Eye Level

Eye Level is the blog of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery. Publishing behind-the-scenes museum stories since 2005.

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  Museum: A Tale of Art, Life, and Everything In Between

  A funny thing happened on the way to the museum...

Saying Goodbye to Artworks by David Best, Ginny Ruffner, and Michael Sherrill

Last chance to see three exhibitions at SAAM's Renwick Gallery is January 5, 2020

Exhibitions

Craft and Decorative Arts

The Lost Kusamas

Discovering four watercolors by Yayoi Kusama in SAAM's Joseph Cornell Study Center

New Acquisitions

Beyond the Studio Workshop with Rock Paper Plant

The founders of Rock Paper Plant, Alicia Mazzara and Cielo Contreras, explain how their business got its roots in this interview before their upcoming Beyond the Studio Workshop.

Luce Foundation Center

Luce Unplugged: Five Questions for Washington Social Club

The Luce Foundation Center's interview with the recently reunited indie-rock band, Washington Social Club, in advance of their Luce Unplugged performance on December 5, 2019.

Luce Foundation Center

Five Question Interviews

We Look to Art

SAAM's director, Stephanie Stebich, looks to art as a way to elevate stories of our shared humanity

From the Director

Behind the Screens: Chiura Obata

Chiura Obata: American Modern contains some of the artist's rarely seen folded screens.

Exhibitions

Behind-the-Scenes

Take Five! Duke Pearson and Blue Note Records

A closer look at Duke Pearson’s role in creating the "Blue Note sound."

Programs

Meet the Director: Street Heroines' Alexandra Henry

Learn more about the documentary that celebrates the vision and tenacity of women street artists.

Programs

Representation Matters: Bringing Women’s Stories Into the Classroom Through American Art and Portraiture

A collaboration between SAAM and NPG illuminates the lives and works of women artists in our collections.

Education

Black and Latinx Art Activism in Los Angeles, 1968-1984

A closer look at Black and Latinx art spaces and activism in L.A.

Five Question Interviews

Consider This Maverick of the Aesthetic Movement

Smithsonian Provost John Davis takes a closer look at the painter Maria Oakey Dewing, who described herself as a "garden-thirsty soul."

Back in Bacne

Lauren Kalman's challenging work is meant to get under our skin.

Craft and Decorative Arts

The Puck Stops Here: David Levinthal's Hockey Photographs

Giving America's favorite pastime a run for its money

Exhibitions

The Aftermath of Hurricane María

A closer look at the rich and trans-historical Puerto Rican artworks in the museum.

Curator's Travel Journal

David Levinthal's Modern Romance Photographs

David Levinthal's photographs shine a light on the darkness of film noir.

Exhibitions

How Arthur Jafa Created a Contemporary Guernica

The curator of time-based media examines the importance of a powerful work that speaks to our times...and times past.

Burning Man: Through the Fire

Nearly one ton of hand-written tablets collected at the Renwick Gallery were burned at Burning Man earlier in the month.

Exhibitions

Take 5! Shook and Russo

It's all about the bass: Musician Amy Shook on influences, her quartet, and women in jazz.

Programs

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