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: Dr. Elizabeth Broun, Director, Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery, 1989–2016, oversaw major renovations, welcomed groundbreaking exhibitions, and diversified the museum’s collections. She served as the museum’s Chief Curator and Assistant Director, 1983–88. #Groundbreaker
Description: Frances Glessner Lee crafted the “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death” detailing miniature crime scenes (now on exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery)—to train homicide investigators revolutionizing the emerging field of homicide investigation. #Groundbreaker
Description: Art-inspired pumpkins. [via Hyperallergic]Gif's turned art. [via Wired]Our neighbor, the National Gallery of Art, just reopened their beautiful east wing and it has a stunning blue friend. [via Washington Post]Loved the Renwick Gallery's Wonder exhibit? You can now experience it in VR! [via DCist]The powerful symbolism in Nat Turner's bible. [via Smithsonian Magazine]Nashville
Description: From 1967 to 1991, Mary E. Massey broke barriers for women at the Smithsonian by demonstrating her skills in spaces typically reserved only for men. Though Massey arrived at the Smithsonian as an elevator operator, by her retirement, she was the building manager for the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. In a column reserved for the Smithsonian
Description: On this day in 1850, a young man was killed in the Castle, the first of four deaths to occur within its walls. William H. Page was working in the building, which was still under construction at the time, when he fell to his death.
Description: You can help the Smithsonian produce a 9 CD Hip Hop & Rap Anthology in a newly launched Kickstarter, and if you kick in $100 or more, you'll get a digital-only track! The material in the anthology was produced with an advisory board comprised of members of the hip-hop community including artists Chuck D, MC Lyte, Questlove and 9th Wonder. [via billboard]The Smithsonian
Description: The Smithsonian Institution Building, or the “Castle,” is the most iconic of all the Smithsonian’s 769 facilities, which include its nineteen museums, nine research centers, National Zoo, and all of its other establishments. The Castle was the first building constructed specifically for the Smithsonian after it was founded in 1846. On March 19, 1847, a contract was signed with