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At the Smithsonian / Curators' Corner

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The Civil War

Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and the War That Changed Poetry, Forever

The two titans of American poetry chronicled the death and destruction of the Civil War in their poems

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When America Entered the Modern Age

Obsolescence yaps at the heels of every dazzling invention, says curator Amy Henderson as she considers the birth of modernism a century ago

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What Makes Rita Coolidge the Musician for Every Era

Her collaborations with Joe Cocker and Kris Kristofferson made her famous, but hear her live at two free concerts in New York City and D.C.

Grab some popcorn for this summer’s blockbusters.

Minions! Did You See How Much a Movie Ticket Might Cost One Day?

Best way to beat the heat, says curator Amy Henderson, is the summer blockbuster, but are they going the way of the dinosaurs

McCoy with the Milky Way, which his Miami Indian forebears called the “Spirit Trail.”

Rediscovering a Lost Native American Language

Tim McCoy’s astronomy course is helping to revive the words of the Miami tribe

Elvis on the Southern Railroad between Chattanooga and Memphis, Tenn. July 4, 1956

Hanging Out with Elvis in Fort Worth

Hitting the road this month, curator Amy Henderson follows her show “Elvis at 21” to Texas

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Poetry Matters: A Lifelong Conversation in Letters and Verse

For Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop, a friendship between two poets left a beautiful written record

Batang, a female orangutan at the National Zoo, snacks on a pumpkin.

How to Cook Meals for the 2,000 Animals at the National Zoo

Secretary Clough explains how the Zoo’s chefs prepare food for 400 different species

Auguste Bert Vaslav Nijinsky as the Golden Slave from Scheherazade, 1910 gelatin silver print V&A

Bringing the Dazzle Back to the Blockbuster Exhibit

Casting aside today’s fondness for the understated, a curator ponders the importance of “the wow factor”

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What the Great Gatsby Got Right about the Jazz Age

Curator Amy Henderson explores how the 1920s came alive in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel

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The Eyes Have It

In the wake of the Boston bombing, Amy Henderson explores parallels between the era of Edison and the mediascape of today that helped solve the crime

Cosmetics have a long history.

Miss Piggy, My Feather Boa and A Moment to Consider Makeup’s Greasy Past

No Fools Need Apply to the Smithsonian’s Curatorial Conference On Stuff, A Sometimes Annual Scholarly Gathering on a Subject Rarely Considered

A toy Statue of Liberty was one of thousands sold to raise funds to build the real statue's pedestal.

America’s Got a Case of Souvenir Mania

A new book from a Smithsonian curator looks at the culture and business of memorabilia

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Why the Department Store Brought Freedom for the Turn of the Century Woman

Harry Selfridge, a London department store owner, may have opened the doors to more than just his retail store when he gave women a chance to power shop

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Oscar Redux: Life is a Cabaret; An Old Friend is Back

For the 40th anniversary of the Oscars that made Cabaret a classic, actor Joel Grey stops by the Smithsonian for a special donation and screening

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Poetry Matters: Phillis Wheatley, The Slave Girl Who Became a Literary Sensation

Enslaved at age 8, America’s first black woman poet won her freedom with verse

Barack and Michelle Obama walk down Pennsylvania Avenue together on Inauguration day, 2013.

Bangs, Bobs and Bouffants: The Roots of the First Lady’s Tresses

Michelle Obama’s modern look has a long history

Inauguration History

If Only Hollywood Would Show Us Lincoln’s Second Inaugural

Our pop culture curator Amy Henderson strolls the halls of the Old Patent Building imagining the scene of Lincoln’s 1865 inaugural ball

Shirley MacLaine makes her debut as Martha Levinson this Sunday in “Downton Abbey.”

Are You Ready for Shirley MacLaine’s Entrance on Downton Abbey?

The stage is set. Enter Martha Levinson, a character described as rich, crass and brassy.

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Amy Henderson

Amy Henderson

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