Global - Technology - Review

Amelia Earhart achieved international celebrity status as the first women to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an airplane. In the years after this flight in 1928, “Lady Lindy” set a series of aviation records before disappearing during a flight over the Pacific in 1937. While her achievement as an aviator is legendary, her commitment to women’s rights is less well known. “One Life: Amelia Earhart” will tell the story of her remarkable life and career, focusing particular attention on her role in breaking barriers for women.

Timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of her disappearance, this one-room exhibition will bring together a selection of portraits of Earhart in all artistic mediums, many of which are in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of Air and Space. Visitors will also be able to see rare vintage film and audio excerpts of Earhart on a special video kiosk in the gallery. The exhibition curator is associate curator of photographs, Frank H. Goodyear III.

I chose to fly the Atlantic because I wanted to. It was, in a measure, a self-justification—a proving to me, and to anyone else interested, that a woman with adequate experience could do it.
—Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It, 1932

Amelia Earhart (1897–1937) loved to fly. How she felt about other things in her life is harder to say. After becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, she was rarely out of public view. In the many images of her after 1928, she appears as the epitome of grace and poise. During the years that America was in the grip of the Great Depression, she provided the nation with a sense of hope and optimism about its future. When she disappeared over the Pacific in 1937—seventy-five years ago—Americans were dumbstruck with grief.

Throughout her life Earhart never lived in one place for very long. After discovering the joy of flying, she came to see the airplane as her one true home. There she could escape, challenge herself, break records, and inspire others who longed to lead independent lives. Although she was a vocal advocate for women’s rights and the future of aviation, she preferred being in the cockpit of a plane to anywhere else. She never dwelled publicly on the challenges associated with being Amelia Earhart, although she seemed to be happiest when flying an airplane.

This exhibition is been funded by E*Trade. Additional support is provided by the Guenther and Siewchin Yong Sommer Endowment Fund.