On April 15, 2019, the world watched as the Cathedral of Notre Dame caught fire, destroying much of one of the most important buildings in the world. Senior Curator Eleanor Harvey describes the allure of Paris and Notre Dame on American artists after the Civil War.
Curator Melissa Ho reflects on what drew her to the subject matter for her upcoming exhibition exploring how American artists responded to the turbulence of the Vietnam War.
Tanner was the first internationally renowned African American painter. "Abraham’s Oak" memorializes a pilgrimage site that the artist likely visited during his travels in the 1890's.
I'm throwing this one back five years to one of my favorite stories from one of my favorite poets that was originally posted in 2015. It comes with all good wishes from the blog for a wonderful, story-filled, Happy New Year.
Matthew Fields was a recent pre-program intern at the Lunder Conservation Center, as part of the Smithsonian Conservation Internship for Broadening Access (CIBA). He is currently a senior at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, pursuing a BA in art.
When you think of the Renwick Gallery, images of a bright floor to ceiling rainbow or faceted moving mushrooms might come to mind. It's true, the Renwick Gallery has been known to offer blockbuster exhibitions, such as No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man, that give you Instagram-worthy photography.
Art Bites is a new series on Eye Level based on lunchtime talks at the museum. They feature the voices of SAAM's research fellows who share their discoveries about artworks from the collection. Michaela Rife was the 2017-2018 Joe and Wanda Corn Predoctoral Fellow at SAAM, where she researched the environmental history of New Deal murals on the American Great Plains. She is a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto and is currently working on her dissertation as a Tyson Scholar of American Art at Crystal Bridges.
Beyond the Walls is a virtual reality experiment from SAAM and Intel, building on our use of VR to expand exhibitions such as WONDER and No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man. In Beyond the Walls, visitors are transported into SAAM’s historic building—then to relevant sites outside the museum—for an immersive experience with selected artworks.
