Smithsonian

When the National Portrait Gallery opened more than a half-century ago, just 17 percent of its collection represented women—either as subjects or creators (above: Carmen de Lavallade, Michele Mattei, 2003, printed 2018). Today, that number has roughly doubled.

Beyoncé, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Other Iconic Women Take Their Place at the Smithsonian

This year, the National Portrait Gallery's annual showcase of new acquisitions spotlights female subjects and female artists

The Smithsonian's Cher Ami will play a role in tonight's multimedia performance “November 1918: The Great War and The Great Gatsby” at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Cher Ami, the Iconic World War I Carrier Pigeon, Makes His Debut at Carnegie Hall

A treasured Smithsonian artifact is reputed to be the heroic savior of the embattled “Lost Battalion” on the Western Front

Julie Packard by Hope Gangloff is on view at the National Portrait Gallery in the new show, "Forces of Nature: Voices That Shaped Environmentalism."

Meet the Steely Gaze of Environmentalism

A new show at the National Portrait Gallery focuses on the defenders of Mother Earth over the past 150 years

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History paleoanthropologist Briana Pobiner came across this hominin tibia in Kenya’s Nairobi National Museum. The magnified area shows cut marks.

Our Human Relatives Butchered and Ate Each Other 1.45 Million Years Ago

Telltale marks on a bone from an early human’s leg could be the earliest evidence of cannibalism

“From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya With Ayana V. Jackson” is currently on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art through April 2024 (above: When the Spirit of Kalunda Comes So Does Kianda, Ayana V. Jackson, 2018-2022).

Meet the Inhabitants of the Mythic World of Drexciya

Artist Ayana V. Jackson creates an undersea realm honoring those who jumped or were thrown overboard during the trans-Atlantic slave trade

“Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings” is on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (above: A grouping of bronze and ceramic wine cups and warmers that date to 1100-1150 B.C.E.) 

A U.S.-China Collaboration a Century Ago Helped Find Riches of a Lost Civilization

The first U.S. exhibition to display the wonders of China’s ancient city of Anyang is on view at the National Museum of Asian Art

At the Mosul Cultural Museum, the Lion of Nimrud is being carefully restored (above: the cuneiform text on the figure is realigned and rejoined) as world organizations lend support to restore a city that has long stood at the heart of Western civilization.

Mosul Cultural Museum to Reopen in 2026

Traveling to the ancient Iraqi city, the Smithsonian’s ambassador at large reports on the international efforts to aid recovery

Hosts Emily Martin and Matt Shindell speak with Anisha Abraham and to her actor friend Jo Chim, who has written and directed a 30-minute film called “One Small Visit,” dramatizing a visit the Abraham family (above) enjoyed with the astronaut Neil Armstrong.

A New Neil Armstrong Film Makes One Giant Leap for Kindness

Smithsonian podcasts deliver doses of optimism this month, featuring Bill Nye and a story of a warm welcome from the astronaut’s family

The National Museum of Asian Art's on-going exhibition "Ay-O’s Happy Rainbow Hell," (above: rainbow night 10 from the series, "Rainbow Passes Slowly" by Ay-O, 1971, screenprint 5/55) is part of the museum's 2023 centennial celebrations.

Take a Radiating, Immersive Trip Into ‘Ay-O’s Happy Rainbow Hell’

The National Museum of Asian Art is the first U.S. museum to survey the vivid silkscreens from the 91-year-old Japanese artist

The exhibition "Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures," (above, right: A scene from the 2014 Ghanian short film "Afronauts") is on view through March 24, 2024, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History.

What Is Afrofuturism?

A new exhibition defines how artistry and activism over decades gave rise to the idea and promise of a future that could advance Black life

A Smithsonian staffer carries a horse from the carousel for transport to the restoration facility.

The Smithsonian’s Historic Carousel Undergoes Restoration

The artifact hails from a Baltimore community, where a young African American child became the face of desegregation when she took her ride in 1963

Artist Baseera Khan, winner of reality show “The Exhibit,” with their sculpture The Liberator, which goes on display at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden this week

Winner of Reality Show ‘The Exhibit’ Displays Art at the Hirshhorn

Baseera Khan's sculpture, "The Liberator," will be on view through July 16

The spiraled crafted work On the Air by Jeong Ju Lee is made to flow with the contour of the model's shoulder.

These Asian American Artists Merge Traditional Aesthetics With Contemporary Practices

Jewelers Reiko Ishiyama and Jeong Ju Lee redefine the “American Spirit” at the Smithsonian’s upcoming Craft Show

Now available is the Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey by Robert "Mack" McCormick (above center with Spider Kilpatrick, c. 1960), and this summer, the much-anticipated book is complemented by an exhibit at the National Museum of American History, a box CD set from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and a concert celebration at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall.

Legendary Bluesman Robert Johnson Had Demons. So Did His Biographer

The long-awaited “Biography of a Phantom” unravels some of the mystery and intrigue

One-third of the world’s population can’t see the starry band of light in the night sky that makes up the Milky Way (above). The new show “Lights Out: Recovering Our Night Sky” at the National Museum of Natural History looks at the devastating impacts of artificial light.

Why It’s Time for a Worldwide Lights-Out Program

A new Smithsonian exhibition delves into the issue of light pollution, with easy solutions offering an immediate change

The Smithsonian's podcast Sidedoor uncovers the climate change insights hidden in old paintings (above: Shivalal, Maharana Fateh Singh Crossing a River During the Monsoon (detail), c. 1893).

What Centuries-Old Indian Court Paintings Tell Us About Climate Change

This month’s Smithsonian podcasts include a deep dive into India’s monsoon weather patterns and discussion of animals in flight

A revolutionary new tool, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and NASA, will monitor the chemistry and changing dynamics of major pollutants (above: an Arizona power generating station).

This Eye in the Sky Promises Major Insights Into the Air We Breathe

The satellite mission TEMPO will detect pollutants at a neighborhood scale across the nation

Tens of thousands of people in the United States may be connected to this album, which museum officials say offers an "unprecedented opportunity for people of mixed heritage, especially, to access never-before-seen ancestral portraits."

Find Out If Your Ancestor Is Among These 19th-Century Silhouettes in This Newly Digitized Collection

The itinerant artist William Bache’s portraits are contaminated by arsenic, but now the National Portrait Gallery offers easy access

A vintage promotional photograph commissioned and approved by Redfeather around 1915 is now held in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

The Forgotten History of Tsianina Redfeather, the Beloved American Indian Opera Singer

A portrait of the performer debuts in the exhibition “Entertainment Nation”

The octagonal building with its tongue-in-groove peaked roof is "really a beautiful piece of architecture,” says the museum's conservator Dawn Wallace. “You can tell it was heavily used, but it’s beautiful construction.”

Crowds Roared, a Century Ago, on Opening Day for the Mighty House That Ruth Built

An original Yankee Stadium ticket booth recalls the story of that first game, which featured a thundering three-run homer from the Great Bambino

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