Photo by Pete Smith.

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940) is on display for only three more days at the Harry Ransom Center. This Sunday is the last day visitors can view the work before it travels to its next destination.

The painting, one of the Ransom Center’s most famous and frequently borrowed art works, has been on almost continuous loan since 1990. During that time, the painting has been featured in exhibitions in more than 25 museums in the United States and around the world.

You can view an interactive map that illustrates the travels of Kahlo’s Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.

Later this year, Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird will be on view in a three-venue exhibition In Wonderland: The Surrealist Activities of…

'The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door: A Portal to Bohemia: 1920–1925' runs through January 22.

The Ransom Center’s current exhibition The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door: A Portal to Bohemia, 1920–1925 is overflowing with literary history. To learn more about the history of Greenwich Village and the work of the bohemian artists and writers whose signatures cover the door, view the reading list that tempted the curators to stop researching and start reading.

The Harry Ransom Center. Photo by Pete Smith.

The Ransom Center will be closed for Thanksgiving Day. The galleries will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, November 25, and from noon to 5 p.m. on this Saturday and Sunday.

Visitors can see the current exhibitions, Banned, Burned, Seized, and Censored and The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door: A Portal to Bohemia, 1920-1925, as well as Frida Kahlo’s Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.

Free docent-led tours of the gallery exhibitions are offered at 2 p.m. on this Saturday and Sunday.

Visit the Harry Ransom Center as part of Austin’s Cultural Campus “Museum Crawl” on Saturday, November 26. Enjoy the exhibitions with your family, friends, and out-of-town guests. Join us at 2 p.m. for a docent-led tour…

Each Friday, the Ransom Center shares photos from throughout the week that highlight a range of activities and collection holdings. We hope you enjoy these photos that reveal some of the everyday happenings at the Center.

University of Texas alumnus Kevin Kautzman portrays John Sumner in 'Censorship Then and Now.' Students in Kathryn Dawson’s 'Applications in Museum Settings' class at The University of Texas at Austin studied performance as a way to bring museum exhibitions to life, including creating characters based on the Center’s exhibition 'Banned, Burned, Seized, and Censored.' Photo by Pete Smith.

University of Texas at Austin undergraduate student Rachel Panella argues her point as Upton Sinclair in 'Censorship Then and Now,' a performance for area high school students. Photo…

Continue Reading Photo Friday

Alain Dame visited the exhibition 'Culture Unbound: Collecting in the Twenty-First Century' in May. Photo by Alicia Dietrich.

Alain Dame may very well be the Ransom Center’s biggest fan.

The letter carrier from Quebec, Canada, visits the Center about twice a year and spends days (yes, days) in the galleries exploring the exhibitions. In a scenario that exhibition curators can usually only dream about, he takes the time to read every label and studies each item in the exhibition.

Dame first visited the Ransom Center in 1999. At that time, the Center had no gallery space of its own and often mounted small exhibitions in what was essentially a hallway on the fourth floor of the Flawn Academic Center. Dame’s first visit was…

The Ransom Center’s current exhibition Banned, Burned, Seized, and Censored reveals the rarely seen “machinery” of censorship in the United States between the two world wars.  See the Center’s recommended reading list of historically banned books, and visit the exhibition to learn more about these and many other books caught up in the complex world of American censorship. See which book was considered so obscene prosecutors “assiduously avoided using its title in public discussions of the case.”

First edition of the authorized version of the King James Bible, 1611, Pforzheimer Collection. Harry Ransom Center.

In the four centuries since its printing, the King James Bible has influenced much of the English-speaking world in its history and culture. In a collaboration between the Harry Ransom Center, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Bodleian Library, an exhibition has been launched that tells the little-known story of this influential work. From today through January 15, the Folger will present Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible. This exhibition will present the history leading up to the publication of the King James Bible in 1611, the process of translating the book, and finally, its influence on English-speaking cultures from…

Each Friday, the Ransom Center shares photos from throughout the week that highlight a range of activities and collection holdings. We hope you enjoy these photos that reveal some of the everyday happenings at the Center.

Photographer Elliott Erwitt views his own collection during a tour of the Ransom Center. Photo by Pete Smith.

Ransom Center intern Jenn Shapland helps during the bug check of an incoming collection. Photo by Pete Smith.

While visiting the Ransom Center for her book reading and signing on Tuesday, author Nicole Krauss signed the Center's authors' door located in the fifth floor stacks. Photo by Alicia Dietrich

Undergraduate intern Kelsey McKinney examines the Tropic of Cancer book cover in the Ransom Center Galleries' current exhibition Burned, Banned,…

Continue Reading Photo Friday

Click on the four-way arrow in the bottom right-hand corner of the slideshow to convert into full-screen mode.

The two exhibitions The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door: A Portal to Bohemia, 1920-1925 and Banned, Burned, Seized, and Censored are now open at the Ransom Center. In the slideshow above, staff members install the bookshop door in the galleries on Friday.

The Greenwich Village bookshop door is positioned in a sliding track before being moved between the two panels of Plexiglas. Photo by Alicia Dietrich.

The Harry Ransom Center extends a thank you to the many generous sponsors who are helping us turn Friday’s opening party, “Uncensored,” into a memorable event. Enjoy a Greenwich Village-inspired specialty cocktail from Treaty Oaks Platinum Rum, “Censored” copper ale courtesy of Lagunitas Brewing Co., and “Objectionable Films” curated by Tommy Swenson. Guests will also receive gift bags compliments of the Ransom Center, Austin Film Festival, Austin Sugarworks, Better Bites of Austin, Dr. Kracker Texas Whole Grain Specialists, Richard’s Rainwater, Texas Olive Ranch, Tommy’s Salsa, and Tribeza Magazine.*

One lucky guest will also win an “Uncensored Prize.” Guests at the opening may enter to win a two-night stay at the W Hotel, Austin; two producer’s passes to the Austin Film Festival, which…