Ouachita’s Rosemary Gossett Adams gallery will play host to a unique exhibit during the month of February. “Dear Miss Day” and “Hollywood’s Golden Age” will be on display on the gallery’s first and second floors, respectively, now through February 24, free of charge and open to the public.
Doris Day is an American actress and singer who starred in several major films in the 50s and 60s, including “Tea for Two,” “Calamity Jane” and “Pillow Talk.” She also starred in her own television series, “The Doris Day Show,” and in her retirement has worked with–and helped found–various animal advocacy organizations, such as the Doris Day Animal Foundation.
“She’s had a very lengthy and varied career,” said Callie Anna Dunlap, a sophomore history major from Little Rock who cataloged and curated the collection as part of an honors directed study.
The part of the exhibit located on the gallery’s first floor, “Dear Miss Day,” is centered on the career of Doris Day and serves as a physical timeline of Day’s career and accomplishments that visitors are able to physically interact with. Walking through the exhibit, viewers are able to see items dating from the beginning of Day’s film career, moving through to the “Doris Day Show” era and into Day’s retirement. Here viewers will find posters, programs and other various promotional items from throughout Day’s career. Also on display in this section are two costumes Day wore and a “touch table” where viewers are invited to look through original scripts and notes and get an up-close, hands-on look at the items.
The second floor of the exhibit allows the viewer to have a glimpse of what the height of old Hollywood glamour looked like. Items on display in “Hollywood’s Golden Age” include movie theatre programs, a Shirley Temple paper doll, a shirt worn by actor Cary Grant and scripts and call sheets from various films.
Viewers are encouraged to pick up, touch and look through several of the items on display on both floors. The exhibit is designed to immerse viewers in the time period in a number of ways—Day’s music plays on a record player, old Hollywood films play on a television screen and original scripts and call sheets sit waiting to be flipped through.
“It’s not like you’re going to a museum and stuff is just up on the wall or behind glass, you’re getting to actually interact with pieces of history,” said Adam Wheat, fine arts administrator and resident director. “It’s real, actual bits of history and you’re getting to see how they fit in with the unique culture at the time.”
The exhibit was donated to Ouachita by Cherry Davis, a lifelong fan of Doris Day who acquired the memorabilia over the course of several years. Davis donated her collection in honor of her mother, an alumna of Ouachita.
“I think everyone loves old Hollywood to some extent, even if you don’t sit down and watch old movies all the time,” Dunlap said. “It’s also really cool to see how things were done differently back then… There’s just things that we don’t do anymore that are important to remember and appreciate.”
Many items from the collection, including some unable to be displayed, will be available for purchase, with proceeds benefitting the theatre department. Students may also receive art engagement credit by visiting both floors of the exhibit.
The exhibit may be viewed during regular gallery hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and it will be on display through February 24.
By Katie Kemp, news editor
