The Pieta and the 1963 World's Fair

When I was 13, the World's Fair took place in New York City and my grandparents decided to take me there. I was chosen because I was the oldest grandchild.

I never did get along with these grandparents, my father's parents. They were Orthodox Jews, kept the kosher laws, and celebrated Shabbos. We all--our own family plus my uncle's--spent many Shabbos evenings together. My grandfather tended towards being dramatic and over-emotional, and I considered my grandmother cold and incomprehensible. They do not appear so much that way now as an adult, but as a teenager I chafed against their rules and regulations and blamed them for everything that went wrong in the family.

My grandfather wasn't a good driver so the ride to New York was bumpy. Once there we stayed in a hotel that was a kosher place for Orthodox Jews.

In getting ready for the trip I had read a Look Magazine article which described in detail the process of shipping Michaelango's Pieta to New York. This was a most exciting undertaking and the priceless statue was considered to be the focal point of the Fair. I was looking forward very much to seeing it because it was a work of art; however, I was in almost total ignorance of what the statue meant. I didn't know that "pieta" meant pity; I didn't know why the body of a dead man lay collapsed against a woman's body; I didn't even know that they represented Mary and Jesus. But I loved art, and the fact that Michaelango carved this piece was enough for me.

As can be gathered from the facts set out, my grandparents, especially my grandfather, wasn't going to take this lying down. I remember standing at the entrance to the special building that housed the statue, facing my grandfather, and demanding to be allowed to go in. I was 400 miles away from home, I was 13 years old; how did I get the chutzpah to do this?

In the end, I won. And it was worth the bumpy ride to New York, the boring kosher hotel, and the argument with my grandfather. The building inside was completely black, like velvet. The only lights were a shade of blue, called "gas blue." The lights were placed so that they shone on the statue alone. Nothing else was visible. And best of all, the Pieta stood stationary and alone, while visitors mounted a moving circular walkway so that every angle could be seen. You didn't have to get off after going around once. You could keep going around to study the breathless but living quality of this piece of art.

My grandfather died when I was in my 20s and I'm still here with a perfect visual memory of the Pieta. So I can keep going there whenever I like.