Marlene Dietrich

Object Details

Artist

Irving Penn, 16 Jun 1917 - 7 Oct 2009

Sitter

Marlene Dietrich, 27 Dec 1901 - 6 May 1992

Exhibition Label

During World War II, Marlene Dietrich spent a total of eighteen months in Europe. Her frank memories of American soldiers—“They fought because they had been told to and had their eyes shot out and their brains, their bodies torn, their flesh burnt”—gave her a distinct gravity after the war that photographer Irving Penn captures here. For Dietrich’s service during the war, two American generals independently nominated her for the Medal of Freedom, which was awarded to her in 1947. Dietrich also received the French equivalent, la Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur, that year. She valued these recognitions above any acting citations. From those World War II veterans entertained by Dietrich during the war to their children, who heard stories of Dietrich; from Germans unwilling to bend to the Nazi regime to the generations who have since extolled Dietrich for her anti-Nazi stance, Dietrich is remembered as a woman with an impeccable moral core.

Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Marlene Dietrich pasó un total de dieciocho meses en Europa. Sus recuerdos de los soldados estadounidenses (“Luchaban porque seguían órdenes, y terminaban con disparos en los ojos, el cerebro y el cuerpo destrozados, la carne quemada”) le infundieron un aire de seriedad después de la guerra, captado aquí por el fotógrafo Irving Penn. Por su servicio durante la guerra, dos generales la nominaron para la Medalla de la Liberdad, la cual recibió en 1947. También recibió ese año el equivalente francés, la Orden Nacional de la Legión de Honor. Ella valoraba estos honores más que cualquier premio de actuación. Desde entonces, tanto los soldados a quienes llevó alegría y los hijos de estos, que escucharon las anécdotas sobre ella, como los alemanes que no se doblegaron ante el régimen nazi y las generaciones siguientes que la han elogiado por su postura antinazista, recuerdan a Dietrich como una mujer de impecable fibra moral.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Irving Penn

1948

Object number

NPG.88.70.13

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Copyright

© Conde Nast

Type

Photograph

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image: 24.5 x 19.5 cm (9 5/8 x 7 11/16")

Sheet: 25.3 x 20.4 cm (9 15/16 x 8 1/16")

Mat: 55.9 x 40.6 cm (22 x 16")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Interior

Marlene Dietrich: Female

Marlene Dietrich: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Theater

Marlene Dietrich: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie

Marlene Dietrich: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician\Violinist

Marlene Dietrich: Presidential Medal of Freedom

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.88.70.13

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm43d544140-45d6-4945-8cf8-512197077f7e