Events

One Life: Thomas Paine, The Radical Founding Father

This exhibition features Thomas Paine (1737-1809), whose pamphlet Common Sense fired up Americans to get on with a declaration of independence and whose exhortation, "These are the times that try men's souls," was read by General Washington to his dispirited troops. His story begins in Philadelphia when he arrived in 1774; continues through his tumultuous years in England, where his anti-monarchy diatribe -- Rights of Man -- brought charges of seditious libel; and ends in revolutionary France, where he barely escaped the guillotine. Paine, also the author of The Age of Reason -- a bold attack on organized religion -- returned to America in 1802 to find himself scorned by his old associates and much of the public. He died in poverty, his bones were later stolen and dispersed, but his words have resounded down through the ages. Featured in the exhibition is the museum's recently acquired portrait of Paine depicted by the French artist Laurant Dabos around 1792.

August 7, 2009 - November 29, 2009
National Portrait Gallery
1st Floor, East Side

Staged Stories: Renwick Craft Invitational 2009

This exhibition features works by the following four artists:
• Christyl Boger (b. 1959), who creates large-scale gilded ceramic figurines that incorporate contemporary props
• Mark Newport (b. 1964), who examines issues of masculinity through knitted superhero costumes
• Mary Van Cline (b. 1954), who uses plate glass and pate de verre to construct sculptural pieces that often incorporate black-and-white photographs
• SunKoo Yuh (b. 1960), who creates densely layered ceramic sculptures that explore complex issues of family, faith, and community with Eastern and Western imagery

August 7, 2009 - January 3, 2010
Renwick Gallery
1st Floor, Special Exhibitions Gallery

Scenes and Sightings from the Smithsonian Museums and Beyond

November 6, 2009
Weekend Events: Teacher Appreciation Day at the Zoo, Early Color Photography

November 6, 2009
Sweatin’ to the Smithsonian: Exercise With Folkways

November 5, 2009
Portraiture Now Series Gets Communal

November 5, 2009
The Coolest Straw I Ever Saw at American History