Press Releases
Press Release Archive
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999
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2008
11/25/2008
Smithsonian American Art Museum Presents Nationally Touring Retrospective of Acclaimed Photographer Frank Gohlke
11/17/2008
Media Advisory: NightGallery DC and Take Five! at the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of FotoWeek DC
10/21/2008
2008-2011 Advance Exhibition Schedule
10/20/2008
Media Advisory: Ghosts of a Chance, an alternate reality game
9/26/2008
Mark Dion Is the 2008 Winner of Smithsonian American Art Museum's Annual Contemporary Artist Award
9/18/2008
Innovative Lunder Conservation Center Receives Prestigious Keck Award
8/25/2008
Monumental Roy Lichtenstein Sculpture Will Be on Display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Beginning August 27
8/18/2008
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces 2008 Nominees for Its Annual Contemporary Artist Award
8/15/2008
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Acquisition of Seminal Work by Christo and Jeanne-Claude
6/16/2008
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces New Educational Collaboration with Cisco to Benefit Schools Affected by Hurricane Katrina
5/19/2008
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces a Challenge Gift to Endow a Curator of Craft at its Renwick Gallery
5/1/2008
JoAnne Mancini Is Awarded the 20th Annual Eldredge Prize for Her Book on the Origins of American Modernism
2007
11/15/2007
Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard, Designed by Norman Foster, Opens to the Public Nov. 18
11/8/2007
Friends and Family Festival Highlights Grand Opening of the Smithsonian's Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard Nov. 18
11/5/2007
Smithsonian American Art Museum Debuts Commissioned Work by Internationally Renowned Artist Jenny Holzer
9/17/2007
Jessica Stockholder Is the 2007 Winner of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Annual Contemporary Artist Award
7/31/2007
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces 2007 Nominees for Its Annual Contemporary Artist Award
7/13/2007
Smithsonian American Art Museum Acquires Tour-de-Force Glass Installation by Beth Lipman
5/18/2007
Rebecca Zurier Is Awarded the 19th Annual Eldredge Prize for Her Book on the Ashcan School's Urban Vision
3/15/2007
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces the Appointment of Two New Contemporary Curators—John Hanhardt and Joanna Marsh
2006
6/19/2006
Staff at the New Lunder Conservation Center Will Wear Mizrahi
6/16/2006
Grand Opening Family Festival on Saturday, July 1
6/6/2006
Grand Opening of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery Set for July 1
6/2006
Two Smithsonian Museums to Open Innovative Lunder Conservation Center, the Only Fine Art Facility of its Kind
6/2006
Smithsonian American Art Museum Unveils New Galleries and Innovative Study Center with Visible Storage—Expanded Galleries Will Showcase Major New Acquisitions
5/18/2006
Smithsonian American Art Museum's Collection Catalog Wins National Award
5/15/2006
Smithsonian American Art Museum's Blog Wins National Award
5/1/2006
Margaretta M. Lovell Awarded the 18th Annual Eldredge Prize for Her Book on Artists and Patrons in Early America
4/27/2006
Matthew Coolidge, Director of the Center for Land Use Interpretation, Wins the 2006 Lucelia Artist Award
3/1/2006
Smithsonian American Art Museum Appoints Toby Jurovics as New Photography Curator
2/1/2006
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces 2006 Nominees for Its Lucelia Artist Award
2005
12/27/2005
Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery Presents New Look at Grant Wood's Roots in Decorative Arts
"Grant Wood's Studio: Birthplace of 'American Gothic'" opens at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum on March 10th and runs through July 16, 2006. The exhibition presents for the first time Grant Wood's decorative art and design work within the larger context of his paintings, drawings and prints.
11/28/2005
"George Catlin's Indian Gallery" on view at the Renwick Gallery
The installation "George Catlin's Indian Gallery," on view indefinitely in the Renwick Gallery's Grand Salon, celebrates a crown jewel in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's permanent collection—the nearly complete surviving set of Catlin's Indian Gallery painted in the 1830s and 1840s.
