Description: The Renwick Gallery has just reopened after a two-year renovation, reinventing itself yet again. Its history has mirrored the history of the nation.
Description: On May 16, 1929, an exhibition of American Negro Artists opened on the ground floor of the Smithsonian’s US National Museum building. The exhibition featured fifty-one works by twenty-seven black sculptors and painters who won a juried competition sponsored by the Harmon Foundation.1Though the work selected remained distant from the most radical new work being created by
Description: [caption id="attachment_541" align="alignleft" width="144" caption="Inscription inside Lincoln's watch, by Hugh Talman, 2009, National Museum of American History"][/caption] Does photography always report on the past? Recently, as part of the Lincoln Bicentennial celebration, the Smithsonian took a closer look at a rare Lincoln object that possessed a secret message.