Hope is an 1886
Symbolistoil painting by the English artist
George Frederic Watts. Radically different from previous treatments of the subject, it shows a lone blindfolded female figure sitting on a globe, playing a
lyre which has only a single string remaining. Watts intentionally used symbolism not traditionally associated with hope to make the painting's meaning ambiguous. As reproductions began to circulate in large quantities worldwide, it became a widely popular image.
Theodore Roosevelt displayed a copy at his
Sagamore Hill home in New York, and a 1922 film was based on the painting. Although Watts was rapidly falling out of fashion by this time and Hope was increasingly seen as outdated and sentimental, it remained influential.
Martin Luther King Jr. based a 1959 sermon on the theme of the painting, as did
Jeremiah Wright in 1990. Among the congregation for the latter was the young
Barack Obama, who took "The Audacity of Hope" as the theme of his
2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, and as the title of his
2006 book; he based his successful
2008 presidential campaign around the theme of "Hope". (
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... that the city of
Glen Cove, New York, once tried to foreclose on the Soviet diplomatic retreat at Killenworth(pictured), and later denied its residents beach permits?
... that the classical pianist Yara Bernette was praised for her interpretation of Variations on a Theme from the Northeast of Brazil by the composer,
Camargo Guarnieri?
Petra Martić (b. 1991) is a tennis player from
Split, Croatia. Beginning her career as a junior in 2006, Martić turned professional in 2008. She reached a career high of World No. 42 in 2012 in
women's singles.
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