NPC Broadcast Committee member Henderson recalls "fascinating and fun" Portrait Gallery career

As National Press Club Broadcast Committee member Amy Henderson sees it, an historian mounting exhibits in a gallery is offering "scholarship with some sizzle." And that she did during her career as curator at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

Continuing a new tradition of the Broadcast Committee, Henderson offered at a committee meeting on Thursday, Jan. 7, a brief precis of her career at the Gallery, from which she recently retired.

She was working on her doctorate in Jeffersonian History at the University of Virginia when the National Portrait Gallery lured her away. There, she found 'Hollywood and Broadway' more exciting topics.

The six-year NPC member mounted the Portrait Gallery's "On the Air: Pioneers of American Broadcasting" exhibit. Dr. Frank Stanton, president of CBS from 1946 until 1973, was on the Gallery board and mentored this exhibit. He also loaned the Gallery the microphone Edward R. Murrow used for his historic broadcasts from London during World War II. On the day the exhibit opened The New York Times reported that Henderson roamed the country for five years seeking items for the exhibit.

The Smithsonian gave her great entree to famous people, as when she called Katharine Hepburn hoping to acquire a portrait for the Gallery's collection. "It was one thing to call and say 'Hi, this is Amy' and quite another to call and say 'This is the National Portrait Gallery.'" The response to the latter, "Well, come right up, my dear."

Henderson said she enjoyed presenting "celebrity culture" to a wider audience. She found a continuum between the growth of technology and the types of personalities that were featured. There was Enrico Caruso who recorded early phonograph records; Charlie Chaplin for silent movies, and Elvis Presley at the dawn of television entertainment. "Every change in technology brought a new icon," she told committee members.

Recalling encounters with Warren Buffett while working on an exhibit about Washington Post Publisher Katherine Graham and other celebrities she said it was "fascinating and fun."

The Broadcast Committee is open to all members. It usually meets the first Thursday of every month for a noon lunch meeting. For information contact Chairman Mark Hamrick [email protected].