Smithsonian American Art Museum

When Alexander von Humboldt (right) traveled to England in 1790, he met a young chemist named James Smithson, the founder of the Smithsonian. Humboldt's influence still resonates throughout the massive museum and research complex.

How the Revolutionary Thinker Alexander von Humboldt Helped to Create the Smithsonian

The 19th-century polymath continues to influence the Institution’s research; a major Smithsonian exhibition explains how and why

"Halo 2600" game map.

How the Smithsonian Is Documenting and Preserving Video Games

At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a researcher develops strategy for digital preservation

The frame is the "mother holding its child,” says the Smithsonian's Martin Kotler. Many frames are works of art in their own right—and deserve to be seen as such.

Is It Time to Recognize Frames as an Independent Art Form?

In a fairly new field, the picture frame may finally be coming into its own

Love is the Message, The Message is Death,by Arthur Jafa
, film still, 2016

Now for the First Time, Arthur Jafa’s 'Love Is the Message, The Message Is Death' Streams Online

The seminal work, a contemporary <em>Guernica</em>, is the first joint acquisition for the Hirshhorn and the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Fatherhood can appear in a myriad of ways in art; one constant is love.

Fourteen Works of Art Portray the Bonds of Fatherhood Across Time and Culture

Celebrate Father’s Day with works pulled from the Smithsonian collections

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, pictured in 2005 near their installation The Gates in New York's Central Park. Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Christo, Artist Who Wrapped Landmarks and Coastlines in Fabric, Dies at 84

With collaborator and wife Jeanne-Claude, he created enormous, ephemeral art installations

Celebrate Mother's Day With These Artworks From the Smithsonian Collections

These paintings, sculptures and illustrations honor the bonds of motherhood

Peale’s mastodon returns to the U.S. as part of this year's upcoming exhibition “Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

The Story of Charles Willson Peale’s Massive Mastodon

When a European intellectual snubbed the U.S., the well-known artist excavated the giant fossil as evidence of the new Republic’s strength and power

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The Art of the Teleconference

Transform your Zoom virtual background or computer desktop into a work of art

The Wisdom of the Universe (detail) by Christi Belcourt (Michif), 2014

Native Women Artists Reclaim Their Narrative

The first major exhibition of its kind, "Hearts of Our People," boasts 82 pieces from 115 Native women across North America

Mary Vaux Walcott, Cardinal Flower, 1880

Shuttered Museums Use Social Media to Share Bouquets of Floral Artwork

Hundreds of museums are participating in an online attempt to spread joy as COVID-19 keeps their galleries empty

In the U.S., although Humboldt’s name has vanished, his ideas have not (above: Humboldt in His Library (detail) by Eduard Hildebrandt, 1856).

Who Was Alexander von Humboldt?

Smithsonian curator Eleanor Jones Harvey explains why this revolutionary 19th-century thought leader is due for a reconsideration

Follow the antics of the National Zoo's giant pandas (above: Tian Tian munching on bamboo) on the Panda Cams.

How to Virtually Explore the Smithsonian From Your Living Room

Tour a gallery of presidential portraits, print a 3-D model of a fossil or volunteer to transcribe historical documents

Follow along with the #SmithsonianEdu hashtag.

Eight Digital Education Resources From Around the Smithsonian

The newly launched #SmithsonianEdu campaign highlights 1.7 million online tools geared specifically toward students and teachers

Grandma Moses Goes to the Big City (1946).

How the U.S. Government Deployed Grandma Moses Overseas in the Cold War

In 1950, an exhibition of the famed artist's paintings toured Europe in a promotional campaign of American culture

Spectacular offerings include (clockwise from top left): John Singer Sargent; art in response to the Age of Humans; Preston Singletary; Yayoi Kusama; and the mighty influence of Alexander von Humboldt.

Twenty Smithsonian Shows to See in 2020

Women inventors, baseball stamps and a new Kusama Infinity Room are among the offerings

John Baldessari, "Six Colorful Inside Jobs," 1977, 16mm film on video, color, silent; 32:53 minutes

How the Video Works of John Baldessari Defined Contemporary Art

Smithsonian curator Saisha Grayson examines the legacy of one of the greats of American Art

Great Nature, Storm on Mount Lyell from Johnson Peak by Chiura Obata, 1939

How Japanese Artist Chiura Obata Came to Be an American Great

With landscapes infused with an emotion borne of a life of struggle, this master receives his due in this traveling retrospective now at the Smithsonian

Yayoi Kusama with recent works in Tokyo, 2016

Celebrating the Eternal Legacy of Artist Yayoi Kusama

An upcoming Hirshhorn collection exhibition will honor the artist’s seven-decade career

In the past decade or so, the number of podcasts to choose from has soared.

Eighteen Podcasts to Listen to in 2020

Need podcast recommendations for travel or the treadmill? Here’s what Smithsonian experts listen to

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