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.
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: A twentieth century Renaissance man, Louis R. Purnell lived a remarkable life. His career began in the skies above Italy and Germany, where he flew 88 combat missions as an original member of the Tuskegee Airmen. After the war, while working at the National Museum of Natural History, he traveled the world’s oceans collecting marine specimens, taught himself geology and