11/8/2005
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces $1.2 Million Donation from The Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced a $1.2 million gift from The Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation of Bethesda, Md., to establish The Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation Endowment. This endowment will support an ongoing biennial exhibition series showcasing contemporary craft artists, to be called the Renwick Craft Invitational, and related programs at the museum's Renwick Gallery.
9/20/2005
Smithsonian American Art Museum Receives Two Terra Foundation for American Art Awards
The Terra Foundation for American Art awarded two grants totally $645,000 to the Smithsonian American Art Museum: $600,000 for five years to support fellowships at the museum and $45,000 for a fall 2006 symposium. This grant is the largest ever received by the museum solely for fellowships.
8/2/2005
Smithsonian Successfully Completes $10 Million Fundraising Campaign for the Lunder Conservation Center
The Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery announced the successful completion of a $10 million fundraising campaign to support the Lunder Conservation Center.
7/28/2005
Smithsonian American Art Museum's Research Service and Preservation Initiatives Receive National Awards
The Smithsonian American Art Museum received two national awards for its ongoing initiatives.
6/27/2005
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces 2005–2006 Fellowship Appointments
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announces the appointment of 14 new fellows for the 2005–2006 academic year.
5/11/2005
Elizabeth Johns Awarded the 17th Annual Eldredge Prize for Her Biography of Winslow Homer
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has awarded the 2005 Charles C. Eldredge Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in American Art to Elizabeth Johns, professor emerita of the history of art at the University of Pennsylvania.
5/2/2005
Smithsonian American Art Museum Debuts Touring Exhibition "Modernism in American Silver" at its Renwick Gallery
"Modernism in American Silver: 20th-Century Design" opens at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum on Sept. 16 and runs through Jan. 22, 2006.
4/27/2005
Andrea Zittel Wins the 2005 Lucelia Artist Award
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today (April 27) that Andrea Zittel is the fifth annual winner of its Lucelia Artist Award, established by the museum in 2001 to encourage leading contemporary American artists.
2/11/2005
Smithsonian American Art Museum to Open "High Fiber" at its Renwick Gallery
"High Fiber" is on view at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum from March 11 through July 10.
1/28/2005
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Lucelia Artist Award Nominees for 2005
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today (Jan. 28) the nominees for the museum's 2005 Lucelia Artist Award. Nominated artists show a sustained commitment to distinctive work that challenges conventional thinking and expectations about the nature of art.
2004
10/28/2004
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Top Appointments at its Renwick Gallery
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has named Robyn Kennedy as the new chief of its Renwick Gallery and Jane Milosch as the new curator at its branch museum for crafts and decorative artsBoth began work earlier this month.
9/13/2004
Smithsonian American Art Museum Establishes the Clarice Smith Distinguished Lectures in American Art
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has established the Clarice Smith Distinguished Lectures in American Art that will begin this fall. The goal of these lectures is to present new insights in American art from the perspectives of the finest artists, critics and scholars. This annual series is made possible by the generosity of Clarice Smith.
7/16/2004
16th Annual Eldredge Prize Awarded to David M. Lubin for His Exploration of Popular Images of John F. Kennedy
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has awarded the 2004 Charles C. Eldredge Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in American Art to David Lubin, Charlotte C. Weber Professor of art at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.
7/2/2004
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces 2004–2005 Fellowship Appointments
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announces the appointment of 11 new fellows for the 2004–2005 academic year session.
4/15/2004
Kara Walker Wins the 2004 Lucelia Artist Award
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today (April 15) that Kara Walker is the fourth annual winner of its Lucelia Artist Award, established by the museum in 2001 to encourage leading contemporary American artists.
3/29/2004
James F. Dicke II Elected Chair,
Samuel G. Rose Elected Vice-Chair of the Smithsonian American Art Museum Board of Commissioners
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announces the election of James F. Dicke II of New Bremen, Ohio, as chair, and Samuel G. Rose of Bethesda, Md., as vice-chair, of the museum's Board of Commissioners, effective immediately.
2/27/2004
Smithsonian American Art Museum Opens Installation of Treasured Paintings at Its Renwick Gallery
The Smithsonian American Art Museum today (Feb. 27) opens "Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum," an installation of some of its greatest paintings in the Grand Salon of its Renwick Gallery.
