Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg
July 2, 2010 - January 2, 2011
Location TBA
Two of America's best-known modern filmmakers -- George Lucas and Steven Spielberg -- recognized a kindred spirit in the artist Norman Rockwell and formed in-depth collections of his work. Lucas, Spielberg, and Rockwell have perpetuated American ideals about love of country, personal honor, and the value of family through their work. With humor and pathos, they have transformed ordinary people and the quotidian incidents of everyday experience into stories that show us our better selves and the values that have sustained Americans through good times and bad. All three share an ability to communicate visually with mass audiences using popular media of their time. Telling Stories will reveal for the first time the connections between Rockwell's iconic images of American life and the movies.
This exhibition will showcase more than 50 major Rockwell paintings and drawings from these private collections that are rarely seen by the public.
See December 2009 Smithsonian magazine, pp. 8-10
Framing the West: The Survey Photographs of Timothy H. O'Sullivan
February 12, 2010 - May 9, 2010
1st Floor, West Galleries
Timothy H. O'Sullivan (1840-1882) spent six seasons between 1867 and 1874 in the mountain and desert west as photographer for government-sponsored geological surveys and expeditions led by Clarence King and Lt. George Wheeler. His photographs go beyond mere documentation of newly explored landscapes; they show a forthright and rigorous style formed in response to the American West. This first major look at O'Sullivan's photographs in more than 25 years features more than 80 of his photographs and sterographs and explores the artist's images, the conditions under which they were made, the influences that shaped his work, and his continuing influence on American photography.
Graphic Masters III: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
January 15, 2010 - August 8, 2010 (new opening date)
2nd Floor, South Wing, Graphics Gallery
On view are watercolors, pastels, and drawings from the 1960s to the 1990s to celebrate the extraordinary variety and accomplishment of American artists' works on paper. The works on view reveal the central importance of works on paper for American artists, both as studies for creations in other media and as finished works of art. Artists represented include such masters as Robert Arneson, Jennifer Bartlett, Philip Guston, Luis Jimenez, and Wayne Thiebaud.
Catalogue: $19.95
Thomas Moran Landscapes
May 8, 2009 - Permanent
2nd Floor, North Lobby
On view are three large landscape paintings by Thomas Moran, two on long-term loan from the U.S. Department of the Interior -- The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1872) and The Chasm of the Colorado (1873-1874) -- and the museum's The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1893-1901), along with a smaller Moran painting.
Outdoor Sculpture: Modern Head by Roy Lichtenstein
- Indefinitely
Outside on F & 9th Sts., NW
Modern Head (2008): This 31-foot-tall sculpture by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) is made of stainless steel painted blue and weighs 13,000 pounds. The sculpture is part of a series Lichtenstein began in the late 1960s that explored the idea of creating images of human figures that look like machines; this concept pervaded the artist's work throughout his career. Lichtenstein created the first Modern Head in 1974 out of wood that was painted blue. In 1989, he produced an edition of four in brushed steel. In 1990, the artist painted one a vibrant blue making it a unique work.
Installed in 1996 in Battery Park City, one block from the World Trade Center, the sculpture survived the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack with only surface scratches and was temporarily used by the FBI as a message board during the investigation. It has had several homes before coming to the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The museum acquired the sculpture in 2008.
Renovating a Landmark: From Patent Office to Reynolds Center.
- Permanent
Historic Fabric Room, 1st Floor, S. of F St. Lobby, near lockers
This small exhibition commemorates the opening of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard, the final phase of a major renovation of the National Historic Landmark building that houses the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. It highlights aspects of the renovation with photographs, architectural artifacts from the building, and objects discovered during the excavation of the courtyard. Also included are historic images of the building, a 7-foot segment of one of the 19th-century cast iron fountains from the courtyard, and an architect's model of the building.
