#BKMLibrary has Coney Island Fever! We’re excited to celebrate the Museum’s latest Coney Island insp

#BKMLibrary has Coney Island Fever! We’re excited to celebrate the Museum’s latest Coney Island inspired exhibitions by looking back at the Brooklyn Museum’s relationship with Coney Island. Not only has Coney Island become a microcosm of the American Experience, it is also a significant part of the Museum’s history. One of the first Coney Island themed exhibitions opened on June 6th, 1940. Coney Island, 1903-1909 featured prints from a gift of 27 negatives made to the Museum. The pictures taken by Eugene Wemlinger featured Coney Island scenes from 1903 to 1909.In addition to the Museum’s custom of collecting photographs and lantern slides, works of art, post cards and books, Nathan’s Famous was our cafe provider from February 1969 to January 1978. The Museum featured a Coney Island memorabilia exhibition entitled Nathan’s Famous, Inc. to kick off the cafe opening. The exhibition records, housed in the Archives, tell us that the exhibition featured numerous oil and watercolor paintings, woodcuts, lithographs, drawings, and four coin operated penny arcade machines. The Director’s files include a black & white photograph from the cafe’s opening featuring artist David Levine discussing his painting of a Coney Island water fountain scene with Thomas Buechner, the Museum’s Director, Murray Handwerker, president of Nathan’s Famous, and Nathan’s Famous founder, Nathan Handwerker.Another fun fact is that in June of 1951, the Museum made arrangements to use a section of the 3rd floor of the Municipal Bath House at Coney Island for storage. While we’re speaking of storage, from November 28, 2007 through April 6, 2008 a handful of Coney Island themed photographs were on display in our Visible Storage area. The exhibition, Goodbye Coney?, traced the evolution of Coney Island as an entertainment haven for young and old alike. Many of these photographs are featured in Forever Coney: Photographs from the Brooklyn Museum Collection. Don’t forget to check out Stephen Powers: Coney Island Is Still Dreamland (To a Seagull), which focuses on the fading craft of sign painting. Both exhibitions are held in conjunction with Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008. Posted by Jennifer Neal -- source link

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