search icon

Hemingway

Episodes & Viewing Guide

A Writer

1899-1929

Premieres Monday, April 5 at 8:00 pm

Hemingway, yearning for adventure, volunteers for the Red Cross during World War I. He marries Hadley Richardson and moves to Paris, publishes The Sun Also Rises and finds critical and commercial success with his second novel, A Farewell to Arms.

The Avatar

1929-1944

Premieres Tuesday, April 6 at 8:00 pm

Hemingway, having achieved a level of fame rarely seen in the literary world, settles in Key West with Pauline Pfeiffer but can’t stay put for long. He reports on the Spanish Civil War and begins a tempestuous romance with Martha Gellhorn.

The Blank Page

1944-1961

Premieres Wednesday, April 7 at 8:00 pm

Hemingway follows the Army as they advance through Europe. Afterwards, he tries to start a life with Mary Welsh, but is beset with tragedies. He publishes The Old Man and the Sea to acclaim but is overcome by his declining mental condition.

Videos

Stories

New Burns and Novick Documentary Explores the Life of Ernest Hemingway

The life of the Oak Park native is the subject of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s newest PBS documentary. The six-hour, three-part series explores the writer’s complex life behind the carefully cultivated public image.

Read More

How the Soundtrack of 'Hemingway' Evokes the Romantic Locales of the Writer's Life

Havana, Paris, Spain: the soundtrack of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's new Hemingway documentary helps set the places and moods of the writer's life, via the creative music produced by Johnny Gandelsman of Brooklyn Rider and the Silk Road Ensemble.

Read More

Hemingway in Cuba

Ernest Hemingway stayed in Cuba longer than any other place in his life and is today celebrated as a native son. Trace his footsteps and peek inside his longtime home outside of Havana.

Read More

Ernest Hemingway's Youth in Oak Park and Chicago

Hemingway was born in Oak Park but left as soon as he could and began framing himself in opposition to what he considered the middle-class values of the suburb. A sojourn in Chicago helped introduce him to a literary world and sent him on his way to Paris.

Read More

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Tackle Ernest Hemingway

The three-part, six-hour Hemingway from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick comes to WTTW and PBS in April, featuring the voices of Jeff Daniels and Meryl Streep among others, as well as authors Edna O'Brien, Mario Vargas Llosa, Tobias Wolff, and more.

Read More
Ernest Hemingway at his home in Cuba, circa 1950s. Photo: Courtesy A.E. Hotchner
Ernest Hemingway at his home in Cuba, circa 1950s. Photo: Courtesy A.E. Hotchner
Ernest Hemingway with his fourth wife, Mary Welsh. Photo: Courtesy A.E. Hotchner
Ernest Hemingway with his fourth wife, Mary Welsh. Photo: Courtesy A.E. Hotchner
Ernest Hemingway recovering from injuries at the American Red Cross Hospital in Milan, Italy, 1918. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway recovering from injuries at the American Red Cross Hospital in Milan, Italy, 1918. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway in uniform circa 1918. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway in uniform circa 1918. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway and first wife, Hadley Richardson, in Chamby, Switzerland, 1922. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway and first wife, Hadley Richardson, in Chamby, Switzerland, 1922. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway with his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer. Photo taken on their wedding day in Paris, France, May 10, 1927. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway with his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer. Photo taken on their wedding day in Paris, France, May 10, 1927. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway on the fishing boat Anita circa 1929. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway on the fishing boat Anita circa 1929. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway with his three sons, Jack, Patrick, and Gregory at his Key West home. Photo: Courtesy Patrick Hemingway Papers, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Ernest Hemingway with his three sons, Jack, Patrick, and Gregory at his Key West home. Photo: Courtesy Patrick Hemingway Papers, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Ernest Hemingway and his three sons (L-R: Patrick, Jack, and Gregory) on the Bimini docks, July 20, 1935. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway and his three sons (L-R: Patrick, Jack, and Gregory) on the Bimini docks, July 20, 1935. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway's second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, cutting his hair. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway's second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, cutting his hair. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
1923 passport photo of Ernest Hemingway.Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
1923 passport photo of Ernest Hemingway.Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Hemingway family portrait. From left to right: Ursula, Clarence, Ernest, Grace, and Marcelline Hemingway, October 1903. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Hemingway family portrait. From left to right: Ursula, Clarence, Ernest, Grace, and Marcelline Hemingway, October 1903. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, Martha Gellhorn, on board the SS Matsonia arriving in Hawaii during their trip to China, 1941. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, Martha Gellhorn, on board the SS Matsonia arriving in Hawaii during their trip to China, 1941. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway at his home in Cuba, late 1940s. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston
Ernest Hemingway at his home in Cuba, late 1940s. Photo: Courtesy Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

Thanks to our sponsors

The Chicago presentation of HEMINGWAY is made possible by Donna Van Eekeren.


Additional support is provided by Rita and John Canning, Marshall Field V, American Writers Museum, and UChicago Medicine.