Washington, D.C. — Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let Down Your Hair!, an exhibition that offers varied artistic treatments of the well-loved fairy tale, will be on view at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) from July 2, 2001, to January 27, 2002. The exhibition, for young people and adults alike, features 54 illustrations and 41 books published in the last 150 years in English, French, German, and Dutch.

Versions of the story range from traditional and romantic to feminist and rap. Included in the exhibition are seven crucial scenes in illustrated books of Rapunzel that compare different interpretations by the artists. The scenes are entitled: Stealing Rampion; The Witch Takes Rapunzel Away; Life with the Witch; "Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let Down Your Hair!"; "For Stony Limits Cannot Hold Love Out"; The Punishment of Rapunzel; and And They Lived Happily Ever After…. Also featured in the exhibition are paintings and drawings, as well as puppets from a production of Rapunzel.

The story of the beautiful Rapunzel and the witch who keeps her locked away in a tower has captured the imagination of readers, writers, and artists for over three centuries. One of the early prototypes of Rapunzel (German for "rampion," an edible plant) is a 1637 story published in Naples by Giambattista Basile titled Petrosinella (Neapolitan for "little parsley"). Another early version is the 1698 Persinette published in Paris. The best-known version of Rapunzel was published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in their collection of German folktales.

Exhibition curator and NMWA Library & Research Center Director Krystyna Wasserman says, "It was both fascinating and challenging to try to reconcile those elements of the tale that children find appealing with the facets that would be of interest to adults. We never really outgrow our love affair with fairy tales. On one level, Rapunzel is a simple love story, on another, it is a complex coming-of-age story; but it is now, and forever will be, the story of a little girl with long, golden hair."

Among the illustrators whose works are featured in the exhibition is Diane Stanley, who illustrated the 1637 Petrosinella text. Inspired by Italian Renaissance paintings, her illustrations of the heroine’s ravishing beauty set against the ugliness of the witch are a visual confrontation between good and evil. Stanley, who was trained as a medical illustrator, pays particular attention to the landscape and depicts the flowers and plants in the book in exquisite detail.

Alix Berenzy, both author and illustrator of her version of Rapunzel, views the story as a spiritual and feminist tale. Berenzy portrays Rapunzel’s mother as a victim in a patriarchal world who dreams of life and freedom. Rapunzel is a survivor whose inner strength comes out after she is banished to the desert, winning for herself the freedom her mother never had.

In Betsy Lewin’s Rapunzel: A Happenin’ Rap, the story is in the form of rap and the illustrations portray the characters as dogs who behave and dress like people. Rapunzel, unlike the traditional heroine, is spoiled and demanding, and ends up as a hair stylist in Brooklyn assisted by her adoring prince.

The collaboration between illustrator Catherine Satterlee and author Isabel Hill Fucigna produced a Rapunzel story for adults. The 15 paintings Satterlee created for the tale convey her feeling of isolation as an artist and her identification with Rapunzel’s lonely life in the tower. Fucigna’s narrative contains details not mentioned in the traditional story and reflects Rapunzel’s thoughts, dreams, and longings.

Trina Schart Hyman used her family, friends, and neighbors as models for the characters in Rapunzel, imbuing her heroes and heroines with greater psychological depth. For example, Rapunzel’s mother is tormented over her desire for the rampion plant, and Rapunzel feels apprehension when she first faces the prince, who instantly professes his love for her.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let Down Your Hair! is organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. A catalogue for the exhibition can be purchased from the museum shop for $12.95 or by mail order (call 1.800.222.7270). The exhibition and catalogue were funded by Betty Good Edelson, The Women’s Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Margaret Johnston, Martha Dippell and Daniel Lynn Korengold, The Honorable Mary V. Mochary, and Chris Leahy and Susan Miller.

Scheduled for September 19 is "Deconstructing Rapunzel on Film," featuring animated and feminist films. On September 30, a family program "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Tell Us Your Story" includes a tour of the exhibition and an afternoon of storytelling. The public number for information and prices is 202.783.7370.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts, founded in 1981 and opened in 1987, is the only museum dedicated solely to celebrating the achievements of women in the visual, performing, and literary arts. Its permanent collection contains approximately 2700 works by more than 800 artists, including Judith Leyster, Maria Sibylla Merian, Mary Cassatt, Camille Claudel, Georgia O'Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, Elizabeth Catlett, Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, and Louise Bourgeois. The museum also conducts multidisciplinary programs for diverse audiences, maintains a Library and Research Center, publishes a quarterly magazine, and has 24 state committees. More than 100,000 people visit the museum each year, including thousands of young people who come with schools and scouting groups. NMWA’s current national membership of 35,000 is among the top ten percent of museum memberships nationwide. The museum is located at 1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., in a landmark building near the White House. It is open Monday - Saturday, 10 a.m. B 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon - 5 p.m. General admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors (60 and over), and free for NMWA members and youth (18 and under). Free Community Days are offered the first Sunday and Wednesday of each month. For information call 202.783.5000 or visit the museum’s website, www.nmwa.org.

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