Artists
Visionaries in art, literature, dance, music and design who define the creative tradition
Gauguin's Bid for Glory
Of all the images created by the artist Paul Gauguin, none was more striking than the one he crafted for himself
March 2011 |
By Ann Morrison
Myanmar's Young Artists and Activists
In the country formerly known as Burma, these free thinkers are a force in the struggle for democracy
March 2011 |
By Joshua Hammer
An Award for the Yet-to-Be-Built Hirshhorn Bubble
It's awards season, and, as such, it's only fitting that one of the Smithsonian museum's most innovative construction projects gets recognized. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden has been honored by Architect, the magazine of the American Institute of Architects, for its seasonal expansion p...
February 28, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
Events: Music of Eastern Europe, Chinese Jade and a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Lunder Conservation Center
Monday, February 28: Ira Aldridge: The African RosciusTonight's Cultures in Motion performance pays tribute to the life of celebrated 19th-century Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge. The play examines the life of an African American who was forced to emigrate to Europe in the early 1800s in order to ...
February 28, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Five Oscar Winners at the National Portrait Gallery
“We didn’t need dialogue, we had faces!” Norma Desmond, the forgotten movie star, famously snarled in the 1950 film noir classic Sunset Boulevard. And come Oscar night, we really want to hear fewer words—especially in the form of overextended acceptance speeches—and instead revel in the glitz and g...
February 25, 2011 |
By Madeline Andre
Wednesday Roundup- Making you Smarter: Ask an Expert, Mexico via Airmail, Space Math @ NASA, Harlem Renaissance artists
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkOTUnw6jJo&feature=player_embeddedThe More You Know- Anyone who has ever visited the Air and Space Museum, probably leaves with lots of questions; the most popular of which has to be "How did you get an airplane inside the building?" Well, wonder in silence no m...
February 23, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
Freer and Egypt: Egyptian Art at the Freer Gallery
This month, as Egyptians took to the streets to protest the country’s 30-year old political regime, it was reported that the Egyptian Museum in Cairo had been broken into with several artifacts stolen and others damaged during the break-in.In 1906, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was only four years o...
February 23, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
Events: An Evening of Classical Music, A Discussion on Slavery and More
Tuesday, February 22: Sketching: Draw and Discover: Luce Foundation Center for American ArtCome be inspired by the works on display at the American Art Museum and then spend some time sketching at the Luce Foundation Center’s workshop. Free, but bring sketchbooks and pencils. American Art Museum, 3...
February 22, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: George Washington, Student Sit-Ins and Remembering Japanese Internment During WWII
Friday, February 18: Historic Theater: Join the Student Sit-Ins at the Greensboro Lunch CounterIn this piece of interactive theater, learn what it was like to take part in a sit-in—a form of peaceful protest that was a hallmark of the Civil Rights movement. Meet a civil rights activist and take par...
February 18, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Happy Birthday, Susan B. Anthony
Born this day in 1820, Susan B. Anthony devoted her life to social reform. While she backed a number of causes—from antislavery and labor reform to the temperance movement—she is perhaps best remembered for her role in organizing and advancing the women's rights movement, with an express goal of fi...
February 15, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Events: Butterflies, Underwater Archaeology, Iranian Cinema and More
Monday, February 14: Butterfly PavilionThis Valentine's Day, why not take your sweetheart by the arm and take a stroll through this special exhibit area which is rife with exotic plants and live butterflies that hail from all over the world. Tickets are required. Rates are: $6 for adults; $5.50 for...
February 14, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: Celebrating Chocolate, Make Your Own Valentines and Persian Cinema
Friday, February 11: SalveA crusty grandmother finds herself in the unlikely role of guardian angel to her rebellious granddaughter, who runs away for love of a drug dealer and is left like a tender chick at the mercy of hawks. A sense of moody poetry runs through this story that combines the grimn...
February 11, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Wednesday Roundup- Renaissance Man, Paper Planes and Artist Interviews
Business Plan—Calling all business execs and start-up ventures. Get in at the bottom on this deal. The National Museum of American History is planning a new exhibition on the history of business and innovation and is looking for your help. The museum has launched a site, American Enterprise, so tha...
February 09, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
Family Pictures: Close to Home @ Smithsonian American Art Museum
There’s inevitably a distance between a photographer and his or her subject. But in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s new exhibition that opened last Friday, Close to Home: Photographers and Their Families, that distance is reduced, as photographers document their own families in their own pers...
February 08, 2011 |
By Jeff Campagna
Events: Freedom Riders, Woo at the Zoo, American Indian Filmmaking and More
Monday, February 7: Contemporary Perspectives on Fiber and the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef ProjectThe Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef on display at the Natural History Museum is a nexus of art, science and the fiber art community. Tonight, join a discussion with Jane Milosch, senior program office...
February 07, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Rosa Parks: A Portrait to Honor
On the second floor of the National Portrait Gallery, in a hall dedicated to all those who have struggled for justice and committed their lives to social activism, a larger-than-life-sized sculpture by artist Marshall D. Rumbaugh seems to hold sway over all. Capturing a moment in the American stor...
February 04, 2011 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Weekend Events: Open Mic Night, Weaving Workshops and a Celebration of Black History Month
Friday, February 4: Teenagers are Taking Over the HirshhornIf you're someone aged 12-21 and have a creative streak, come on out to the National Mall where the Hirshhorn is hosting an open mic night. Music, dance, comedy—the sky's the limit as long as you keep it PG, keep it fun and bring your own e...
February 04, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Google Art Project Comes to the Smithsonian
You've never seen a Whistler this way before.As a part of the newly announced Google Art Project, the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art is giving art lovers an up close and personal look at James McNeill Whistler's "The Princess from the Land of Porcelain" along with 16 other works of art from mus...
February 01, 2011 |
By Brian Wolly
Wayne Thiebaud Is Not a Pop Artist
He's best known for his bright paintings of pastries and cakes, but they represent only a slice of the American master's work
February 2011 |
By Cathleen McGuigan
Events: African Cinema, FONZ Photo Club, Conservation Clinics and More
Monday, January 31: Reel InjunEntertaining and insightful, this documentary explores representations of Native Americans across 100 years of cinema and uncovers how these celluloid myths led to the world's understanding—and misunderstanding—of Native peoples. Clips from classic and recent films wit...
January 31, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
