Elizabeth I On Tour

Elizabeth I: Ruler and Legend is a new traveling exhibition for libraries that commemorates the 400th anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The exhibition encourages audiences not only to reacquaint themselves with the Queen, but also to become more familiar with the historical and cultural forces that shaped her personality and her time and examine the mixture of history and legend that continues to surround her today. The traveling exhibition is based on a major exhibition of the same title, which opened at the Newberry Library of Chicago on September 30, 2003.

Two copies of the exhibit are traveling to 20 libraries (for a total of 40 libraries) around the country between 2003 and 2006. Each copy consists of six colorful, freestanding photo panels incorporating representations of artifacts from the Newberry's exhibition and new text written for the exhibition by the curator, Clark Hulse, professor of English and art history at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The sections of the traveling exhibition investigate Elizabeth's life and career as a head of state, reveal the political workings of her court, examine the cultural and diplomatic worlds of England and Europe in the late 16th century, and explore the legacy of Queen Elizabeth from the time of her death to today.

Libraries on the tour host the exhibition for a six-week period. All participating libraries will present at least one program that is open to the public that features a lecture/discussion by a scholar on exhibition themes. All showings of the exhibition are free and open to the public.

May 3 - June 16
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Kansas City, Kansas

June 28 - August 11
Raleigh, North Carolina
Omaha, Nebraska

August 23 - October 6
Bronx, New York
St. Cloud, Minnesota

October 18 - December 1
Bristol, Rhode Island
Columbia, Missouri

December 13 - February 16
Gardner, Massachusetts
Livonia, Michigan