© G Barclay
Since opening in the Principality of Monaco in 2007, the Grimaldi Forum’s exhibition, The Grace Kelly Years, Princess of Monaco, has been enchanting visitors around the world. Initially conceived and presented as one of the Forum’s headline summer exhibitions, this tribute to the legendary woman who moved so effortlessly and stylishly from a career in Hollywood to her role as beloved wife, mother and Princess of Monaco, has drawn crowds in every city in which it’s been seen.
© G Barclay
In accordance with the wishes of HSH Prince Albert II, this exhibition has already been made accessible to over 700,000 people in nine different cities across the globe – in addition to the 135,000 who visited it in Monte-Carlo, a record number of visitors to a Grimaldi Forum exhibition. It has now opened, for the first time, in the United States, and the venue, appropriately, is the Michener Museum near Philadelphia, the city in which Grace Kelly was born and which is her family’s home.
© G Barclay
This fascinating collection of souvenirs, memorabilia, photographs, dresses, jewellery and home movies highlights the allure, style and elegance which became synonymous with the name of Grace Kelly, presenting aspects of her brief film career, yet maintaining a subtle awareness of her royal destiny.
In the opulence of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris, the city’s Mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, paid tribute to Princess Grace of Monaco. In Moscow, at the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation, the exhibition was officially inaugurated by HSH Princess Stéphanie, accompanied by founders Vladimir and Ekaterina Semenikhin, and in Rome, the Memmo Foundation invited HSH Prince Albert II to open the exhibition in the Palazzo Ruspoli. In London, the presentation at the Victoria & Albert Museum placed the focus on fashion in an exhibition entitled Grace Kelly, Style Icon, which attracted the highest number of visitors to the exhibition to date.
© G Barclay
The Armando Alvarez Penteado Foundation hosted the exhibition in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which was opened by HSH Prince Albert II, and in Toronto, during the city’s Film Festival, the TIFF Bell Lightbox honoured the actress who became Princess Grace of Monaco. At the Bendigo Art Gallery, one of Australia’s largest and oldest regional galleries, the exhibition was inaugurated by HSH Princess Charlene, attracting 153,000 visitors. In Astana, it was hosted by Kazakhstan’s Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, and it made a second appearance in Canada, at the McCord Museum in Montreal.
From Philadelphia to Monaco: GRACE KELLY Beyond the Icon is on display at the James A Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, near Philadelphia, until 26th January 2014, after which it returns to Europe, to the Het Loo Palace in the Netherlands, where it will be open from 3rd June to 26th October 2014.
For further information on the exhibition, and a list of related events, please visit the Michener Museum website
http://www.visitmonaco.com/us/