Stories for November 2005

Game of Kings Artists

November 30, 2005

Thomas Anshutz, Checker Players, about 1895, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orrin Wickersham June, 1967.136.4 (They're playing chess, if you squint.) You'll want to read Ben Davis's Artnet write-up of the Noguchi Museum's exhibition, "The Imagery of Chess Revisited,"...

Opening Day

November 28, 2005

Unidentified, Eye, circa 1900s, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1967.110.1 Welcome to Eye Level! I'm pleased to introduce the Smithsonian American Art Museum's blog, the first by the Smithsonian and one of just a handful of museum sites in the blogosphere....

Westward Spiral

November 22, 2005

Easily one of the iconic visual artworks from the last few decades—and all the more so for having been seen by so few people—Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty (1970) has possibly never looked better. Underwater for years, the land art sculpture...

In Stereo

November 21, 2005

Stereograph of Patent Office Building, circa 1890s (top) and contemporary photograph, 2005 (bottom) Locals know that you can find all kinds of interesting things at Eastern Market, a farmer's maket and bazaar on Capitol Hill. Eastern Market is one of...

Pride or Prejudice?

November 15, 2005

George Catlin, Táh-téck-a-da-háir, Steep Wind, a Brave of the Bad Arrow Points Band, 1832, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1985.66.86 Since the NCAA's August decision to prohibit teams using Native American monikers or mascots from playing in or hosting official tournaments,...

Saving Outdoor Sculpture

November 3, 2005

Walter Anderson, Pelicans at North Key, 1945, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1967.96.1 Found an update in my inbox called Saving Outdoor Sculpture, a Gulf Coast conservation project: The Heritage Emergency National Task Force is acting as a clearinghouse for information...