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"The greatest female tennis player in history", winner of 31 Grand Slam tournaments, including 8 Wimbledon singles titles, and beat the eighth-ranked US male player in an exhibition.
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We were visiting. a display of artwork at SFMOMA by Mexican Diego Rivera, who did much of his more recognizable work while living in the SF Bay Area, when tennis surprisingly intruded.
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One of Rivera's murals, called the Allegory of California (image above) was done under a commission for the Pacific Stock exchange. We were looking at preliminary art for the mural, where the model was described as a famous tennis player. Serendipitously, a woman touring the art nearby works at the stock exchange and said part of her job is explaining the mural to VIP visitors. She added some "color commentary"
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The model, Helen Wills or Helen Wills Moody, was not only a great tennis player -- she won 31 Grand Slam tournaments -- but apparently was a 20s flapper with a Kardashian-level of public notoriety.
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New York Times from 1928: Helen Wills Is Queen of Her Tennis World
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Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Wills
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It was widely rumored that she and Rivera had an affair, which Wills vehemently denied. But our serendipitous tour guide told us, "Given how much Rivera fooled around, yeah, they had an affair."
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Here is a preliminary work for the mural, and this is a wikipedia write up of Wills: "She was said to be "arguably the most dominant tennis player of the 20th century", and has been called by some (including Jack Kramer, Harry Hopman, Mercer Beasley, Don Budge, and AP News) the greatest female player in history."
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filedata/fetch?id=100315&d=1680816321&type=thumb
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There'll always be serendipity involved in discovery. -- Jeff Bezos
What people call serendipity sometimes is just having your eyes open. -- Jose Manuel Barroso
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The concept of serendipity often crops up in research. Serendipity is the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things that were not being sought. I believe that all researchers can be serendipitous. -- Akira Suzuki
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The craftless anarchy of the Beat poets on the one hand, and the extreme control of Henry James on the other, suggest that for most human beings, just as both freedom and discipline are necessary in life, serendipity and design must coexist in a work to make it readable. -- Mark Helprin
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filedata/fetch?id=100316&d=1680816322&type=thumb
filedata/fetch?id=100314&d=1680816322&type=thumb
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filedata/fetch?id=100317&d=1680816322&type=thumb
.
We were visiting. a display of artwork at SFMOMA by Mexican Diego Rivera, who did much of his more recognizable work while living in the SF Bay Area, when tennis surprisingly intruded.
.
One of Rivera's murals, called the Allegory of California (image above) was done under a commission for the Pacific Stock exchange. We were looking at preliminary art for the mural, where the model was described as a famous tennis player. Serendipitously, a woman touring the art nearby works at the stock exchange and said part of her job is explaining the mural to VIP visitors. She added some "color commentary"
.
The model, Helen Wills or Helen Wills Moody, was not only a great tennis player -- she won 31 Grand Slam tournaments -- but apparently was a 20s flapper with a Kardashian-level of public notoriety.
.
New York Times from 1928: Helen Wills Is Queen of Her Tennis World
There are a few champions in the realm of sport who so stand out above his or her rivals as does Miss Helen Wills of Berkeley Cal., winner of every major title in women’s lawn tennis and undisputed empress of the courts. Of all the figures whose deeds in sports — of whatever kind — are emblazoned across the pages of the press, this 23-year-old winner of the French, English and American championships stands alone as the overwhelming favorite to win every time she appears. She is so much a favorite as to make any wagering on the outcome of her matches out of the question.
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Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Wills
Wills was the first American woman athlete to become a global celebrity, making friends with royalty and film stars despite her preference for staying out of the limelight. She was admired for her graceful physique and for her fluid motion. She was part of a new tennis fashion, playing in knee-length pleated skirts rather than the longer ones of her predecessors, and was known for wearing her hallmark white visor. Unusually, she practiced against men to hone her craft, and she played a relentless predominantly baseline game, wearing down her female opponents with power and accuracy. In February 1926 she played a high-profile and widely publicised match against Suzanne Lenglen which was called the Match of the Century.
.
It was widely rumored that she and Rivera had an affair, which Wills vehemently denied. But our serendipitous tour guide told us, "Given how much Rivera fooled around, yeah, they had an affair."
.
Here is a preliminary work for the mural, and this is a wikipedia write up of Wills: "She was said to be "arguably the most dominant tennis player of the 20th century", and has been called by some (including Jack Kramer, Harry Hopman, Mercer Beasley, Don Budge, and AP News) the greatest female player in history."
.
filedata/fetch?id=100315&d=1680816321&type=thumb
.
There'll always be serendipity involved in discovery. -- Jeff Bezos
What people call serendipity sometimes is just having your eyes open. -- Jose Manuel Barroso
.
The concept of serendipity often crops up in research. Serendipity is the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things that were not being sought. I believe that all researchers can be serendipitous. -- Akira Suzuki
.
The craftless anarchy of the Beat poets on the one hand, and the extreme control of Henry James on the other, suggest that for most human beings, just as both freedom and discipline are necessary in life, serendipity and design must coexist in a work to make it readable. -- Mark Helprin
.
filedata/fetch?id=100316&d=1680816322&type=thumb
filedata/fetch?id=100314&d=1680816322&type=thumb
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