National Portrait Gallery
UPDATED WITH ANSWERS: The List: An Earth Day Game of Who Am I
Now read this post carefully, because there will be a quiz at the end. Let's begin with a history lesson.Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970 in cities and university campuses all over the United States. Founded by Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day began as a series of teach-ins ...
April 20, 2011 |
By Madeline Andre
At the Portrait Galley, Private Art Collections Become Public
It is a widely held belief that in the largely political climate of Washington, D.C., more often that not, what you see is not necessarily what you get. And that some of the most interesting aspects of people's lives—including the more fascinating stories— are those rarely seen by the public. The s...
April 15, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
The List: What You Didn't Know About the Smithsonian in the Civil War
By now you know that this year marks the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the Civil War. And you're probably aware of the variety of events, exhibitions and programs taking place across the Smithsonian Institution commemorating that pivotal time in United States history. But what you may not kn...
April 13, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
150 Years Ago: The Civil War Begins
“At 4:30 AM, the heavy thud of a mortar broke the stillness. A single shell from Fort Johnson on James Island rose high into the still-starry sky, curved downward and burst directly over Fort Sumter,” writes Smithsonian writer Fergus Bordewich in his April issue feature story “Fort Sumter: The Civi...
April 12, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
The Smithsonian Museums and The National Zoo Are Open
All Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are open.Don't miss out on all the events and happenings, all scheduled as planned. Tarantula feedings at the Natural History Museum. A special tour of the Kinsey Collections at American History. An Earth Day celebration at the American Art Museum.And he...
April 08, 2011 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
The List: Five Secret Gardens Around the Smithsonian
It seems that the weather is finally breaking and spring temperatures might be here to stay. So, the ATM blog team has come up with a list of the five best kept secret gardens and getaways around the Smithsonian Institution. Get the jump on summer and discover some great new places to take in the b...
April 06, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
The Death of Colonel Ellsworth
The first Union officer killed in the Civil War was a friend of President Lincoln's
April 2011 |
By Owen Edwards
Weekend Events: Home School Open House, Nanotechnology and Play PHEON on Your Phone
Friday, April 1: Home-School Open House The Portrait Gallery Education Department hosts this home-school open house with mini-tours of special exhibitions, story time for children, hands-on arts activities and resources, including a Smithsonian Field Trip Kit. Free, but registration is required...
March 31, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Events: Lena Horne, Jazz History, Nanotechnology and More
Monday, March 28: March Film Screening: My Name Is KahentiiostaKahentiiosta, a young Kahnawake Mohawk woman, took part in a 78-day armed standoff in 1990 as a part of a land dispute between the Mohawks and the Canadian federal government. Arrested and imprisoned, she was detained longer than her pe...
March 28, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
UPDATED: Pedro Martinez Enshrined in the National Portrait Gallery
It's the rare professional athlete who gets to be known by just his first name. There's Mickey, Babe, Lebron, Kobe, Mario, Ronaldinho and a smattering of others, including Pedro, one of baseball's greatest pitchers. Tomorrow, a painting of Pedro Martinez will be added to the collections of the Nati...
March 24, 2011 |
By Brian Wolly
Weekend Events: Pocahontas, Painted Parasols and A Chinese Documentary Film
Friday, March 25: DisorderUsing footage taken by amateur filmmakers, director Huang Weikai stitched short segments together to create a one-of-a-kind documentary. The film captures the anarchy, violence and seething anxiety animating China’s major cities today, as urbanization advances at a breakne...
March 24, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Mourning the Loss of Actress Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Taylor, actress and legend of the silver screen, passed away this morning at age 79. She suffered from chronic health problems and died at Cedars Sinai Hospital from congestive heart failure, a condition she was initially diagnosed with in 2004.Born in London, Taylor began acting at ...
March 23, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Events: Stargazing, Live Tarantula Feedings, Test Your Women's History Knowledge and More
Monday, March 21: March Film Screening: My Name Is KahentiiostaKahentiiosta, a young Kahnawake Mohawk woman, took part in a 78-day armed standoff in 1990 as a part of a land dispute between the Mohawks and the Canadian federal government. Arrested and imprisoned, she was detained longer than her pe...
March 21, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: Pulitzer Prize Winning Biologist E.O. Wilson, Rachel Carson and the Art of Digital Buddhist Shrines
Friday, March 18: E.O. Wilson: Biologist, Naturalist, Writer, Professor and EnvironmentalistTwo-time Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist E.O. Wilson played a key role in the development of the new field of chemical ecology in the 1950s and 60s. With William H. Bossert of Harvard University, Wilson cre...
March 18, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Meet Another Side of Alexander Calder at the Portrait Gallery
Forget everything you already know about Alexander Calder. Forget, for a moment, that Alexander Calder is an acclaimed artist whose avant-garde mobiles and stabiles both changed and challenged notions of design and space. Forgot the sculptures—colorful geometric patterns bent, shaped and designed i...
March 11, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
Events: West African Dance, an Online Poetry Workshop, Learn About Juliette Gordon Low and More
Monday, March 7: March Film Screening: My Name Is KahentiiostaKahentiiosta, a young Kahnawake Mohawk woman, took part in a 78-day armed standoff in 1990 as a part of a land dispute between the Mohawks and the Canadian federal government. Arrested and imprisoned, she was detained longer than her pee...
March 07, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
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
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
