Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Artists

Composer John Cage would have been 100 this year and his legacy lives on during a centennial celebration.

Events September 4-6: Quilting Guilds, John Cage at 100 and Stitch Sessions

This week, learn from a quilting guild, celebrate composer John Cage’s avant-garde legacy and stitch a little

None

Is Ai Weiwei China’s Most Dangerous Man?

Arrested and harassed by the Chinese government, artist Ai Weiwei makes daring works unlike anything the world has ever seen

Known as the transmitter of Chan, or Zen Buddhism, the Chinese monk, Bodhidharma, was said to have a volatile temperament. Portrait of Bodhidharma. Fourteenth century, ink on silk.

Buddhism in China: An Enduring Legacy on View at the Freer

A new exhibit at the Freer examines the adoption of Buddhism in China through richly detailed paintings

Walter Cronkite, Robert Vickrey, 1966, watercolor, gouache and graphite pencil on paper, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time Magazine

That’s The Way It Was: Remembering Walter Cronkite

A look back at the most-trusted man in news

Barbara Kruger offers words of wisdom at the new installation at the Hirshhorn, just in time for the political conventions.

Events August 28-30: Belief + Doubt, Gallery Talks and Baby Animals

This week, see the latest from Barbara Kruger, crafting contemporaries and the Zoo’s baby boom

None

Part 3: Who Are the Nominees for the Contemporary Artist Award?

The final part in our series introduces you to the work of five more artists, from giant roses to combat video games to surrealist assemblages

None

Ai Weiwei on His Favorite Artists, Living in New York and Why the Government is Afraid of Him

The Chinese government has long tried to contain the artist and activist but his ideas have spread overseas and he’s got plenty more to say

Learn more about the stories of the Tuskegee Airmen. Edward C. Gleed and two unidentified airmen, 1945. Photo by Toni Frissell.

Events August 21-23: A Pilot’s Journey, Olympic Trivia and Conservation Clinics

This week, learn more about the Tuskegee Airmen, test your Olympic trivia and learn how to care for your heirlooms

None

Part 2: Who Are the Nominees for the Contemporary Artist Award?

This week’s look at five more names from the prestigious short list and where to see their work

Julia Child’s Kitchen will open again for her 100th birthday celebration at the Smithsonian.

Events August 14-17: Green Jobs, Julia Child’s 100th Birthday and Live Jazz

This week at the Smithsonian, learn about emerging green jobs, celebrate Julia Child’s birthday and unwind with a tribute to Thelonious Monk

This Friday night, head over to the Freer Gallery’s Meyer Auditorium for a screening of the film, “An Autumn’s Tale” (Dir.: Mabel Cheung,1987).

Events August 10-12: Date Night, Super Science Saturday, The Story of the Earth

None

The American Art Museum Announces Nominees for Contemporary Artist Award

We help you sort out who’s who from the museum’s recent announcement, in a series of three posts

The artist’s black, white and red phrases titled Belief+Doubt exist outside the traditional galleries.

Look at the Writing on the Wall: Barbara Kruger Opens Soon at the Hirshhorn

The artist behind “I shop therefore I am” has plastered her monumental statements all over the Hirshhorn

This Wednesday, hear the original sounds of Arvel Bird as he performs a blend of Celtic and Native American music.

Events August 7-9: Sketching, Musical Genre-Bending and Stitching

This week, sketch like a master, catch a concert that blends Native American and Celtic sounds and stitch in the presence of greatness

Jacob Lawrence’s 1941 Bar and Grill depicts the reality of segregation of the Jim Crow South, a new experience to the Harlem artist.

Curator Talk at the American Art Museum on African-American Art Exhibition

Virginia Mecklenburg offers a Wednesday lecture on the artists from “Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era and Beyond”

As the Olympic Games head to London, you should head to the Mall.

Olympic Games at the Smithsonian

Before you settle into your couch to watch the Olympics, get down to the Smithsonian for exhibits, games and more

None

Events July 20-22: Living Earth Festival, Movie Day, Book Signings at Air and Space

This weekend, celebrate Earth, have a movie day and check out some super cool planes at the Udvar-Hazy Center

None

Teen Photographers Win Spot at National Portrait Gallery

Winners of the museum’s Teen Portrait Competition discuss their portraits and the stories behind them

“Parks and Recreation” heroine Leslie Knope would love to see this mural study from an Indiana post office on her visit to DC. Clearing the Right of Way by Joe Cox, 1938.

Five Things Leslie Knope Should See at the Smithsonian

As NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” prepares to shoot its season five in D.C., we offer up five must-sees for the newest city councilmember of Pawnee, Indiana

The covered Kogod Courtyard provides the perfect setting for Thursday’s jazz concert with the Freddie Redd-Butch Warren Quintet celebrating the legacy of Thelonius Monk.

Events July 17-19: Virtual Caving, Air Force Strings and a Tribute to Thelonius Monk

This week at the Smithsonian: take a virtual tour beneath the earth’s surface, see the Air Force Strings perform and honor the genius of Thelonius Monk

Page 77 of 116