Smithsonian American Art Museum
Wednesday Roundup: Protostars, Movie Stars, Maps of Stars and More
Spielberg and Lucas on Rockwell: In honor of the American Art Museum’s current exhibit entitled “Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg,” filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau interviewed both movie moguls about the 20th century painter and illus...
July 21, 2010 |
By Jess Righthand
Events: A Kung-Fu Film, An Art Workshop and the Music of John Williams
Friday, July 16: Made in Hong Kong Film Festival: Ip ManA hybrid kung-fu film and biopic, this movie explores the life of Ip Man—the man who later taught Bruce Lee his moves—during the Sino-Japanese War where he rose from a martial arts master to become a partisan fighter battling Japanese invaders...
July 16, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Happy Birthday, Hiram Powers
Today, we take a moment to commemorate the 205th birthday of American sculptor Hiram Powers. Born in Woodstock, Vermont, on June 29, 1805, Powers got his real start working as an artist in a wax museum in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was noticed for his representations of scenes from Dante's Inferno, and t...
June 29, 2010 |
By Megan Gambino
And the American Art Museum's Eldredge Prize Goes to...
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has awarded its 2010 Charles C. Eldredge Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in American Art to Kirk Savage, author of Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape.Since 1989, the prize, named after a former...
June 21, 2010 |
By Megan Gambino
Wednesday Roundup: Around the World
Conservation in Action: As Smithsonian staff embark on their journey to Haiti to help restore and recover cultural sites and artifacts affected by the earthquake, objects conservator Hugh Shockey is keeping a travel diary of the group’s adventures on Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) and the R...
June 09, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Events: National Zoo Photo Club, Jazz and More!
Tuesday, June 2: FONZ Photo ClubIf you’re a shutterbug with a penchant for snapping shots of critters, come on out to the National Zoo and participate in the FONZ (that’s Friends Of the National Zoo for those of you who thinking Henry Winkler) photo club’s monthly meeting. Share your photos, hear f...
June 01, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Christo's California Dreamin'
In 1972, artists Christo Jeanne-Claude envisioned building a fence, but it would take a village to make their Running Fence happen
June 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
The Golden Gate Bridge Turns 73 Years Old
Seventy-three years ago today, President Franklin D. Roosevelt opened California's Golden Gate Bridge. More than 6,463 feet long and over 754 feet tall, the Golden Gate on the day it opened became the longest suspension bridge in the world, a record it held until 1964. Today, eight other bridges su...
May 27, 2010 |
By Jamie Simon
Weekend Events: Vatican Treasures, Piñatas, and Hands-On Art Activities!
Friday, May 21: The Beauty of the Vatican—Its History and TreasuresCome enjoy a two-day seminar that explores the history of the Vatican and it's development as a cultural and spiritual center. For a full listing of topics to be discussed, please visit the event's website here. Tickets are required...
May 21, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Events: Puppets, Astronauts, the Vietnamese-American Experience, Christo and More
Sorry kids, nothing special is happening today. But be sure to check out this site for the long list of events and activities always happening at the Smithsonian.Tuesday, May 11: Tigers, Dragons, and Other Wise ‘Tails"This Smithsonian original puppet play provides wacky and modern spins on classic ...
May 10, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Events: Children's Day, Digital Art, Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and More!
Sorry kids, nothing special is happening today. But be sure to check out this site for the long list of events and activities always happening at the Smithsonian.Tuesday, May 4: Collectors' Roundtable: Collecting for the Long HaulWere you bitten by the collecting bug after watching last night's epi...
May 03, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Events: Albert Maysles, Mars Rovers, Hobbits and More!
Monday, April 23: March PointIn this film, three teenagers from Washington State's Swinomish Reservation make a film about two oil refineries that are harming the health of the people, the land, the water and the traditional way of life and gain a new sense of themselves during the creative proc...
April 26, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Events: Quilting, Crafts, Earth Day and all that Jazz
Monday, April 19: A Stitch in Time: Block-by-Block Quilting SeriesIdeal for persons aged 8 and older, this workshop will introduce you to the basics of quilting. That’s right, you too can gain the skill set required to make a piece suitable to keep you warm or to hang on the wall as a part of your ...
April 19, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: Jules Feiffer, Korean Film Festival and the Music of Memphis
Friday, April 16: Korean Film Festival DC 2010: "With a Girl of Black Soil"The critically-acclaimed film follows a miner who suffers an accident and loses his job and how he and his children cope with life's hardships that follow. Free. Freer, 7:00 PM.Saturday, April 17: American Pictures: Jules Fe...
April 16, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
What Are You Doing for Earth Day?
When Sen. Gaylord Nelson organized the first Earth day on April 22, 1970, nearly 20 million Americans joined the cause, holding rallies and planting trees with the hopes their efforts would inspire federal action.It worked: In the year that followed, the government created the Environmental Protect...
April 14, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Slow It Down at the American Art Museum
Years ago, I learned that visiting art museums would not be an experience I could share (enjoyably) with one of my younger brothers.To put it simply, he has the attention span of a goldfish. Even today, at age 21, he can fly through an entire floor of artwork in 10 minutes and be back to ask if its...
April 12, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Remembering the "Running Fence" at American Art Museum
Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have made a name for themselves by staging massive, temporary art projects. You may be familiar with their project, The Gates—7,503 panels of orange fabric that hung, for 16 days in February 2005, in a winding path in New York City's Central Park.Or perhaps you hav...
April 06, 2010 |
By Megan Gambino
Weekend Events: Remembering Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Running Fence, Anime and Tea
Friday, April 2: The Running Fence RevisitedThe American Art Museum will host the premiere of a new film created especially for the current exhibition, "Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence." This dynamic husband and wife duo are perhaps best known for their large-scale art inst...
April 02, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Earth Hour: Lights Out at the Castle and Reynolds Center
This Saturday, promptly at 8:30 p.m., all the lights at the Smithsonian Castle will be turned off. Half a mile north of the Castle, at the very same moment, the Reynolds Center, which houses the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum, will go completely dark.George Washington...
March 24, 2010 |
By Megan Gambino
"Framing the West" at American Art Museum
In the fall of 1868, Timothy O'Sullivan peered through the lens of his camera at Shoshone Falls, on Idaho's Snake River, and captured the roaring waterfall with its mist breathtakingly suspended in the air. The moment, says contemporary photographer Thomas Joshua Cooper, was pivotal. Why? Because, ...
March 22, 2010 |
By Megan Gambino
