GRETA GARBO ON BOWLING GREEN: HOW HARRY M. DURNING OVERRULED JOSEPH P. KENNEDY AND CREATED THE GREATEST NEW DEAL MURAL

Greta Garbo On Bowling Green is the story of the magnificent mural by Ash Can School artist Reginald Marsh on the rotunda ceiling of the US Custom House on Bowling Green on the Battery of Manhattan in New York. The Custom House is now a museum so the mural is available to the public. The concept for the mural, which is now considered the greatest of all New Deal murals, was by Harry M. Durning, the Customs Collector. When Joseph P. Kennedy objected to something the artist was planning on painting, Harry M. Durning told Marsh to paint it. This book is a history of the Collector of Customs of the Port of New York, the author's grandfather, using historical references and family stories. For example, James Thurber wrote a short story about Collector Durning in THE NEW YORKER titled, "Joyeux Noel, Mr. Durning." The collector's younger brother was a famous silent movie star in Hollywood for whom "A STAR IS BORN" was based and Collector Durning sold RKO to Howard Hughes. This book begins in the pages of HOLLYWOOD WOW WOW, my new book on Nook about the true love story of Bernard Durning and Shirley Mason. This book uses material on Collector Durning which I've written in various ways towards a grand biography, "THE ORIGINAL ROOSEVELTER," one of the four books of my series, "TIMES SQUARE ROOTS." The other books are "HANNIGAN'S WAKE" and "ON WALDO POND" which also interconnect with the this history. So this book is not a story in narrative form, but a collection of takes on the collector which stand on their own and create an comprehensive primer focusing on the highlights. Yet each one explores different aspects and insights in a raw way which altogether begin to illuminate the labyrinth of the four-part history. Thus they are more dynamic, fun and worthwhile-- a first take at telling the story.