September 26, 2008 - January 4, 2009
1st Floor, Northwest, Granite Gallery (North)
This exhibition features 43 paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe and 54 photographs by Ansel Adams that reveal their deep commitment to the American landscape. The exhibition explores how both artists intensely focused their attention on beauty in nature and transformed these elements with color and tone.
Catalogue: $40
July 4, 2008 - October 13, 2008 (new opening & closing dates)
3rd Floor, North Galleries
On view are 27 large-scale, luminous, abstract paintings from the museum's permanent collection dating from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s by such Washington D.C.-based artists as Gene Davis, Thomas Downing, Sam Gilliam, Paul Reed, Jacob Kainen, Alma Thomas, Leon Berkowitz, Fel Hines, and Howard Mehring.
June 20, 2008 - November 9, 2008
2nd Floor, Graphics Gallery
On view are more than 40 photographs by Barbara Bosworth (b.1953), including "The Bitterroot River," a series that deals with loss and recovery, and recent color photographs of songbirds and the New England landscape surrounding her home near Boston, Massachusetts. Bosworth combines multiple large-format negatives in a single print to create her panoramic images and landscape photographs. She is best known for her photographs of National Champion trees -- the largest identified example of each species in the United States. While her subjects appear direct and straightforward, her images are notable for their grace and emotional resonance.
March 8, 2008 - January 18, 2010
2nd Floor, South Gallery
On view in this small exhibition to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural ball is ephemera from the ball, including the invitation and menu, as well as engravings illustrating the night's events and other artifacts. The ball took place in the building on March 6, 1865, during the final stages of the Civil War and only six weeks before Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theater.
November 18, 2007 - New Permanent
1st Floor
The enclosed Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard -- a year-round gathering space with a new glass canopy designed by renowned British architectural firm Foster + Partners in London and interior landscape design by Kathryn Gustafson -- was unveiled Nov. 18, 2007. Its completion marks the final phase of a major renovation of this National Historic Landmark. The courtyard provides a dynamic year-round public gathering space that can accommodate a variety of functions for the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, which both share in this historic building.
November 17, 2007 - New 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)
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 -- offer his sometimes ironic, sometimes elegiac record of outdoor sculptures across the country.
- 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)
- 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.
- 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.
- Permanent
3rd Floor, East, in the Lincoln Gallery
Located in the Lincoln Gallery with soaring arches, this exhibition features modern and contemporary 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 some 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.
- 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.
The Courtyard Cafe´ (open daily, 11:30 to 6:30), located in the Kogod Courtyard, offers specialty sandwiches, panini, soups, salads, desserts and coffee.
The Portico Cafe´ (open weather permitting, 11:30 to 5), located on the second floor, is a charmed spot to enjoy an espresso, wine or pastry.
