& indi ) iste e [mf+oe S = iS ¢ bog ~ a (< fe vm ~ i¢o sr = be od “= > 7 CUZ: yy: Information 4 S Bulletin JAMES iscsi Vol. 70, Nos. 1-2 Janu—a Ferbruyar y 2011 sctdineaiteialiaiati tai On the Cover: A courtroom drawing by Marilyn Church shows David Berkowitz reacting as District Attorney Eugene Gold argues his case at hearing to determine defendant's competency to stand trial, in the case of The People of the State of New York v. David Berkowitz. Sketchy Characters: The Library acquires the courtroom sketches of artist Marilyn Church. The Library of Congress in the News Swearing-in at the Library: The Library hosts a record number of events for the 112th Congress. Copyright Register Bids Farewell: Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights, retires. Lights, Camera, Action: An invaluable collection of American films is added to the 2010 National Film Registry. American Utopia: The Library presents select items from the American Colony in Jerusalem collection. Mapping Preservation: A seven-year map-conservation project comes to a close. Freedom in America: The Library hosts the all-day symposium “Creating Freedom in the Americas, 1776-1826.” Navigating the Collections: A newly unveiled search system allows researchers to navigate more easily the Library’s collections. Time Stamping: The Memento project garners Digital Preservation award. Bobbitt Prize: Poet Lucia Perillo receives the 2010 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry. Library of Congress Staff News The Library of Congress Information Bulletin (ISSN 0041-7904) is issued monthly by the Office of Communications of the Library of Congress and distributed free of charge to publicly supported libraries and research institutions, academic libraries, learned societies and allied organizations in the United States Research institutions and educational organizations in other countries may arrange to receive the Bulletin on an exchange basisb y applying in writitno gth e Library’s Director for Acquisitions and Support Services, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington DC 20540-4100. It is also available on the web at www.loc.gov/loc/Icib/. All other correspondence should be addressed to the Office of Communications, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington DC 20540-1610, e-mail [email protected]. JENNIFER GAVIN, Acting Executive Editor Aubrey FiscHer, Editor JOHN H. Sayers, Art Director ASHLEY Jones, Designer Assy Brack, Staff Photographer “TI have seen the bizarre, the impossible, the unforgettable and the unbelievable happen every day. I knew after my first day in court, that no other work could ever fascinate me in the same way.” - Marilyn Church Artist Marilyn Church From Courtroom to Library, a Collection of Sketchy Characters INFORMATION BULLETIN Artist Marilyn Church, using colored pencil and crayon, has captured some of the most dramatic moments in high-pro- years. The Library of Congress is acquiring, through ft/purchase t, an exceptional collection of Church's dre will be added to the Library’s Prints anc Catalog at www.loc.gov/pictures/ duri! By MARK HARTSELL “Son of Sam,” murdered six people New York for 12 months beginnin unsettled Church. om said. “| had long, dark hair at his victims looked. | was the ri urch poses for a photo holding one of her ing to keep drawing.” room sketches in her studio in New York. Church managed to finish that day, < drawing for the next 30-plus years, biggest trials of the age. Church illustrated a courthou terrorists, would entertainers, profile plaintiffs: n Gotti, Woody Allen, I work of Church and other colorfully render u wouldn't exist < JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2011 “These do more than capture individuals,” says Sara Duke, a curator in the Prints and Photographs Division. “For scholars who want to look at how attitudes shifted over time in the courtroom, here’s a good place to start.” Church never imagined she would make a career in the courtroom. She studied painting and illustration at the Pratt Institute, a private art college in Brooklyn, and later worked as a fashion illustrator. ee She’d never set foot in court. She had no background in legal matters and wasn’t an aficionado of high-profile trials. “| didn’t even know that artists drew in the courtroom,” she says. In 1974, a friend suggested that she give courtroom il- lustration a try. So Church aitended the misconduct trial of a Queens, N.Y., district attorney for a week, sitting be- hind the other artists and sketching scenes. She loved it. “That’s when | said, ‘| can do this. This is great,’ “ Church says. She shopped her week’s worth of work to all the TV sta- tions and newspapers in New York City. WABC-TV hired her, and she eventually worked for The New York Times, ABC and CNN, among other media outlets. Church’s long-term prospects didn’t seem bright. “It’s too bad you’re starting so late, because cameras are about to replace us all,” her new colleagues would say. But Church found the work compelling: “The best dra- mas in town,” she says. “The best legal minds arguing, sparring. The defendant’s life on the line in many cases. It’s drawing from life. It’s making art.” She quickly learned the key skills of the trade: Lightning speed. Accuracy. A feel for crucial moments. A knack for framing scenes. An eye for the details that would sustain interest over a long camera shot. And she learned to be prepared for anything. “A witness could suddenly stand up and point out some- body or break down and cry,” she says. Or, as once happened, a defendant could suddenly punch out his lawyer and put him on the ground. “Whatever happens in a courtroom, you must be pre- pared,” she says. “There’s never any excuse for not cap- turing something important that’s happened.” Her work at times led her into unexpected places. Church covered the trial of Jean Harris, headmistress of continued on page 298 Marla Maples, the estranged wife of real estate mogul Donald Trump, spent nearly an hour in court in New York identifying 75 pairs of shoes that her former publicist was accused of stealing. s e SR7 R RaUt