The Tiara Gallery from "Diana, A Celebration" at the Cleveland Museum of Art.Click photo for larger image.
How does Cleveland get the big shows?CLEVELAND -- Helen Mirren recently captured an Oscar for her dead-on portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in "The Queen." But when it comes to real modern-day royals, it's Princess Diana who captured hearts worldwide.
Dubbed the "People's Princess" by the press, the former wife of Britain's Prince Charles continues -- even 10 years after her tragic death in a car accident in Paris -- to captivate audiences around the globe, as much for her glamour and style as for her charitable and humanitarian efforts.
"Maybe it's because she was so compassionate and honest and had problems in her life that people could relate to," says John Norman, president of Arts and Exhibitions International, which last month brought an exhibit chronicling her life to the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland. "But people feel connected to this woman and understood her. There was something magical about her."
Unless you're a royal watcher with a particular affection for Lady Di, the buzz this four-month exhibit is creating might not be readily apparent. But "Diana: A Celebration," which runs through June 10, is one of the most exciting moments in the museum's 140-year history, according to chairman Gary Adams, and "clearly the most spectacular."
Some, undoubtedly, will line up just to see the show's centerpiece, the breathtaking silk taffeta gown and its 25-foot train from her 1981 Royal Wedding to Prince Charles. But the critically acclaimed exhibit actually touches on all aspects of her life, with everyday objects from her childhood, as well as items associated with her charity work, such as a prayer book given to her in 1993 by Mother Teresa.
It's not a brand-new exhibit: since 1998, it has been on permanent display each year from July 1 (the day of her birth) to Aug. 31 (the day of her death) at Althorp, the Spencer family's 500-year-old ancestral home in England. But the traveling exhibit, which features 150 items on loan from the Spencer family, has made it to only a handful of American cities.
Designed to give visitors a better understanding of Diana's positive legacy, the exhibit was originally part of a three-year, five-city North American tour that debuted in Toronto in 2003 and was supposed to conclude last year in Dayton. But when a scheduled trip to Shanghai, China, fell through at the last minute, Mr. Norman had a hole to fill. He ended up choosing Cleveland.
"I said, let's do it in my hometown," recalls Mr. Norman, whose company is based in Aurora, Ohio.
The exhibit, which is spread over nine galleries that follow Di's life in chronological order, is hardly huge. But it still manages to paint a fairly complete portrait of the princess, who was 36 when she was killed in a car accident in Paris on Aug. 30, 1997.
What do most people associate with princesses? A crown, of course. And that's what the exhibit kicks off with: an exquisite diamond and gold tiara in a Greek key pattern. It's highlighted by a black-and-white portrait of Diana taken by Patrick Demarchelier that graced the cover of People Magazine two weeks after her death. Then it's on to the Spencer women and their jewels.
Considering the Spencer family's standing as one of Britain's great aristocratic dynasties, it might follow that Diana's early life would be unrelated. Yet the "Childhood" gallery, which displays everything from cherished toys and family photos to home movies shot by her father, portrays her growing years as fairly normal, if privileged.
This Riviere necklace, displayed in the "Spencer Women" gallery, is made of 46 diamonds set in silver and gold. Every single diamond is detachable, and a bracelet can be made from part of it.Click photo for larger image.
Diana wore this scarlet Jacques Azagury evening gown at an event at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in 1997. It shows how she injected a daring twist into serious dressing.Click photo for larger image.
In one of the exhibit's most poignant rooms we get to see a school report from 1969 that notes the then 8-year-old "must be careful where she puts 'Capital Letters' " and a "Dear Mummy and Daddy" letter from 1966 in which she discloses how she had to go to bed with a candle in her room after a power outage. There are also hints of what's to come: A diary entry from 1979 reminds the teenager to "write to the Queen."
Thanks to her slender but curvy body, long legs and luminous blue eyes, Diana was extremely photogenic. One of the world's most photographed women, she graced the cover of People magazine 52 times. But you might not realize just how tall she was (5 feet, 10 inches) until you see her fairytale wedding dress up close. Hand-embroidered with more than 10,000 sequins and seed pearls and embellished with 100 yards of tulle crinoline, it can be described only as spectacular.
All of those lace underskirts might make the dress look heavy. But it's actually very light, says art handler Graeme Murton, who oversees the collection housed at Althorp.
Back in England, he notes, the dress can't be displayed to its best advantage because there is not enough room in the stable-turned exhibition hall. But here, the longest train in royal history is stretched out to its full billowing glory.
"And I really think you need to see it completely," he says.
What you don't get to see, unfortunately, are the soles of her delicate size 10 ivory wedding slippers, which are made of silk and adorned with sequins. They were hand-painted in a heart motif with a "C" and a "D."
As an ode to her sense of style, the exhibit includes 28 dresses, suits and gowns that document her transformation from shy, 20-year-old kindergarten teacher to self-assured, international icon. They range in style from the romantic (and demure) white Belville Sassoon gown a young Diana wore a few weeks before her wedding and the sexy, deep purple Versace number the newly divorced Lady Diana Spencer wore to a gala dinner in Chicago in 1996.
"You can see how she evolved into a very elegant woman," says Mr. Murton. "In the end she wore the clothes and was in control."
Highlights of the "Tribute" gallery include the musical score and handwritten lyrics to "Candle in the Wind" that Elton John and his lyricist, Bernie Taupin, rewrote for Princess Diana's funeral in 1997.
You also get to see the original, hand-edited text of Charles Spencer's tribute to his sister that he delivered at her funeral in Westminster Abbey, which was broadcast to more than 60 countries and had an estimated 2.5 billion viewers. (In keeping with Diana's memory, money raised by the exhibit goes to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, which benefits charities for children, the homeless, people with AIDS and land-mine victims.)
Diana as a teenager studying ballet poses at Althorp, the Spencer family's 500-year-old ancestral home in England.Click photo for larger image.
The two photographs used in Diana Spencer's passport were taken by her father, Earl Spencer. He took all of his children's passport photos.Click photo for larger image.
A few things seem strangely absent. While you can view some of the more than 30,000 condolence books Althorp received after her death, there is no mention of how she died or with whom (Dodi Al Fayed, her new boyfriend and son of a wealthy Arab businessman). Nor is there any reference to her scandalous divorce. But even without those details, you'll still be filled with an overwhelming sense of sadness and loss.
While the best word for this quiet exhibit might be reverent, it's also honest. Most people, Mr. Norman guesses, will walk away from the exhibit feeling just a bit closer to this woman and more appreciative of what she had to go through.
"That's why she was loved by the entire world," he says. "She touched everyone."
In keeping with tradition, Diana's wedding dress was British-made, by designers Elizabeth and David Emanuel. It was one of the most closely guarded secrets in fashion history. In Britain, the dress can't be displayed to its best advantage because the exhibition hall doesn't have room for the entire train. At the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, the full train is on display.First Published: March 11, 2007, 5:00 a.m.
