Mona Lisa Smile

All her life she had wanted to teach at Wellesley College.

So when a position opened in the Art History department...

...she pursued it single-mindedly until she was hired.

It was whispered that Katherine Watson...

...a first-year teacher from Oakland State...

...made up in brains what she lacked in pedigree.

Which was why this bohemian from California...

...was on her way to the most conservative college in the nation.

-Excuse me, please. -Oh, sorry.

Excuse me.

Excuse me. The bus?

-Keep walking, ma'am. -Thank you.

But Katherine Watson didn't come to Wellesley to fit in.

She came to Wellesley because she wanted to make a difference.

-Violet. -My favorite Italian professor.

-Nice summer? -Terrific, thanks.

-Who's that over there? -Where?

Oh, Katherine Watson. New teacher. Art History. I'm dying to meet her.

Who knocks at the Door of Learning?

-I am every woman. -What do you seek?

To awaken my spirit through hard work...

...and dedicate my life to knowledge.

Then you are welcome.

All women who seek to follow you can enter here.

I now declare the academic year begun.

A shame you didn't come yesterday. It's so quiet before the girls arrive.

Just a few rules. No holes in the walls.

No pets, no loud noises, no radio or hi-fi after 8 on weekdays...

...10 on weekends...

...no hot plates and no male visitors.

Anything wrong?

I don't think I can go a year without a hot plate.

Don't you just love chintz?

And look.

They match.

Sweet, right? Your room's here.

My room is just across the way...

...and Amanda Armstrong's down the other end.

-You grew up here? -My whole life.

You'll meet my parents when they come to visit.

-They visit? -Regularly.

-What do you teach? -Speech, elocution and poise.

Dinners are communal, so I'll handle that.

But breakfast and lunch, you're on your own. So...

...we each get our own shelf. I'll make your label this evening.

I don't need to tell you, everything on our individual shelves is sacrosanct.

I just knew when we met...

...we'd be instant friends.

Be careful. They can smell fear.

-Good morning. -Good morning.

Thank you.

This is History of Art 100.

We'll be following Dr. Staunton's syllabus.

-Any questions so far? -Your name?

-Why don't you go first? -Connie Baker.

-Katherine Watson. Nice to meet you. -Dr. Watson, I presume.

-Not yet. And you are? -Giselle Levy.

Giselle. If someone could get the--

-Susan Delacorte. -Thank you, Susan Delacorte.

From the beginning, man has always had the impulse to create art.

-Can anyone tell me what this is? -Wounded Bison, Altamira, Spain...

...about 15,000 B.C. Joan Brandwyn.

Very good, Joan.

Despite the age of these, they are technically sophisticated because--

The shading and the thickness of the lines moving over the bison's hump.

-Is that right? -Yes, that's exactly right.

Next slide.

This is probably less familiar. It was discovered by archeologists--

In 1879, Lascaux, France. Dates back to 10,000 B.C.

Singled out because of flowing lines depicting the movement of the animal.

-Impressive. Name? -Herd of Horses.

-I meant yours. -We call her Flicka.

Elizabeth Warren. They call me Betty.

Very good.

Betty is also correct.

Just because something is ancient doesn't mean that it is primitive.

For example. Next slide, please.

Mycerinus and His Queen. 2470 B.C.

It's a funerary statue of the pharaoh and queen...

...originally intended to preserve the pharaoh's ka. Soul.

Have any of you taken Art History before?

No.

Let's go on. Slide.

Seated Scribe. Egypt. 2400 B.C.

Peasant Couple Plowing. Sixteenth century B.C. Egypt.

Snake Goddess. Minoan. 1600 B.C.

Fresco. Minoan. 1600 B.C.

Funeral Mask. Mycenaean. 1200.

Could someone please get--?

Thank you.

By a show of hands only...

...how many of you have read the entire text?

-And the suggested supplements. -Long way from Oakland State?

Well, you girls do prepare.