t weet aaEppee:G Court Holdings in the Library Eben Library holds some work by courtroom artists — scenes, for example, from the trials of the Chicago Seven and Sirhan Sirhan (Senator Robert F. Ken- nedy’s assassin) — but the addition of Church’s drawings easily represents the Library’s largest collection of such work. The acquisition will significantly extend the Library’s representation of famous trials, beginning with the work of Howard Brodie in the 1950s and 1960s, and will give the American people visual access to some of the most important judi- cial trials in the 20th century. Church's drawings are an important part of American history, because she portrayed events unfolding in courtrooms where cameras were not allowed. She provided insight into the people who influenced the major issues of the late 20th century, including race and race relations, gender, women’s reproduction, politi- cal and corporate corruption, religion, international relations and celebrities. Her collection offers researchers an opportunity to learn from poignant illustrations about some of the most famous people in America during their most vulnerable moments. Sean Combs The People of the State of New York v. Sean Combs, 2000 Martha Stewart Woody Allen Woody Allen - Mia Farrow Custody Trial, 1993 Robert Emme INFORMATION BULLETIN Don King United States of America v. Don King, 1998 O.J. Simpson = The People of the State of California v. 0.J. Simpson, 1995 bd States of America v. Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic, 2004 hambers, Jr. “The Preppy Killer” People of the State of New York v. Robert Chambers, 1988 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2011 Congress outlets they represented. continued from page 294 Gotti’s brother once approached Church in court and complained that she had misrepresented the mob The Madeira School, boss’s hairline. who in 1980 was Another day, Church looked up to see Gotti himself charged with and gesturing to her. later convicted of the Surprised, she looked back over her shoulder, saw no murder of her lover, one and turned again to Gotti. Herman _ Tarnower, Who, me? the author of “The He nodded, then pointed to his neck and waggled Complete Scarsdale his finger in warning. Medical Diet.” “He had been following the drawings,” Church says. When _ Hollywood “He was saying, ‘Don’t draw my neck fat anymore. I’m produced a TV mov- watching you.’ “ ie about the trial, About 20 years ago, Church began to consider what Church played the she would do with the collection she was steadily courtroom artist on- amassing. Jean Harris testifies screen, served as a She inquired at the Brooklyn Historical Museum and visual consultant and the New York Historical Society. The answer was dis- at the murder trial of drew the “bumper couraging: The institutions just didn’t have the facili- Dr. Herman Tarnower, drawings” that car- ties to house her collection. 1980. ried the broadcast A friend suggested the Library of Congress, but into and out of com- Church was skeptical. mercials. “| had that in my mind: But if the New York muse- “| went through the tria! once drawing it and went through ums couldn't take it,” she thought, “why would the it again in Hollywood over and over in those scenes,” she Library of Congress with its much more national ori- says. entation?” The night former Beatle John Lennon was murdered, But she kept it in the back of her mind. Eventually, WABC called on Church to produce an “artist’s conception” she placed a call to the Library that Duke was happy of the events, an imagined re-creation of scenes. to receive. The station’s coverage — including Church’s work — won an “This is our only entrance into the realm of the Emmy. But the Lennon drawings are not part of the Library courtroom,” Duke says. “With the exception of the O.J. of Congress collection. She never saw them again after that Simpson trial and Judge Wapner, court is not televised. night. So this is our ticket into those moments in time.” Church had to constantly fight to keep her drawings Church, meanwhile, still is hard at work. from getting lost by the news crews, and the Lennon illus- She recently published a book, “The Art of Justice: trations were no exception. An Eyewitness View of Thirty Famous Trials,” featur- “| can’t tell you how casually TV stations treated these ing many of her courtroom scenes. Last month, she drawings,” she says. covered the court appearance of Viktor Bout, an inter- Witnessing court proceedings wasn’t always easy — even if national arms dealer. they didn’t involve a Son of Sam or Preppy Killer. And she paints for her own pleasure — but in an ab- The custody battle between Woody Allen and Mia Farrow stract style that’s quite the opposite of the detailed, — and the charges of inappropriate behavior by Allen with literal renderings she produces for her day job. Farrow’s adopted daughter — troubled Church on a personal There is, she concedes, a connection. level. “In my paintings no one is identifiable, faces are sel- “He was an icon for me,” she says. “He was such a bril- dom detailed because | find the mysterious and the liant writer and moviemaker. Sitting every day in court for unknowable most fascinating,” she says. “| love the about three weeks listening to these terrible charges against idea that nobody is telling me what needs to be in a him...” picture and the freedom to do that is what’s intriguing By the end of the trial, she says, Allen just sat there, a to me.” beaten man. And she is glad that her courtroom art has found a “| realized that you really have to stay removed from what permanent home at the Library, where it can be useful you’re hearing,” she says. “You cannot let your emotions run to scholars for years to come. away with you.” “lam so thrilled that it is there,” Church says. “Re- Just as the artist observes the court, the court at times ally thrilled.” @ observes the artist. Mob boss John Gotti closely followed the press coverage Mark Hartsell is editor of the Gazette, the Library’s staff of his trial — he knew the artists and reporters and the media newsletter. INFORMATION BULLETIN