2/6/2004
Smithsonian American Art Museum Launches National Tour of "George Catlin and His Indian Gallery"
The exhibition "George Catlin and His Indian Gallery" will travel to four cities across the United States to celebrate the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
2/6/2004
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Lucelia Artist Award Nominees for 2004
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today, Feb. 6, the 14 artists nominated for the museum's 2004 Lucelia Artist Award. This award is part of the museum's continued commitment to contemporary art and artists through awards and acquisitions.
1/22/2004
Renwick Gallery Presents the Imaginative Designs of Studio Furniture Artists in "Right at Home: American Studio Furniture"
From elegant and streamlined to bright and bold, the designs in "Right at Home: American Studio Furniture" highlight the originality, craftsmanship and personalities of studio furniture artists.
1/22/2004
Lectures, Family Days and Demonstrations Enhance Spring Studio Furniture Exhibition
A wide variety of free public programs are planned at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in conjunction with "Right at Home: American Studio Furniture."
2003
10/9/2003
Award-Winning George Catlin Web Site is a Key Resource for Lewis and Clark Bicentennial
The Web site "Campfire Stories with George Catlin: An Encounter of Two Cultures" serves as an interdisciplinary resource for teachers celebrating the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the historic journey by explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.
9/22/2003
Smithsonian American Art Museum Names Eleanor Jones Harvey New Chief Curator
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today (Sept. 22) that Eleanor Jones Harvey is the museum's new chief curator.
9/19/2003
Smithsonian American Art Museum Acquires Significant Modern and Contemporary Works
The Smithsonian American Art Museum continues a major acquisitions campaign focused on modern and contemporary artists.
9/17/2003
Smithsonian American Art Museum Commemorates 200th Anniversary of the Death of Robert Emmet, Irish Patriot
The Smithsonian American Art Museum celebrates the completed restoration of "Robert Emmet" (1916), a recently cleaned bronze sculpture of the Irish patriot by Jerome Stanley Connor (1876–1943).
9/3/2003
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces 2003–04 Fellowship Appointments
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announces the appointment of 11 new fellows for the 2003–2004 academic year session.
9/3/2003
15th Annual Eldredge Prize Awarded for Examination of Censorship in 20th-Century American Art
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has awarded the 2003 Charles C. Eldredge Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in American Art to Richard Meyer, associate professor of art history at the University of Southern California.
8/26/2003
Smithsonian American Art Museum Expands National Audience with "Treasures to Go" Tour
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today (Aug. 26) that record numbers of Americans attended the exhibitions that formed "Treasures to Go," the most extensive tour ever organized by an art museum.
8/14/2003
Diverse Public Programs including Lectures, Family Days and Demonstrations Enhance Fall Jewelry Exhibitions at the Renwick
A wide variety of free public programs are planned at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in conjunction with two fall exhibitions highlighting the craft of jewelry making.
7/11/2003
Catlin Web Site and Book Win Awards
"Campfire Stories with George Catlin: An Encounter of Two Cultures," a Web site created by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, has won two distinguished awards.
6/6/2003
Renwick Gallery Presents "Jewels & Gems," A Dazzling Display of American Studio Jewelry
The individualistic and groundbreaking jewelry designs in "Jewels & Gems" highlight the spirit, wit and ingenuity of American studio jewelry artists.
6/6/2003
Renwick Gallery Presents Retrospective of Metalsmith Robert Ebendorf's Pioneering Career
"The Jewelry of Robert Ebendorf: A Retrospective of Forty Years," a traveling exhibition on view this fall at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, traces the evolution of this inventive, dedicated and prolific artist.
5/14/2003
Award-Winning Shakespeare Company Performs at the Renwick Gallery
Museumgoers are being offered an exciting opportunity to enjoy live professional theatre at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in conjunction with the exhibition "Light Screens: The Leaded Glass of Frank Lloyd Wright."
4/4/2003
Rirkrit Tiravanija 2003 Lucelia Artist Award Winner
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today (April 4) that Rirkrit Tiravanija is the third annual winner of the Lucelia Artist Award, established by the museum in 2001 to encourage leading contemporary American artists. This award is part of the museum's commitment to contemporary art and artists through awards and acquisitions.