If you've nothing else for us, we could go to independent study.

Ac--

I was in California once. How do you get work done with all that sunshine?

-We tan in class. -Really?

No.

You know, not everybody wanted you.

I'm not naming any names.

These jobs usually go quickly. Ex-students, friends of, you know...

...the right people.

The person they wanted took a job at Brown, and no one else was available.

So here you are.

You can go in now. Good luck.

Your first class left a lot to be desired, Miss Watson.

And I'm curious about the subject of your dissertation.

You suggest, "Picasso will do for the 20th century...

...what Michelangelo did for the Renaissance," unquote.

In terms of influencing movements.

So these canvases that they're turning out these days...

...with paint dripped and splotched on them...

...they're as worthy of our attention as Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel?

I'm not comparing them.

Have you ever seen the Sistine Chapel, Miss Watson?

Actually stood there?

I've never been to Europe.

I can assure all of you this is the place I want to be more than anything.

Better discipline next class, Miss Watson.

-Hello. -It's me.

-Hey! -Collect from Katherine Watson.

-Will you accept? -Yeah, sure, of course I will.

Hey, is everything okay?

Yeah.

Tough, huh?

Well, how are the classes?

Snobs, right?

-I hate to say I told you so. -You don't have to.

I can't really talk right now.

I'll write you tonight.

So you got a fella?

He's-- He's there. I'm here.

Long distance. Torture. I know. Come. Come in and sit down.

When Lenny left for the South Pacific, it nearly broke my heart.

We wrote every day until....

He was a great man.

-I'm sorry. -It was a hundred years ago.

I'm babbling.

I love Lucy. Even if she is a communist.

The only thing red about Lucy is her hair.

And even that's fake. Desi said it.

Winchell wrote it.

Amanda Armstrong. I see you survived.

Katherine Watson. Just barely.

Oh, good. You've met. Katherine's taken the third bedroom.

How about a little dinner before What's My Line?

How about a little drink?

Her companion died in May.

Companion?

You know, companion.

Josephine Burns. Taught biology here for 30 years.

You'll love it here, Katherine. You'll see.

I already do. I-- Honestly, it's beautiful. It's perfect, really.

Well, don't fool yourself. They have claws underneath their white gloves.

Who?

The alumnae, their offspring, the faculty. You name it.

Watch out for yourself.

Too much independence frightens them.

-Will you please stop? -Oh, a word of advice.

Don't let those girls know that they got to you.

-They didn't. -Good for you.

You almost convinced me.

-What is that? -You tell me.

Carcass by Soutine. 1925.

-It's not on the syllabus. -No, it's not.

Is it any good?

Come on, ladies. There's no wrong answer.

There's also no textbook telling you what to think.

It's not that easy, is it?

All right. No. It's not good.

In fact, I wouldn't even call it art. It's grotesque.

Is there a rule against grotesque art?

I think there's something aggressive about it...

-...and erotic. -To you, everything is erotic.

-Everything is erotic. -Girls.

-Aren't there standards? -Of course.

Otherwise a tacky velvet painting could be equated to a Rembrandt.

My Uncle Ferdie has two tacky velvet paintings. He loves those clowns.

There are standards, technique, composition, color, even subject.

So if you're suggesting that rotted side of meat is art...

...much less good art, then what are we going to learn?

Just that.

You have outlined our new syllabus, Betty. Thank you.

What is art? What makes it good or bad?

And who decides?

Next slide, please.

Twenty-five years ago someone thought this was brilliant.

-I can see that. -Who?

My mother. I painted it for her birthday.

Next slide. This is my mom.

-Is it art? -It's a snapshot.

If I told you Ansel Adams had taken it, would that make a difference?

-Art isn't art until someone says it is. -It's art!

-The right people. -Who are they?

Betty Warren!

-We're lucky we have one right here. -Screw you.

Could you go back to the Soutine, please?

Just look at it again. Look beyond the paint.

Let us try to open our minds to a new idea.