In collaboration with Euskal Herria Museum in Gernika, Bizkaia, we are excited to bring the travelling exhibit, Hemingway & Euskal Herria, to Boise!
Soon after the end of World War I, in 1921, Ernest Hemingway began his journalism career during a trip to Paris, followed by a visit to Pamplona (Iruña) in 1923, where he began his love for the Basque culture, land, and people. He visited the Basque Country at least eight more times in his life, primarily to enjoy the festival of San Fermin, but also to reconnect with the friends and the land he grew to love so much.
After his third San Fermin Festival, he was inspired to write The Sun Also Rises, also known as Fiesta. He spent most of his time in Donostia-San Sebastian writing the first draft in between trips to La Concha to swim. This novel catapulted him into the limelight, and in turn made the fiestas of San Fermin in Pamplona the international tourist stop it is today.
This exhibit showcases his time in the Basque Country, his friendships with many Basques, and his love for the outdoors. He was inspired to write books, speak about Fascism after the bombing of Gernika (one of his only public speaking engagements), and his connection to Basques, especially pelotaris.
Though cut short, Ernest Hemmingway’s life was full of exploration, and much of it intertwined with the Basques from the homeland between Spain and France to Cuba and then in Idaho. His Basque friends inspired stories, characters, and adventures from the early 1930s until his death in 1961.
Hemingway & Euskal Herria will be available to the public with regular museum admission beginning July 20, 2023 and will be on display until mid-2024.