3/28/2003
Smithsonian American Art Museum Launches National Tour of Highlights from the Collection—Five Exhibitions Will Visit 30 Cities
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is sending hundreds of rarely seen artworks on the road to communities across the United States. "Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum" features five thematic exhibitions, each based on a major aspect of the museum's permanent collection.
3/18/2003
Touring Exhibition Highlights Early American Quilts
"Calico & Chintz" is one of five exhibitions featuring the museum's collections that is touring the nation through 2005. Twenty-two rare pieced and whole-cloth quilts made before 1850 in America from European fabrics demonstrate early America's embrace of vivid color, rich pattern and exuberant beauty.
3/6/2003
"Masters of Their Craft: Highlights of the Smithsonian American Art Museum" Celebrates the American Creative Spirit
"Masters of Their Craft: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum" includes artworks in clay, fiber, glass, metal and wood that testify to a renaissance in American studio crafts. Imaginative conceptions and technical mastery combine in dazzling works by such masters as Dale Chihuly, Albert Paley, Beatrice Wood and Judy McKie.
3/5/2003
Touring Exhibition Explores the American Landscape Through Photography
"Land Through a Lens: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum" traces America's fascination with the land and the way artists have transformed it into symbols and signature images through works by early and modern giants of photography such as Timothy O'Sullivan, Ansel Adams and William Christenberry.
3/5/2003
"Graphic Masters" Reveals Rare Drawings from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
"Graphic Masters: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum" includes works from the 1860s through the 1990s that celebrate the extraordinary variety and accomplishment of American artists' works on paper including watercolors, pastels and drawings by such greats as Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, Stuart Davis and Wayne Thiebaud.
2/28/2003
Touring Exhibition Celebrates African American Art
"African American Masters: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum" features 61 works by artists such as Richmond Barthé, Romare Bearden, William H. Johnson and Gordon Parks among others. The artworks in this exhibition reveal a special awareness of "being Black," and the inspiration provided by historical events, political issues, spirituality, music and folklore.
1/24/2003
Free Public Programs including Lectures, Family Days and Demonstrations Accompany "Light Screens: The Leaded Glass of Frank Lloyd Wright"
A wide variety of public programs are planned in conjunction with the new exhibition "Light Screens: The Leaded Glass of Frank Lloyd Wright," on view from March 14 through July 20, at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
1/7/2003
Renwick Gallery Presents Innovative Stained Glass Windows in "Light Screens: The Leaded Glass of Frank Lloyd Wright"
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) is famous for his innovative architecture; less well known are his designs for decorative windows. "Light Screens: The Leaded Glass of Frank Lloyd Wright," looks at 48 stained glass windows by this icon of American architecture.
2002
11/4/2002
Smithsonian American Art Museum Acquires Irma Starr Commemorative Plate Celebrating Renwick's 30th Anniversary
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has acquired "The Renwick 30th Anniversary Plate," 2002, by Irma Starr. This ceramic plate, crafted using 17th-century English slipware pottery techniques, is a special piece presented to the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum through the generosity of patrons and supporters of Starr.
10/7/2002
Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery Hosts Ulali, a Native American A Cappella Group
On Sunday, Oct. 27, from noon to 2 p.m., the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery will host Ulali as part of a free Native American Music Series.
8/30/2002
Free Public Programs including Lectures, Music and Craft Demonstrations Accompany "George Catlin and His Indian Gallery"
A wide variety of exciting public programs are planned in conjunction with the new exhibition, "George Catlin and His Indian Gallery."
8/2002
George Catlin in the Classroom — Smithsonian American Art Museum Launches Education Web Site
"Campfire Stories with George Catlin: An Encounter of Two Cultures" is a richly layered educational Web site that is available for the 2002—2003 academic year as a resource for teachers and students, grades 5—12.
7/17/2002
Smithsonian American Art Museum Opens "George Catlin and His Indian Gallery"
A Unique Record of 19th-Century American Indian Culture
The exhibition "George Catlin and His Indian Gallery," on view Sept. 6 through Jan. 20, 2003, celebrates a crown jewel in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection—the nearly complete surviving set of Catlin's first Indian Gallery painted in the 1830s.
