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Archives of American Art

Smithsonian Voices

Leo Tanguma stands in front of a large mural-in-progress that features mythical figures, revolutionaries, laborers, and other figures of Mexican and Chicano history.

Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art Announces 'Articulated' Season Four Showcasing Its Oral History Collection

Season 4 of "Articulated" chronicles the lives and work of ceramicist and textile artist Anita Fields (Osage), muralist Leo Tanguma, painter and photographer Lenore Chinn, and painter Pat Steir as they've navigated their careers over the decades

The Archives of American Art | January 27, 2025

Detail of color screenshot of Judith Bernstein in front of one of her paintings wearing a black blouse and light-colored, chunky necklace holding her hand up in a fist as if making a point in conversation.

New Collections: Oral History

Ben Gillespie, the Arlene and Robert Kogod Secretarial Scholar for Oral History, reflects on four oral history interviews recently conducted for the Archives of American Art

Ben Gillespie | March 1, 2023

Baseball cards with faces of artists superimposed on them fanned out on a desk above a blue box with text that reads ARTBALL, an image of a batter, catcher, and umpire, with a red circle that says set 1.

What If Major League Baseball Fielded a Team and the Players Were Duchamp, Calder, Marisol, O’Keeffe and Pollock?

A collection of artist baseball cards, “Artball, from the artist Don Celender, arrive in the collections just in time for the World Series

Susan Cary | October 26, 2022

Benny Andrews sits at a table with a microphone, cups, and a pitcher of water with a yellow, green, and blue abstract painting hanging behind him. He is wearing a black button down shirt and raising his hands while talking.

How Artist Benny Andrews and an Archival Assignment Inspired an HBCU Student

For an assignment created in the Archives of American Art's Teaching with Primary Sources Workshop, Professor Elizabeth Hamilton had students use archives of artists with connections to HBCUs

Elizabeth Hamilton | March 24, 2022
A man points to a video screen in a classroom with students seated in the foreground.

How a Survey Course Assignment Connected Students With Contemporary Artists

Students of one Teaching with Primary Sources workshop participant forged connections with contemporary artists and their work in an assignment using the Archives of American Art's Pandemic Oral History Project

Nathan Rees | March 17, 2022
Watercolor image of mountain scene with a cloudless blue sky, trees and boulders in the foreground, and the artist’s stamp in the bottom left-hand corner.

Chiura Obata's American Landscape Art

The Chiura Obata Papers were the source for an assignment created in the Archives of American Art's Teaching with Primary Sources workshop

Michaela Rife | March 10, 2022
Oil painting in dark brown tones, featuring a woman sitting in a chair wearing a dark dress and holding a young boy in a sailor suit.

Letters to Cecilia Beaux From Her Young Nephews Reveal Sweet Relationship

Letters from Cecilia Beaux's young nephews reveal their own family gossip and sweet childhood stories.

Elizabeth Lamont | February 1, 2022
Detail of artwork with wayfinder symbol of family running with the word caution and machine stitching in various colors.

New Collections: Consuelo Jiménez Underwood

The papers of the fiber artist, weaver, and educator are now in the collections of the Archives of American Art

Matthew Simms | January 13, 2022
Photograph of Dorothy Liebes in her studio with staff, circa 1950s. Dorothy Liebes papers, circa 1850-1973. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

The Dorothy Liebes Papers Shine in a Dark Pandemic Year

For archivist Stephanie Ashley, the newly digitized Dorothy Liebes papers provided a bright spot of color during a dark year.

Stephanie Ashley | September 9, 2021
Jessica Esch, Totally, November 2020, 6 1/4

Treasure Trove: Archives as Inspiration

Jessica Esch | March 25, 2021
Fiber artist Barbara Lee Smith in her studio. Photo: Sam Selby

A Friendship Forged in the Archives

Angela Smith | March 24, 2021
Exhibition announcement for Ron Davis exhibition at Nicholas Wilder Gallery, 1969. Ronald Davis papers, 1960-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

New Collections: Ronald Davis Papers

Matthew Simms | December 9, 2020
Martin Johnson Heade, Black-eared Fairy, ca. 1863-1864, oil on canvas, 12 1/4 x 10 in. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2006.89. Photography by Dwight Primiano.

Conversations Across Collections: Martin Johnson Heade’s Notebook on Hummingbirds

Liza Kirwin | November 5, 2020
Vernita N'Cognita introducing gallerist Holly Solomon and curator Robert Costa with her famous line,

Nearly 1,000 Panels with 6,000 Artists: Highlights from the Artists Talk on Art Records

Laurie Stepp | September 30, 2020
Poultney Bigelow. Sketch by Poultney Bigelow for Edith Weir (detail), 1884 April 18. Weir family papers. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

A Hudson River School Legacy: The Weir Family Papers Now Fully Digitized

Stephanie Ashley | September 15, 2020
Photograph of Chiura Obata teaching a children's art class at Tanforan Art School, 1942 / unidentified photographer. Chiura Obata papers. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Acquisitions: Chiura Obata Papers

Matthew Simms | September 2, 2020
Howardena Pindell and Linda Freeman. Still from Interview with Howardena Pindell, 1991 January 14. Linda Freeman papers, 1971-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. © Linda Freeman, L and S Video

Watching Howardena Pindell

Jordan McDonald | March 2, 2020
Photograph of Elizabeth Catlett sculpture Students Aspire with description (detail), 1978 / unidentified photographer. Elizabeth Catlett papers, 1957-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Elizabeth Catlett and the (Black) Artist as Engineer

Jordan McDonald | May 31, 2019
Photograph of Val Laigo next to his mosaic in Dr. Jose Rizal Park, Seattle, Washington (detail), between 1988 and 1989 / unidentified photographer. Val Laigo papers, 1954-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Val Laigo and the Mosaic of Filipino America

Jordan McDonald | May 13, 2019
Categories
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Archive
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