Georgia O’Keefe’s painting, Manhattan, hangs on the ground floor of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, alongside this quote from the artist: “One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt.” My 10-year-old niece recently wrote me a thank you note for a Christmas gift, and included this rendering of New … Continue reading »
Category Archives: Smithsonian American Art Museum
Grand Central Station: Two Views
One of the best things about visiting New York is the people-watching. A couple hours in Central Park, and you’ll see every stripe of humanity: Russian-speaking au pairs, 70-year old rollerbladers with orange hair and legwarmers, heartland tourists in navy polo shirts, young men flaunting their abs, very large people walking very small dogs. Same … Continue reading »
Hide/Seek and the AIDS Era
I experienced the U.S. AIDS epidemic of the 80s and early 90s mostly as an observer. The disease took my 9th grade English teacher and, later, a coworker. I remember ubiquitous safe-sex campaigns on campus and seeing men in their 30s and 40s, frail and wasting, being wheeled by caregivers through Dupont Circle. And I … Continue reading »
Norman Rockwell’s Mad Men Moment
Norman Rockwell’s work isn’t my thing. I find his paintings too saccharine, his subjects’ innocence too forced. And I wasn’t alive during his heyday, so the appeal to nostalgia eludes me. But one painting in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Telling Stories exhibit made me pause at least, mostly because it reminded me of my … Continue reading »
An American Road Trip (By Proxy)
I don’t take many road trips these days, other than on an annual spa weekend with two close friends. And though I’ve lived in China (twice), I’ve never seen Yellowstone or West Texas. For those, like me, who are U.S. travel-deficient, the Smithsonian American Art Museum offers a handy proxy: a Flickr group titled the … Continue reading »
Corcoran Gallery of Art / Freer-Sackler / Hirshhorn / National Gallery of Art / National Portrait Gallery / Phillips Collection / Smithsonian American Art Museum / Uncategorized / US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Lonely Planet DC: A Dissent
So. Lonely Planet’s new DC city guide is out. They’ve got the neighborhoods, nightlife and Obama era vibe down, but I gotta quibble with their top museum picks: 1. Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery 2. Corcoran Gallery of Art 3. Hirshhorn Museum 4. US Holocaust Memorial Museum 5. Freer Sackler Galleries First off, how … Continue reading »
Freer-Sackler / National Gallery of Art / National Portrait Gallery / National Zoo / Smithsonian American Art Museum
DC Museums and Social Media: A New Year’s Resolution
While several friends have vowed to curb their Internet/Twitter/iPhone habits in 2010 to reclaim a modicum of face time with friends and family, I’m thinking I need to be more electronically plugged in to DC’s arts and culture scene. A great place to start: DCist’s handy round-up of local museums’ podcasts, blogs and Twitter feeds. … Continue reading »
Corcoran Gallery of Art / National Building Museum / National Museum of African Art / Smithsonian American Art Museum / Textile Museum
Top Five for Holiday Shopping
Yes, it’s that time of year again. I’ve long favored D.C.’s museum gift shops for unique holiday gifts. Here, my top five, with their strong suits. Check ‘em out. 1. National Building Museum: children’s toys and games, books on art and architecture 2. Smithsonian American Art Museum: silver jewelry, funky bags 3. Corcoran Gallery of … Continue reading »
At the American Art Museum, A Trip Back to 1934
Though the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibition of Depression-era paintings, 1934: A New Deal for Artists, has been on since February, I haven’t been in the mood to see it. I’ve watched three friends and family members lose their jobs this year; why be reminded that things could get bleaker? Well, the sun came out … Continue reading »
