Description: Today, James Smithson’s bequest to found the Smithsonian is considered a wonderful event, but in 1835 when it was announced, many Americans responded negatively. Why did they look his gift horse in the mouth?
Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="405" caption="Dr. David W. Scott, left, curator and later director of the National Collection of Fine Arts, now the National Museum of American Art, with unidentified person, 1969, by Unidentified photographer, Photographic print, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 313 Box 26 Folder 3, Negative Number: 94-4412."][/caption]
Description: The Smithsonian Institution’s first building, the Castle, was designed by architect James Renwick. Until 1881, it housed all aspects of Smithsonian operations, including research, administration, lecture and exhibit halls, library, laboratories, collections storage, and living quarters for the Secretary. Today, the Castle houses administrative offices and the Smithsonian
Description: Jeannine Smith Clark began forty seven years of involvement with the Smithsonian working as a volunteer docent at the National Museum of Natural History in 1968. Since then, she has served on the influential Smithsonian Women’s Committee and was appointed to the Board of Regents, where she served from 1983 to 1994. Jeannine Smith Clark worked with the Smithsonian for 47 years