Half Past Autumn - Gordon Parks pt 1 and pt 2

1. On the day Gordon Parks was born, how did the doctor save Gordon's life? - He was almost stillborn, but the doctor plunged his body into a tub of icy water and revived him.
2. Where was Gordon born? (what state?) - Kansas
3. What did Gordon's class adviser, Ms. McClintock, tell him about college? - She told him, and other African-Americans, not to go to college because they would be wasting their parents' money only to inevitably end up as porters or maids, regardless of their educational level.
4. How old was Gordon when his mother died? - Gordon Parks was fourteen years old when his mother died.
5. Where did Gordon move after his mother died? - After his mother died, he was sent to live with his relatives. 
6. Did Gordon graduate from college? - No, Gordon did not graduate from college. 
7. How did Gordon begin his fashion photography career? - When he bought his first camera, the clerks were impressed by his talent and urged him to seek a fashion assignment at a woman's clothing store in Mississippi that was owned by Frank Murphy. These pictures caught the attention of Marva Louis, the wife of a boxing champion, who encouraged Parks to move to Chicago and photograph society women. 
8. What is a "double exposure?" - Double exposure is the repeated exposure of a photographic plate or film to light, often producing ghost images. 
9. Who was boxer Joe Louis? - Joe Louis was the husband of Marva Louis, the woman who convinced Parks to move to Chicago and helped him begin his fashion photography career.
10. What instrument did Gordon play? - Gordon played piano.
11. What was the purpose of the Farm Security Administration? - The Farm Security Administration attempted to combat rural poverty during the Great Depression. 
12. When Roy Stryker hired Gordon for the FSA, what was Stryker's first assignment for Gordon in Washington, D.C.? - Stryker's first assignment for Gordon was to document discrimination in Washington, D.C.
13. Who was Ella Watson? - Ella Watson was a cleaning woman in the FSA's offices whose father had been killed by a lynch mob. She was the subject of one of his pictures.
14. What was the inspiration for Grant Wood's American Gothic? - The inspiration for Grant Wood's American Gothic was a building now known as the American Gothic house, and his decision to paint the house along with the people who he imagined would live in the house. 
15. What did Gordon learn from Stryker about photography? - He "learned how to fight the evil of poverty -  along with the evil of racism with a camera."
16. When did the FSA shut down? - The Farm Security Administration shut down in 1943.
17. After Gordon moved to New York, what magazine did he shoot for? - After Gordon moved to New York, he shot for the Life magazine. 
18. Who was the picture editor of Life Magazine when Gordon walked into the Life Magazine office? - Wilson Hicks was the picture editor of Life Magazine when Gordon walked into the Life Magazine office. 
19. What was the first major story Parks covered for Life Magazine? - The "Harlem Gang Leader" was his first major story. It was on crime about Red Jackson and his gang.
20. Who were some of the artists that Gordon Parks mentioned influenced his work after he moved to the Paris Life Magazine bureau?  Some of the artists  that influenced Gordon's work after he moved to the Parks Life Magazine bureau were Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, and Emile Bernard.
21. How did Parks shoot fashion when he lived in France? Gordon asked the model to move, moved with the model, and shot at a slow speed.
22. Where was Parks' concerto performed? His concerto was performed in Venice.
23. Who was Parks' second wife? (Who was her father? What did she do?) Park's second wife was called Elizabeth Campbell Rollins. Her father was Ecents Campbell. She wanted to go into modeling.
24. How old was Flavio de Silva when Parks met him? Flavio de Silva was 12 years old when Parks first met him.
25. When did Parks meet Flavio?  Parks met Flavio in Rio de Janerio in 1961 when Flavio was carrying a tin of water on his head.
26. Where did Flavio live when Parks first met Flavio and his family? Flavio lived in Rio de Janerio in the rotting catacumba favela when Parks first met Flavio and his family.
27. Who is Gloria Vanderbilt? Who is her famous son? Who are her ancestors? Gloria Vanderbilt is a painter, designed, and close friend of Gordon Parks. Gloria and Gordon often wrote poetry to each other. Gordon could have married Gloria. Her son is Anderson Cooper, who is a famous CNN anchor. She is a descendant of the prominent Vanderbilt family who built their success on the railroad and shipping industry.
28. How did Vanderbilt describe their relationship? Vanderbilt described their relationship as an extraordinary experience because she felt as if she had already known Gordon when they first met. She felt that they were already connected on a spiritual level.