Description: On December 5, 1961, the Smithsonian announced the gift of the Barney House Studio. We have written previously about Alice Pike Barney (1857-1931); artist, actor, playwright, and Washington D.C. socialite at The Bigger Picture. Barney donated her artwork and her D.C. residence which became part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection. In 1999, however, the house
Description: Current headlines about war and the impact of forced migration on women are stark reminders of historic migrations and how women adapted and took on new roles.In 1987, Field to Factory: Afro-American Migration 1915-1940 premiered at the National Museum of American History.
Description: The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) has undergone many name changes over the years. One of these – the National Collection of Fine Arts (NCFA) – was in use from 1937 to 1980. During this time, the NCFA underwent several exciting changes. After years of being housed in multiple locations and several failed attempts to build a permanent building, the collection moved to
Description: 2018 Women's History Month edition!Little-known Hungarian art deco designer, Ilonka Karasz, has a solo show at the Cooper Hewitt [via Antiques and the Arts Weekly]The New York Times is trying to right the gender imbalance in their obituary archive by adding obits for 15 historic women including activist Ida B. Wells, feminist poet Qiu Jin, and mathematician Ada Lovelace...with
Description: The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery (NPG) will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2018. Ahead of next year’s festivities, NPG unveiled an exhibition commemorating its May 1968 opening. The Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) provided several pieces for this gallery, including a photo of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s dedication speech on May 3rd. Check out the full
Description: Art Deco beetles and butterflies from Smithsonian Libraries. [via Hyperallergic]Depression-era faces lost to history by an editor's hold punch. [via PetaPixel]A new online archive: the Digital Transgender Archive. [via Smithsonian Magazine]The Photographers' Identities Catalog, a collection of biographical data for over 115,000 photographers, studios, etc. [via NYPL LABS]A new
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="349" caption="Washington, D.C. 1975, from the series Archaeological Series, 6 Inch Contour Gauge, 1975, by Kenneth Josephson, Gelatin silver print on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.828."][/caption] In 1981, the Smithsonian American Art Museum (at the time it was named
Description: The Smithsonian Institution has long been known for both its original research and its exhibitions. But, it was not until 1980 that the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) first exhibited an on-going active research project, the world's first indoor living coral reef.[edan-image:id=siris_sic_7411,size=450,center]In the late 1960s, when NMNH paleobiologist Walter H. Adey
Description: [caption id="attachment_2167" align="aligncenter" width="185" caption="Biddle at work on Society Freed through Justice in the Justice Department Building, Washington, D.C. Photographer unknown. Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection, 1935-1942. Archives of American Art."][/caption] This Monday, as we observe Labor Day in the midst of a serious economic
Description: Each week, the Archives features a woman who has been a groundbreaker at the Smithsonian, past or present, in a series titled Wonderful Women Wednesday.