7/16/2002
American Art on the Road This Summer
"Treasures to Go" to Visit a Museum Near You
As Americans begin a busy summer travel season, so does the Smithsonian American Art Museum, as it continues its successful run of "Treasures to Go," the most extensive art tour ever.
6/18/2002
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Fellowship Appointments
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announces the appointment of 16 new fellows for the 2002/2003 session.
6/18/2002
14th Annual Eldredge Prize Awarded for New Study of San Francisco's Chinatown
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has awarded the 2002 Charles C. Eldredge Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in American Art to Anthony W. Lee, associate professor of art history at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass.
6/10/2002
Smithsonian American Art Museum Acquires Major Puryear Sculpture and Print Series
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has purchased "Bower" (1980) by Martin Puryear.
5/17/2002
Four Contemporary Artists in the Spotlight
at the Renwick Gallery's Invitational
The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum pays tribute to the work of four contemporary artists in "The Renwick Invitational: Four Discoveries in Craft."
4/29/2002
Smithsonian American Art Museum Acquires Important Nadelman Sculpture
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has acquired "Dancer (High Kicker)," from about 1918–1919, by Elie Nadelman (1882–1946). This painted cherry wood and gesso sculpture is a partial and promised gift of Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan of Washington, D.C.
4/9/2002
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Lucelia Artist Award Winner for 2002
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today that Liz Larner is the second annual winner of the Lucelia Artist Award.
3/12/2002
Smithsonian American Art Museum Acquires Major Contemporary Works
The Smithsonian American Art Museum continues a major acquisitions campaign focused on modern and contemporary artists.
2/11/2002
The Renwick Gallery Explores Wood Turning, One of America's Most Popular Crafts
The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum celebrates the variety and beauty of wood turning, one of the most popular craft art techniques today, in "Wood Turning since 1930."
2/11/2002
Renwick Gallery Celebrates Anniversaries with a New Permanent Collection Installation
The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum celebrates the museum's 30th anniversary—as well as the 20th anniversary of its support group, the James Renwick Alliance (JRA)—with a new installation of its permanent collection.
1/1/2002
Smithsonian American Art Museum Launches Virtual Field Trips
The Smithsonian American Art Museum today (Nov. 1) launches free virtual field trips for school children across the country. Museum docents will lead the field trips via online sessions and videoconferences, engaging students in grades K through 12 in the study of American history and culture by exploring the museum's extensive holdings of American art.
2001
10/17/2001
Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery Staff Paint "Wall of Expression" to Commemorate Sept. 11
In response to the tragedies of September 11, staff from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery are painting a "Wall of Expression" on F Street N.W., using art as a tool for healing.
10/12/2001
Personal Appearance by Sam Maloof at Renwick Gallery Rescheduled to Dec. 1 and 2
The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum has rescheduled a personal appearance by world-renowned woodworker Sam Maloof.
9/26/2001
13th Annual Eldredge Prize Awarded for Pioneering Look at Joseph Cornell and the Cinema
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has awarded the 2001 Charles C. Eldredge Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in American Art to Dr. Jodi Hauptman, assistant professor in the department of art history at the University of Delaware.
9/6/2001
First Lady Laura Bush Visits Smithsonian American Art Museum Exhibition "Arte Latino" in Chicago
Today First Lady Laura Bush invited Marta Sahagún de Fox, First Lady of Mexico, and other dignitaries to preview "Arte Latino: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum" where they met a number of the artists whose work is featured in the exhibition.
August 10, 2001
Renwick Gallery Presents First Ever Retrospective of Sam Maloof's Celebrated Furniture
The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum presents the first full-scale exhibition dedicated to the furniture of world-renowned woodworker Sam Maloof from Sept. 14, 2001 through Jan. 20, 2002.
August 10, 2001
Free Public Programs Complement "The Furniture of Sam Maloof"
The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum has exciting public programs planned to complement "The Furniture of Sam Maloof," the first major retrospective honoring the world-famous designer-craftsman.
