Henry Adams

Henry Adams

Henry Adams is a contributor to Smithsonian magazine and a Professor of American Art at Case Western Reserve University.

A detail from the controversial panel of Benton’s mural

In Defense of Keeping the Indiana University Mural That Depicts (But Doesn't Glorify) the KKK

American artist Thomas Hart Benton thought it crucial to highlight the dark spots in the state's history

While grotesque, the faces in Louis-Leopold Boilly’s The Grimaces (1823) were carefully studied from life. The figure with a twisted mouth at the upper left is a self-portrait.

A Serious Look at Funny Faces

A history of caricatures exposes the inside jokes

Pollock’s studio in East Hampton, New York, is now the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center.

Sharing Pork Chops With Jackson Pollock

Richard Field was an undergrad with gumption when he visited the painter at his Long Island home. Nearly 60 years later, Field recalls the memorable affair

Ross Braught, a largely forgotten artist who surely knew Jackson Pollock, painted the mural Mnemosyne and the Four Muses for the Kansas City Music Hall.

Where Did Jackson Pollock Get His Ideas?

A talented painter who died poor and forgotten may have inspired the influential American artist's work in ceramics

A diagram of visitor movement in the American Art and Furniture gallery at the Cleveland Museum of Art

What a Physics Student Can Teach Us About How Visitors Walk Through a Museum

By sketching the movements of people at the Cleveland Art Museum, Andrew Oriani laid the groundwork for some deep insights into how art is appreciated

Detail of the Cleveland Apollo Sauroktonos

Questions About Apollo

A stunning statue at the Cleveland Museum raises concerns about the acquisition of antiquities

Armored Train in Action (1915) by Gino Severini. Italian Futurist paintings adopted a Cubist visual vocabulary but were bolder and brasher.

Futurism Is Still Influential, Despite Its Dark Side

The Case for a New Grant Wood Painting

In which the author argues that an unidentified work at a Nebraska gallery was painted by the American regionalist master

Dale Nichols, Navigating Icebergs, 1941 oil on canvas panel, 22 x 25, From the Collection of Valentino Chickinelli, Omaha, Nebraska.

Go Behind the Red Barn and Rediscover Dale Nichols

Though snubbed by scholars, the American realist painter produced surprisingly symbolic works, as a striking new exhibition makes clear

The Anamorphose

Is a “Garden” the World’s Greatest New Artwork?

Francois Abelanet's extraordinary turf "sculpture" on a Paris plaza epitomizes a grand tradition of artful illusion

Designed by Viktor Schreckengost (American, 1906-2008); produced by Cowan Pottery Studio (Rocky River, Ohio, active 1912-1931). Engobed and glazed ceramic, with sgraffito design.

An Art Deco Masterpiece for Eleanor Roosevelt

Birmingham, Alabama, the art museum's "Jazz Bowl" by famed U.S. industrial designer Viktor Schreckengost was an artistic, and civil rights, turning point

"Going West" by Thomas Hart Benton

Auctioning a Beloved Thomas Hart Benton Collection

Perhaps the nation's best collection of Benton prints was assembled by an idiosyncratic Texan named Creekmore Fath

The Bat in Belfry

Bat Art Isn’t Bad Art

The genre of bat sculpture might not get much attention, but among the finest examples is a bronze by the great French actress Sarah Bernhardt

Saltillo Sarape, Maximilian Period c.1865 91 5/16 x 48 7/16 inches, wool, silk and metalic thread wefts on cotton warp Fred Harvey Collection, International Folk Art Foundation Collection, Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Inscribed in the end border: "Epifanio Jemenez", probably the patron for whom it was woven.

Latin America’s Wrap for All Seasons

Blanket-like "sarapes" from northern Mexico are among the world's most intriguing textiles, as shown by a recent gallery exhibition

"Young Man and Woman in an Inn" by Franz Hals, 1623

Frans Hals and the Divided Self

The Metropolitan's recent Frans Hals exhibition and other works by the Old Master showcase his surprisingly modern psychological insight

Art historian Henry Adams

Welcome to ARTiculations

A new Smithsonian.com blog sheds light on what's happening in the world of art, artists, art museums and art history

When designing the first Macintosh computer, Steve Jobs remembered his calligraphy course at Reed College and built it all into the Mac. "It was the first computer with beautiful typography," said Jobs.

A Tribute to a Great Artist: Steve Jobs

Through mastering calligraphy in college, Jobs learned to think like an artist

Art historian Henry Adams contends that Pollock created Mural around his name, discernible as camouflaged letters.

Decoding Jackson Pollock

Did the Abstract Expressionist hide his name amid the swirls and torrents of a legendary 1943 mural?

Artist Andrew Wyeth at the age of 66

Wyeth's World

In the wake of his death, controversy still surrounds painter Andrew Wyeth's stature as a major American artist

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Interview on the Legacy of Andrew Wyeth

Henry Adams, author of "Wyeth's World," speaks with the artist about his early work, influences and technique

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