The Smithsonian American Art Museum is offering an array of public programs to accompany the exhibition "Color as Field: American Painting, 1950-1975," which features 39 beautiful paintings that represent one of the crowning achievements of postwar American abstract art. The Color Field school, a group that emerged in the United States in the 1950s, is characterized by its utilization of pouring, staining, spraying or painting thinned paint onto raw canvas to create vast chromatic expanses. This survey, on view from Feb. 29 through May 26, is the first full-scale examination of the sources, meaning and impact of the Color Field movement.

A complete schedule of events at the museum, from talks with artists to performances to behind-the-scenes tours, is available at americanart.si.edu. For additional information, the public may e-mail saamprograms@si.edu or call (202) 633-8490.

Free Public Programs

SAAM I Am—"Color as Field" Family Day
Saturday, March 8; 1– 4 p.m.
Visitors will color the world with a full day of activities and crafts; listen to a reading of "My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss; enjoy tunes by musician Eric Maring; and engage in a bright and lively art project inspired by Color Field artists.

"New Materials, Aging Art"
Saturday, March 29; 3 p.m.
Mark Golden of Golden Artist Colors Inc. and Mark Gottsegen of the Art Materials Information and Education Network of the Intermuseum Conservation Association discuss challenges artists face with new materials. This illustrated dialogue looks at how the use of new artists' materials affects the process of art-making and the life of the work of art. This program is presented by the Lunder Conservation Center.

"Color as Field" Gallery Talk
Wednesday, April 2; 5:30 p.m.
The James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art Joanna Marsh discusses the Color Field movement—from the development of new color techniques and materials to the historical significance of the artists who used them—in the exhibition galleries.

"Color as 'Cool': After Abstract Expressionism"
Saturday, May 3; 3 p.m.
Half a century ago, in the wake of abstract expressionism, a group of young American painters, including Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski and Larry Poons, developed a new kind of ravishingly beautiful, radically "cool" abstraction based on the evocative power of chromatic relationships. Exhibition curator Karen Wilkin examines the evolution of their innovations, now known as Color Field painting.

Workshops
Registration is required. To register, e-mail saamprograms@si.edu or call (202) 633-8490 ($30 materials fee).

Create a Working Artist Color Palette
Wednesday, April 23 and Saturday, April 26; noon – 2 p.m.
Plein air artist Deborah Chapin demonstrates techniques involved in creating a working palette. Learn to see color from an artist's perspective and become familiar with mixing oil-based colors to achieve a palette for an oil sketch.

Color as Staining: Techniques on Silk Workshop
Wednesday, March 12 and Saturday, March 15; noon – 4 p.m.
Fiber artist Cindy Brandt leads participants through a workshop on staining and pouring techniques to create hand-painted silk scarves.

Credit
"Color as Field: American Painting, 1950–1975" is organized by the American Federation of Arts. This exhibition is made possible, in part, by grants from the Henry Luce Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius. The exhibition's presentation at the Smithsonian American Art Museum is made possible by the Gene Davis Memorial Fund; Golden Artist Colors; Oriana and Arnold McKinnon; Betty A. and Lloyd G. Schermer; Mike Wilkins and Sheila Duignan; and the Smithsonian Council for American Art.

About the Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum, located above the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail station, is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Dec. 25. Admission is free. Museum information: (202) 633-7970. Smithsonian Information: (202) 633-1000; (202) 633-5285 (TTY). Web sites: americanart.si.edu and reynoldscenter.org.

SI-87A-2008