August 10, 2001
Smithsonian American Art Museum Completes Souvenir Book Set for Extensive Art Tour
With the release of four new souvenir books, the Smithsonian American Art Museum has completed an eight-book set to complement its "Treasures to Go" tour. "Treasures to Go" is perhaps the most extensive art tour ever, with eight traveling exhibitions crisscrossing the nation through 2002.
July 11, 2001
Smithsonian American Art Museum Acquires Major Works by Modern Masters
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today (July 11) the purchase of two major works by postwar artists—"Sollie 17" (1979–1980), a mixed media construction by Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz, and a monumental painting by Alfred Jensen, titled "Honor Pythagoras, Per I—Per VI" (1964).
June 29, 2001
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces First Lady Laura Bush as Honorary Patron of "Arte Latino"
The Smithsonian American Art Museum today (June 29) announced that First Lady Laura Bush will serve as honorary patron of the traveling exhibition "Arte Latino: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum."
May 22, 2001
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Lucelia Artist Award Winner for 2001
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today that Jorge Pardo is the inaugural winner of the Lucelia Artist Award, established by the museum earlier this year to encourage leading contemporary American artists.
March 27, 2001
Smithsonian American Art Museum Participates in First Ever Collaborative International Virtual Exhibition
"Panoramas: The Landscape in North American Art," the first international art collaboration for the Web, sponsored by the United States, Canadian and Mexican governments, will be launched April 3, 2001.
March 7, 2001
Smithsonian American Art Museum Receives $10 Million Gift
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today that it has received a $10 million gift from Nan Tucker McEvoy of San Francisco, Calif., as a part of the ambitious renovation of the Old Patent Office Building. The Patent Office Building, expected to reopen in 2004, is home to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.
February 28, 2001
Two Craft Pieces Highlight Renwick Gallery's New Acquisitions
"Bureau of Bureaucracy," Kim Schmahmann's monumental cabinet sculpture that explores both the positive and negative aspects of bureaucracy, and "Pair of Prickly Pears," Jon Eric Riis' tapestries that create a play on words about pairs found in nature, highlight recent acquisitions of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery.
February 23, 2001
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Lucelia Artist Award
The Smithsonian American Art Museum today (Feb.23) announced the establishment of the Lucelia Artist Award, an annual prize to be awarded to a leading contemporary American artist.
February 14, 2001
Renwick Gallery Showcases Recently Acquired Ceramics in "USA Clay"
"USA Clay," on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery from March 9 through July 15, follows "Glass! Glorious Glass!" (1999) in an exhibition series that focuses on a specific medium in the expanding craft collection of the museum.
February 8, 2001
"Game Fish" Artist Larry Fuente to Speak at the Renwick Gallery
California artist Larry Fuente, whose mixed media piece "Game Fish" (1988) has become an icon of the permanent collection at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, visits the museum on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. to discuss his work.
February 3, 2001
Smithsonian American Art Museum Expands Virtual Audience
The Smithsonian American Art Museum's Web site AmericanArt.si.edu, which recently received a number of awards, is engaging record numbers of visitors on the Internet through online exhibitions, learning tools and interactive experiences for adults and children alike.
January 24, 2001
Smithsonian American Art Museum Receives $10 Million Gift from Luce Foundation
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced today (Jan. 24) that the Henry Luce Foundation has made a $10 million gift to establish the Luce Foundation Center for American Art.
2000
December 28, 2000
Winners of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's New Media/New Century Award Announced
New technology artists Cindy Bernard, Russet Lederman and Patrick Lichty are winners of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's New Media/New Century Award to create art for the Web.
October 27, 2000
New Name—Smithsonian American Art Museum—Approved
President Bill Clinton today (Oct.27) signed into law a bill renaming the museum possessing one of the nation's first art collections as the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
October 5, 2000
Renwick Gallery Features Portraits by Contemporary Artist Liza Lou
"Star-Spangled Presidents: Portraits by Liza Lou" opens Nov. 18, 2000 at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and remains on view through President's Day, Feb. 19, 2001. The museum presents this installation to complement the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History's new permanent exhibition "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden."
