontaire), Wounded Insignia, World War I Commemorative Medal, World War I Victory Medal, Freedom Medal, and the World War II Commemorative Medal\u2014 their highest military honors.<\/p>\n

You can read more about this great American aviator in Eugene Bullard Black Expatriate in Jazz Age Paris by Craig Lloyd<\/strong> or, for young readers, Eugene Bullard: World’s First Black Fighter Pilot,<\/strong> is a great choice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Art Collectors in the Early 20th Century<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"For background on art\u00a0collectors<\/strong> I used several references to learn about the men and women who collected art in the early 20th century. The Proud Possessors: The lives, times and tastes of some adventurous American art collectors<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 by Aline B. Saarinen<\/strong> and\u00a0America’s Medicis<\/em>\u00a0 by Suzanne Loebl<\/strong>\u00a0were two of my most reliable resources \"\"for information about J. Pierpont Morgan<\/strong>, The Steins<\/strong>, Peggy Guggenheim<\/strong> and The Rockefellers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For information on Walter Chrysler<\/strong> I had a bit of inside information on the man and his habits as a collector. For several years, I was the Director of Marketing and Communications for the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. The Museum<\/a><\/strong> is an excellent resources to learn more about the man and his collection.<\/p>\n

\"Maggie<\/a>Maggie Lena Walker<\/span>
\n(July 15, 1864 \u2013 December 15, 1934)<\/strong>
\nWhile only\u00a0briefly mentioned\u00a0in Chapter 9 of Provenance <\/em>when Charlotte considers if Maggie Walker, a Negro can run a business she should be able to. Walker did not just a business, she was a powerful example of what made Jackson Ward in Richmond the “Harlem of the South.” Her rise from a child of poverty to a woman of wealth, philanthropy\u00a0and power is well worth reading more about<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Below are links to the books mentioned on this page. The\u00a0book covers\u00a0contain affiliate links, which means I receive\u00a0nominal\u00a0 compensation\u00a0if you make a purchase using these links. Readers\u00a0are welcome to use other resources to\u00a0access any suggested material, these\u00a0links are provided strictly for the readers’ convenience.<\/p>\n

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The primary characters in Provenance all come from my imagination. Many of the secondary character were real people in history whom I called upon to play fictional roles in my characters’ lives. Some, like Josephine Baker and the Rockefellers, are well-known historic figures to most of us. Others, like Belle Greene and Eugene Bullard were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-78319","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/donnadrewsawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/donnadrewsawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/donnadrewsawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donnadrewsawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donnadrewsawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78319"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/donnadrewsawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78563,"href":"https:\/\/donnadrewsawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78319\/revisions\/78563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/donnadrewsawyer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}