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At the Smithsonian / From the Collections

Jessica Esch, Totally, November 2020, 6 1/4" x 12 1/2"

Smithsonian Voices

Illustrator Jessica Esch Fell Down a ‘Rabbit Hole’ and Hasn’t Emerged Yet

During the pandemic, the Archives of American Art provided refuge and a place for artistic inspiration

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Smithsonian Voices

The Surprising Story of the Smithsonian Sunburst

Crimilda Pontes was the Institution’s first official graphic designer and the designer of the iconic sunburst symbol

Portrait of Graceanna Lewis, The Underground Rail Road (1872)

Smithsonian Voices

Meet Naturalist Graceanna Lewis, Who Played a Key Role in the Underground Railroad

One of the first three woman to be accepted into the Academy of Natural Sciences, Lewis left behind a legacy of science and soclal progress

Fiber artist Barbara Lee Smith in her studio.

Smithsonian Voices

A Friendship Forged in the Archives

Maine writer and illustrator Jessica Esch happened upon the Archives of American Art by chance; but destiny followed

Wind-screen and cherry tree, unknown artist, (detail) Edo period, 1615-1868

Honor the Tradition of Viewing Cherry Blossoms in These Signature Japanese Works of Art

The timeless glory of the early spring bloom can be found In the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art

This dress, with a matching necklace and ruby red high heels, was worn by Cornell to her prom in 2018.

Smithsonian Voices

How Isabella Aiukli Cornell Made Prom Political

As citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a prom dress became the perfect vehicle to signal the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women

Western lowland gorilla Baraka forages in the outdoor gorilla habitat at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. The silverback takes mealtime seriously, say his keepers.

Smithsonian Voices

How Do You Help a Gorilla With a Toothache?

When primate keepers at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo noticed Baraka wasn’t eating his meals, they wondered if this masked something more serious

The “Spirit of Tuskegee” hangs from the ceiling at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. The blue and yellow Stearman PT 13-D was used to train Black pilots from 1944 to 1946.

The Legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen Soars on the Wing of This World War II Aircraft

The 80th anniversary of the first Black flying unit is a time to recall the era when military service meant confronting foes both at home and abroad

This 1936 photograph from the collections of the National Portrait Gallery—featuring eight of the nine Scottsboro Boys with NAACP representatives Juanita Jackson Mitchell, Laura Kellum, and Dr. Ernest W. Taggart—was taken inside the prison where the Scottsboro Boys were being held.

Who Were the Scottsboro Nine?

The young black men served a combined total of 130 years for a crime they never committed

Emanuel Martinez, Tierra o Muerte, 1967, screenprint on manila folder

Smithsonian Voices

Chicanx Graphic Artists Inexpensively Fomented Revolution, Using Recycled Materials

For protest artists, what receives the image is often of little importance; it is the image’s political message that is vital

There are over eight million feet of film in the Human Studies Film Archives (HSFA), which is part of the Smithsonian’s National Anthropological Archives. HSFA specializes in storing ethnographic footage created by anthropologists, filmmakers and travelers.

Smithsonian Voices

How Film Helps Preserve the World’s Diversity

The Smithsonian’s Human Studies Film Archive houses eight million feet of film which can help future generations reflect on the past

A participant from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum's "Eva Zeisel: Designing in the Air" workshop explores connections between a Zeisel ceramic prototype and her carpet sample design.

Smithsonian Voices

Understanding the Power of Primary Sources

Artifacts and archives are silent until they come out from the attic, the shoebox, or a museum’s archive to find life again through shared discovery

John Wanamaker, New York, NY. Spring & Summer Catalog (1915), front cover.

Smithsonian Voices

Looking at Leisure Through Early 20th-Century Trade Catalogs

How did people a 100 years ago spend their free time outside? The Trade Literature Collection offers a few clues to some very recognizable pastimes

Although this sign was used in Connecticut, similar quarantine signs were used across the United States.

Smithsonian Voices

How Failed Quarantines Led to 20th-Century Measles Outbreaks

In 1904, measles epidemics were spiraling across the state of Connecticut

Aviation pioneer Henry “Hap” Arnold (above: with the Fly Fortress "Memphis Bell") lead the Army Air Force to victory in World War II and later establish the U.S. Air Force as the best in the world.

How Gen. Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold, the Architect of American Air Power, Overcame His Fear of Flying

Despite his phobia, the five-star general built the U.S. Air Force

A female ruby-throated hummingbird sips nectar from a flower.

Smithsonian Voices

How Do You Weigh a Hummingbird?

Find out how animal keepers weigh Spot, the hummingbird, and get tips on attracting the tiny beauties to your backyard

Sandra Lindsay, an intensive care nurse with Northwell Health, was the first person known to receive the approved vaccine in the United States on December 14, 2020.

Covid-19

First Vial Used in U.S. Covid-19 Vaccinations Joins the Smithsonian Collections

The empty vial, a vaccination card and scrubs worn by nurse Sandra Lindsay, first to be injected, will go on view in a new exhibition in 2022

Barbara Dane with the Chambers Brothers at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

Smithsonian Voices

Meet Barbara Dane and Her Proud Tradition of Singing Truth to Power

From Mississippi Freedom Schools, to free speech rallies at UC Berkeley, and in the coffeehouses, her protest music took her everywhere

The first cheetah cub born at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute celebrated his 10th birthday last year, marking a decade of the facility's successful cheetah breeding program.

Smithsonian Voices

Five Cheetah Stories From the National Zoo

Take a look back at some of the milestones the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s cheetah team has celebrated since the program began

Anthony Fauci, age 80, says museum director Anthea Hartig, “defines service at the highest level and exemplifies the true meaning of a great American.”

Covid-19

Anthony Fauci Donates His 3-D SARS-CoV-2 Model to the Smithsonian

The nation’s doctor is awarded the Great Americans Medal by the National Museum of American History in virtual ceremony

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