Luce Foundation Center

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Open daily, 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m.

The nation’s first collection of American art, an unparalleled record of the American experience.

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Renwick Gallery Stairwwell

Renwick Gallery

Open daily, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Located just feet from the White House, a branch of the museum that is home the nation's collection of contemporary craft and decorative art.

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How Do I Research My Art?

Want to learn more about the painting you found while clearing out the attic? For answers, be prepared for a little detective work.

How to Care for Your Collections

Regardless of the monetary value of your artwork, if it is personally meaningful, you should consider having the object conserved.

Recording a Changing Nation

This resource uses images from photographic surveys in 55 communities in 30 states across the United States as source documents to spark sustained inquiry.

Critical Thinking in Action

These 60-to-95-minute units pair thinking patterns with works of art to instill a thinking disposition transferable across classroom curriculum and into the wider world.

Director’s Circle

A national membership group of museum friends who share a love of American art and craft and our commitment to celebrating the extraordinary creativity of our nation’s artists.

A membership group for young professionals who are interested in immersing themselves in the American art experience.

Leaf Vessel

Media - 2021.48.4 - SAAM-2021.48.4_1 - 143076

Media - 2021.48.4 - SAAM-2021.48.4_2 - 143077

Media - 2021.48.4 - SAAM-2021.48.4_3 - 143078

Copied Kay Sekimachi, Leaf Vessel, ca. 2012, big-leaf maple leaf, kozo paper, watercolor, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2021.48.4

Artwork Details

Title: Leaf Vessel
Artist: Kay Sekimachi
Date: ca. 2012
Location: Renwick Gallery
/
1st Floor
/
Room 103
Credit Line: Gift of Fleur S. Bresler
Mediums: watercolor
paper
leaves
kozo
Mediums Description: big-leaf maple leaf, kozo paper, watercolor
Keywords: Object — other — container
Object Number: 2021.48.4
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2021.48.4

Artwork Description

Leaf Vessel illuminates a sublime pattern of nature. Kay Sekimachi shaped big-leaf maple leaves into a delicate, blooming vessel. The base of the vessel is made from kozo (mulberry) paper cut into the shapes of oak leaves and molded into a rounded form. The artist has experimented with many unconventional materials, including monofilament (fishing line), hornets’ nests, shells, and antique Japanese paper, to create ethereal artworks.

This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022