Summer Reading

Enjoy your beach repose with this illustrated book from our traveling show Scenes of American Life: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Scenes of American Life showcases more than fifty artworks that capture the drama of the first half of the twentieth century, from the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression to the country's new confidence after World War II.

Farms and factories, jazz and street life, and workers and families come to life in works by artists Marvin Beerbohm, Ralston Crawford, and Thomas Hart Benton. William Glackens and Agnes Tait frame American recreation at parks and beaches, while O. Louis Guglielmi portrays the hardship of Depression. Together, the works symbolize the true strength of the nation.

Order this full-color, softcover book online and enliven your beach blanket dreams!

Pictured: Cover of Scenes of American Life: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.