September 28, 2000
Smithsonian American Art Museum Publishes Four New Souvenir Books to Coincide with Most Extensive Art Tour Ever
In celebration of "Treasures To Go"—a nationally circulating tour of eight exhibitions from its permanent collection—the Smithsonian American Art Museum has released the first four in a series of eight souvenir books.
September 5, 2000
Smithsonian American Art Museum Reaches Milestone in Ongoing "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" Project
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has reached a milestone in the first stage of its ongoing "Save Outdoor Sculpture!" project with the creation of the most comprehensive database of American sculpture available to the public.
September 1, 2000
Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery Features Amish Quilts
Opening October 6 and continuing through January 21, 2001 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery, "Amish Quilts from the Collection of Faith and Stephen Brown" explores the value of the quilt within the Amish community, as well as the infinite variation on traditional patterns in Amish quiltmaking.
September 1, 2000
Quilts Celebrating African American Spirit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery
Saluting the work of the Women of Color Quilters Network, the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery will host "Spirits of the Cloth: Contemporary Quilts by African American Artists" from Oct. 6 to Jan. 21, 2001.
August 15, 2000
New Media/New Century Award Established for Online Landscape Project
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announces the establishment of the New Media/New Century Award in support of new art created for the Web. This award is made possible by Dominion, an energy company headquartered in Richmond, Va., as part of an ongoing partnership with the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
August 11, 2000
12th Annual Eldredge Prize Awarded for New Interpretation of Early Modern American Art
Dr. Wanda M. Corn, Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor in art history at Stanford University, has been awarded the 2000 Charles C. Eldredge Prize for Distinguished Scholarship in American Art by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
July 31, 2000
Smithsonian American Art Museum Video Wins First Prize at MUSE Awards
"The Art of Craft: Wood," a video created by the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and VideoArt Productions, won first prize in the "Films and Videos about Art" category at the American Association of Museum's MUSE Awards on May 15th.
July 24, 2000
Smithsonian American Art Museum Announces Fellowship Appointments
The Smithsonian American Art Museum announces the appointment of twelve new fellows for the 2000/2001 session. The museum's program, established in 1970, grants awards for scholars and students to pursue research at the museum, including senior, postdoctoral and predoctoral fellowships, as well as 10-week graduate student awards.
May 17, 2000
Smithsonian American Art Museum Unveils Refurbished
Renwick Gallery Grand Salon;
Monumental Thomas Moran Landscapes Among 170 Works on View
The Grand Salon of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery reopens to the public on June 3, after a six-month period of refurbishment. Custom-made draperies, a state-of-the art lighting system, and gilding of frieze elements are among the components that re-create the elegant setting of a 19th-century collector's picture gallery.
March 9, 2000
Illusionistic Furniture of John Cederquist
Opens March 31 at Renwick Gallery
A selection of thirteen works made during the last two decades by pre-eminent furniture artist John Cederquist is featured in a new exhibition at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. "The Art of John Cederquist: Reality of Illusion" opens March 31 and continues through Aug. 20.
March 9, 2000
Renwick Gallery Inaugurates Biennial Exhibition Series
"The Renwick Invitational: Five Women in Craft," the first in a new biennial exhibition series introducing the work of exceptional artists established in their respective craft fields, yet worthy of greater recognition, opens March 31 and continues through Aug. 20 at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
February 23, 2000
Ferdinand T. (Terry) Stent Elected Chair,
Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan Elected Vice-Chair of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum Board of Commissioners
The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution has confirmed the election of Ferdinand T. (Terry) Stent of Atlanta, Ga., as chair, and Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan of Washington, D.C., as vice-chair, of the Smithsonian American Art Museum Board of Commissioners, effective immediately.
1999
September 15,1999
Five New Pieces Add to the Renwick Gallery's
Burgeoning Collection of Craft
Five works by Sandra Enterline, Craig Nutt, June Schwarcz, Eddie Dominguez and Mark Matthews are new additions to the Renwick Gallery's collection of preeminent craft. Each newly acquired piece confirms the Renwick's dedication to exploring craft's latest aesthetic and functional achievements.
