Skirball Cultural Center

With so much at stake on the Supreme Court, the exhibition explored the American judicial system through one of its sharpest legal minds. Coinciding with the twenty-fifth anniversary of her appointment to the high court, Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first-ever retrospective about the famed associate justice and American cultural icon. 

Based upon the New York Times bestselling book of the same name, it was created in partnership with the book’s co-authors: journalist Irin Carmon, a senior correspondent at New York magazine, and attorney Shana Knizhnik, who founded the popular Tumblr that earned Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg internet fame (and amused the Justice herself). Like the book, the exhibition offered a visually rich, entertaining, yet rigorous look at RBG’s life and work. Through archival photographs and documents, contemporary art, media stations, and playful interactives, the exhibition told the parallel stories of RBG’s remarkable career and the efforts she joined to expand “We the People” to include those long left out of the Constitution’s promises. By bringing to life RBG’s compelling biography and her commitment to our nation’s highest ideals, the exhibition invited visitors to participate in civic life and consider how the future of the Supreme Court impacts us all.

Woven throughout the exhibition were briefs and other writings by RBG, including some of her most famously searing dissents. In keeping with the spirit of Carmon and Knizhnik’s book, the exhibition riffed off the playful connection between the Notorious RBG and Notorious B.I.G. (as she likes to point out, they were both born and bred in Brooklyn, New York): for example, the name of each gallery section alluded to a song or lyric from the late hip-hop artist.

• Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA, October 19, 2018–March 10, 2019
• National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia, PA, October 4, 2019–January 13, 2020
• Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Skokie, IL, February 9, 2020–January 31, 2021
• Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Cleveland, OH, February 21–June 20, 2021
• New-York Historical Society, New York, NY, October 1, 2021–January 23, 2022
• Holocaust Museum Houston, Houston, TX, March 11–July 31, 2022
• Capital Jewish Museum, Washington, DC, March 1–November 2, 2023

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 15, 1933. She received her BA from Cornell University, attended Harvard Law School, and received her LLB from Columbia Law School. Ginsburg served as a law clerk to Judge Edmund L. Palmieri of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1959 to 1961. She then became associate director of the comparative law project sponsored by Columbia University, where she studied the Swedish legal system and produced the first official English language book on the subject. In 1963 Ginsburg joined the faculty of Rutgers Law School in Newark, New Jersey. In 1972 she was hired by Columbia Law School, where she taught until 1980. Ginsburg served as a fellow at the Center for Advance Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California, from 1977 to 1978. In the 1970s Ginsburg litigated sex discrimination cases from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and was instrumental in launching its Women’s Rights Project in 1973. She served as general counsel of the ACLU from 1973 to 1980 and on the National Board of Directors from 1974 to 1980. President Jimmy Carter appointed Ginsburg to the United States Court of Appeals from the District of Colombia Circuit in 1980. On June 14, 1993, Ginsburg accepted President Bill Clinton’s nomination to the Supreme Court and took her seat on August 10, 1993.

Parents and chaperones, use this guide to help you prepare for your visit to the exhibition!

How RBG’s nephew helped Felicity Jones turn into his aunt in ‘On the Basis of Sex’
Los Angeles Times | December 25, 2018

The “R” in Notorious RBG Stands for “Realness”
LA Weekly | November 2, 2018

Skirball Cultural Center Opens 'Notorious RBG' Exhibit Ahead of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Biopic
Hollywood Reporter | October 19, 2018

Los Ángeles homenajea a la jueza Ruth Bader Ginsburg, el brazo pop de la ley
HOY | October 19, 2018

There Are a Lot of Lessons to Be Learned From the Life of the Notorious RBG
​Los Angeles magazine | October 19, 2018

Sky is the limit for the 'Notorious RBG,' and she keeps on pressin' on
Los Angeles Times | October 17, 2018

All the Good Vibes You’ll Have at the Amazing New Ruth Bader Ginsburg Exhibit
PureWow | October 15, 2018

Meet the Lawyer Who Took the Notorious RBG from Meme to Museum Exhibit
Los Angeles magazine | October 12, 2018

LA Exhibition Spotlights the ‘Notorious RBG
Jewish Journal | October 10, 2018

LA Isn't Getting The Free 'RBG' Screenings, So Check Out 'Notorious RBG' At The Skirball
LAist | October 3, 2018

The diminutive but powerful Supreme Court justice is the subject of an unusual exhibition at the Skirball.
Arroyo Monthly | October 1, 2018

Art Fall Preview: Over 100 Not-to-Miss Shows From East Coast to West (Notorious RBG)
New York Times | September 12, 2018