Related publication: Temple of Invention: History of a National Landmark by Charles Robertson, who is also the guest curator of the exhibition: $19.95 (paper)
Sculptures by Paul Manship
- Indefinitely
1st Floor, North Corridors, near G St. entrance
From the museum's collection of nearly 500 works by Paul Manship (1885-1966) are 25 graceful sculptures -- including such mythological figures such as Atalanta and Europa, as well as a collection of gilded animal figures. As a young artist studying in Rome, Manship fell in love with both Roman and Greek sculpture and was captivated by animals and mythological figures. He also studied Egyptian, Asian, and Assyrian art. An exponent of Art Deco in the United States, he developed a style that was both representational and highly stylized.
Note: Additional works are on view in the Luce Foundation Center, 3rd floor.
David Beck's MVSEVM
- Permanent
2nd Floor, South Center
Commissioned by the museum, David Beck created MVSEVM, an exquisitely crafted world in miniature; the work reflects the neoclassical architecture of the building, from the 1840s when it was the U.S. Patent Office to the present day.
Lunder Conservation Center
- Permanent
3rd Floor Mezzanine & 4th Floor, West
The Lunder Conservation Center -- shared with the National Portrait Gallery -- is the first facility that provides a unique opportunity for the public to view through glass walls conservators at work in several labs examining, treating, and preserving art.
Luce Foundation Center for American Art
- Permanent
3rd & 4th Floors and 3rd Floor Mezzanine, West
The Luce Foundation Center for American Art is the first visible art storage and study center in Washington that showcases more than 3,300 artworks from the museum's permanent collection: paintings densely hung on screens; sculptures, contemporary crafts, and art objects arranged on shelves; and portrait miniatures, bronze medals, and contemporary jewelry in drawers that slide open with the touch of a button. The space allows the museum to display five times the number of works on public view.
Highlights include:
• Selected objects from the Rosenak Collection of American Folk Art
Art Since 1945
- Permanent
3rd Floor, North
On view is modern and contemporary art, including works from Color Field, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art; a room-size installation Megatron Matrix by Nam June Paik; and 20th-century paintings by such artists as Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, and Helen Frankenthaler.
Related Book America's Art: $65 (cloth), $45 (paper)
American Experience
- Permanent
1st Floor, Southwest (near Main Lobby)
These introductory galleries feature paintings by Edward Hopper, 19th- and 20th-century landscapes from across the United States that convey a sense of place and the defining role of land in the American imagination, and 56 photographs from Lee Friedlander's series "The American Monument" (1963-2001) -- a new acquisition -- that offer his sometimes ironic, sometimes elegiac record of outdoor sculptures across the country.
Modern and Contemporary Art
- Permanent
3rd Floor, East, in the Lincoln Gallery
Located in the Lincoln Gallery with soaring arches, this exhibition features modern and contemporary art.
With Liberty: Folk Art from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Permanent
1st Floor, West
These galleries serve as a reminder that not all artists are formally trained, and that the making of art is as much an act of passion as of intellect. Artists represented range from Mose Tolliver and Howard Finster to Felipe Archuleta and Thorton Dial, Sr. To provide the installation a particular point of view, the museum asked artist William Christenberry to curate -- choose the objects and provide the wall labels and quotes that express his deep regard for folk art.
Highlights include:
• James Hampton's The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly (1950-64), a visionary work made from salvaged materials covered in gold and silver foil.
• Selected objects from the Rosenak Collection of American Folk Art
American Art through 1940
- Permanent
2nd Floor, East, South, and North
This exhibition links artworks to major moments in America's past in nine thematic sections in 31 galleries. The introductory area features Frederic Auguste Bartholdi's model for the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of America as a place welcoming to all immigrants whose ingenuity and creativity plays a key role throughout America's art.
Outdoor Sculpture: Vaquero by Luis Jimenez Jr.
- Permanent
Outside at G St. entrance
Vaquero (1987): The colorful fiberglass sculpture of a Mexican cowboy on a bucking blue horse by New Mexico artist Luis Jimenez Jr. (1940-2006).
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