Anne Boleyn: Life and Legend

Anne Boleyn: Life and Legend explores the story of Anne Boleyn (1501 or 1507?–1536), one that has captured audiences for 500 years. Anne Boleyn, second wife to Henry VIII (1491–1547), is often remembered as the instigator of English Reformation and thus the Church of England, mother to the legendary Elizabeth I (1533–1603), and of course, the first wife that Henry VIII beheaded. This exhibit hopes to center Anne in her own narrative and to explore the relationship between gender and power in the Tudor era. The first part of the exhibit explores her life and world, while the second half traces Anne’s legacy in popular memory.

The project incorporates materials from the Yale University Library collections, including the Lewis Walpole Library, the Haas Family Arts Library, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Yale Film Archive, Yale Internet Resource, the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art, and additionally the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Hannah Oblak ’24

Hannah Oblak is a senior in Pauli Murray College from New York City. She is a cultural history major with a passion for art history and early modern European history. Hannah has always been fascinated by the Tudor period and the figure of Anne Boleyn. She is excited to share her work, as well as the magic of the Yale archives, with the wider university community.