August 6, 1999
Smithsonian's American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery Announce Upcoming Renovation
A major renovation of the Old Patent Office Building in Washington, D.C., historic home of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and the American Art Museum, and centerpiece of the revitalized downtown district, is scheduled to begin in early January 2000 and proceed for approximately three years. The last day for visitors to American Art will be January 3, 2000; the last day at the Portrait Gallery will be January 9, 2000.
August 4, 1999
"Edward Hopper: The Watercolors"
On View October 22, 1999–January 3, 2000
The first major exhibition in forty years of the watercolors of Edward Hopper (1882–1967) will premiere at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum on
July 30, 1999
11th Annual Eldredge Prize Awarded for New Interpretation of 1960s American Art
Dr. Caroline Jones, assistant professor of contemporary art and criticism at Boston University, has been awarded the 1999 Charles C. Eldredge Prize by the Smithsonian's American Art Museum. She is recognized for her recent book Machine in the Studio: Constructing the Postwar American Artist (University of Chicago Press, 1997), an outstanding example of scholarship which reinterprets the cultural climate of the 1960s American art scene.
July 26, 1999
Over 500 "Treasures to Go" to 70 Museums Nationwide: Museum Visibility Campaign Accompanies Tour
In January the Smithsonian American Art Museum is launching what is perhaps the most ambitious art tour ever, sharing with the American people over 500 of its finest treasures at more than 70 museums. "Treasures to Go" will feature eight thematic exhibitions of paintings and sculptures. These shows will make stops from early 2000 through 2002 from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Oregon, from Miami to Dallas to Los Angeles. The breadth of the itinerary reflects a determination to bring the finest works of American art directly to the American people.
July 21, 1999
Renwick Gallery Showcases "Glass! Glorious Glass!"
"Glass! Glorious Glass!," on view September 24, 1999–January 30, 2000 at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery, features work by forty-one master artists pushing the boundaries of glass as a medium for artistic expression.
April 20, 1999
First Retrospective in Thirty Years Celebrates
Abbott Handerson Thayer
Tipper Gore, Wife of the Vice President, Is Honorary Patron
"Abbott Thayer: The Nature of Art," a major exhibition celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), opens April 23 at the Smithsonian's Museum of American Art. The exhibition—the first in thirty years to examine the work of this prominent and highly influential figure in American art, famous for his images of angels and his eccentric personality—runs through September 6.
March 24, 1999
Picturing Old New England: Image and Memory
"Picturing Old New England: Image and Memory, a groundbreaking exhibition that explores images of the New England past, will be on view April 2 through August 22 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian Institution. The exhibition features 173 paintings, sculptures, prints, photographs, and illustrated books made from 1865 to 1945 and major works by such artists as Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam, John Singer Sargent, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Maurice Prendergast, George Bellows, Marsden Hartley, Edward Hopper, Maxfield Parrish, and Norman Rockwell.
March 1, 1999
Renwick Gallery Is Exclusive East-Coast Venue for Dominic Di Mare Retrospective
Dominic Di Mare, an original voice among America's contemporary craft artists, is featured in a retrospective exhibition at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art from March 19 through July 25, 1999. The show assembles more than forty works created between 1963 and 1997.
March 1, 1999
Renwick Gallery Examines Mount Lebanon Community in "Shaker: Furnishings for the Simple Life"
"Shaker: Furnishings for the Simple Life," an exhibition featuring furniture and decorative arts from Mount Lebanon, the first and most prominent Shaker community, will be on view March 19 through July 25, 1999, at the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
January 8, 1999
National Museum of American Art Debuts New Web Site
The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian Institution, announces the debut of its new web site at www.nmaa.si.edu. First launched in 1995, the award-winning Smithsonian American Art Museum web site has been fully redesigned to accommodate the museum's continuing growth as a major presence in online research and education.
For Further Information
In addition to press releases, Smithsonian American Art Museum's Office of Public Affairs often provides press kits, press previews and access to museum officials for interviews in conjunction with museum exhibitions and programs. For further information, please contact the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Public Affairs Office at AmericanArtinfo(at)si.edu or call (202) 633-8530.
