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Gift of Trice D. Mortensen, 2002.87.104  © 2012 The Connecticut Historical Society.
William H. Mortensen as Director of the Bushnell Memorial
Gift of Trice D. Mortensen, 2002.87.104 © 2012 The Connecticut Historical Society.

William H. Mortensen as Director of the Bushnell Memorial

Subject (American, 1903 - 1990)
Photographer (American, 1944 - 2010)
Photographer (American)
Photographer (American)
Photographer (American, 1921 - 2013)
Photographer (American)
Photographer (American)
Photographer (American)
Date1938-1971
MediumPhotography; gelatin silver print on paper
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 7 1/2 x 9 1/2in. (19.1 x 24.1cm)
Sheet (height x width): 8 x 10in. (20.3 x 25.4cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of Trice D. Mortensen
DescriptionPhotographs that document the career of William H. Mortensen as director of The Bushnell Memorial. Included are receptions, dinners, theatrical openings, a book signing, and general publicity photographs with individuals or groups of people.

Most of the people are identified. They include: Alice C. Mortensen; Mary Seaverns; Virginia Seaverns Hilyard; Charles Bushnell Seaverns; Bob Killian; Allen Widem; Lee [Leland S.] Jamieson; Leverett Wright (Mortensen's successor at The Bushnell); Henry Needles; Lou Cohen; Francis Murphy; Elmer Mortensen; William Cole; Alfred Fuller of Fuller Brush Co.; Governor John Dempsey; Mayor Anne Uccello; Governor Abraham Ribicoff; Paul C. Landerman, orchestra leader; Vincent Lopez, orchestra leader; D. Daniel; Jane Watson; Anne Heublein; Boake Carter (news radio announcer); Harrison Harris; William Dungan; Dr. Henry Katz; Gregory P. Ziemack; E. Barrie Smith; John Bonee; Charles C. Cunningham; Howard Cohen; Sam Wilkes; former Mount Holyoke College president Dr. Roswell Ham; Laura C. Johnson; Clare Booth Luce; Justice Raymond E. Baldwin; conductor of the New York philharmonic symphony orchestra Dimitri Mitropoulos; John D. Lodge; Lt. Governor Anthony Armentano; Murray H. Cohen; Joe di Stefano; Benedict Abile; Mary Hooker; Mayor William J. Rankin; Roger W. Davis; Albert Coote; filmmaker Julien Bryan; Vice President Bentzen of Danish National Symphony; Stanley Vicas; J. Alfred Bedlow; Moscow state symphony soprano Galina Vishnevskaya; Concordia Gregorieff; Charles G. Steinway of Steinway and Sons; Charles W. Rush of Watkins Bros.; Appleton Seaverns; Eugene Ormandy (conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra); Oakdale Musical Theater producers Ben Segal and Buster Bonoff; Police Chief Micheal J. Godfrey; Harry Shaw; Frank Lacava; Fred LeVarge; Willard Rogers; Laurence Whittmore; and Lieutenant Governor Allen Murphy.

Most of the events appear to take place in the Hartford area, many in the interior of The Bushnell Memorial itself. There is an exterior view of the Bushnell Memorial with the Lafayette Monument in the foreground. Other places include the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts; an interior of the Heublein Hotel; the Clam Box Restaurant in Wethersfield, an interior of the Statler Hotel,
Several images of Bushnell Memorial ushers' banquets with William H. Mortensen wearing funny hats, carving ribs and a piece of meat, and holding a carving knife and fork.

Object number2002.87.82-.142
NotesSubject Note: The film Pictura Adventure in Art won the a Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Cultural Award for 1951at the Golden Globes. Clare Booth Luce would have been a Connecticut Senator when the photograph was taken. She served two terms. She was also a playwright, and an ambassador. Concordia Gregorieff fled Russia with her aristocratic family during the Russian Revolution to live in the United States. A book was written about her: Broken Beads: The Story of Concordia A. Gregorieff During the Days of Imperial Russia by Polly Williams Zarella of West Hartford, Connecticut. Julien Bryan was a film maker and founder of the International Film Foundation.
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