Eye Level

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

A Brush with History: Good Hair Advice Is Never Out of Style

Three years ago we imagined the letters of nineteenth-century portrait sitters to Jonathan Van Ness, star of the Netflix’s series Queer Eye. With so many of us looking for advice about how to tame our unmanageable pandemic hair, we thought we’d take another look.

Pride

Luce Foundation Center

Howard on July 20, 2021

Into the Community: A New Exhibition Explores a Changing American Neighborhood

A close exploration of a resilient community through the lens of three women photographers

Exhibitions

Rebekah on July 16, 2021

Raising a Glass to Change

SAAM’s third floor galleries for modern and contemporary art are closed to the public temporarily beginning Monday, July 12 to make way for new artworks and new stories.

Behind-the-Scenes

Katie on July 12, 2021

Using Science to Uncover Secrets of Alma Thomas

Conservators at SAAM uncover new aspects of the influential artist’s work

Conservation

Amber Kerr and Sydney Nikolaus on July 8, 2021

Lessons Learned from Alexander von Humboldt

Senior Curator Eleanor Jones Harvey takes readers behind the scenes of an exhibition’s 17-month run

Exhibitions

Behind-the-Scenes

Eleanor on July 7, 2021

Making the Most: In the Studio with Carolyn Crump

The artist focused on health and happiness, for herself and others, during the pandemic.

Making the Most - Craft Practice during the Dual Pandemics

New Acquisitions

Mary on July 2, 2021

Laura Aguilar Photographs in Focus: Latina Lesbians

Claudia Zapata, curatorial assistant for Latinx art, shares their insights on a series of photographs by Laura Aguilar recently acquired by SAAM

Pride

New Acquisitions

Claudia on June 30, 2021

Romaine Brooks: Clothes Make the Wo(man)

Romaine Brooks declaring who she is in her 1923 work, Self-Portrait, is ultimately a transgressive act for a LGBTQ+ person.

Pride

Geoffrey on June 29, 2021

Chicanx Graphic Arts in Focus: La Curandera

Artist Carmen Lomas Garza’s scenes from everyday life honor borderland culture and create community

Chicano Graphics

Exhibitions

Rebekah on June 25, 2021

Podcast Release: Music and Conversation with Singer, Actor, Painter, and Emcee Wes Felton

Wes Felton reminisces about his father, jazz legend Hilton Felton, and lets us in on how to freestyle like a pro.

Luce Foundation Center

Five Question Interviews

Anne on June 25, 2021

Nancy Grossman and the Art of Unlearning

Twisting Column Figure represents the freedom that comes once we commit to unlearning and undoing restrictions, from society and from ourselves.

Pride

Nathaniel Phillips on June 22, 2021

Father's Day Flashbacks: Creating a Connection through Sports

Take the father figure in your life on an online tour of sports in SAAM’s collection

Rebekah on June 17, 2021

Chicanx Queer Visions: Fighting for Change and Exploring Identity

Artists in ¡Printing the Revolution! explore pressing issues of the LGBTQ+ community

Chicano Graphics

Exhibitions

Pride

New Acquisitions

Claudia on June 16, 2021

Sculpting Pride: Timothy Horn’s artworks delve into the human and natural worlds

Learn more about the artwork and evolving career of Timothy Horn, feature artist in Forces of Nature: Renwick Invitational 2020

Pride

Craft and Decorative Arts

Ashley on June 15, 2021

What Does a Gay Bar Look Like?

Bernard Perlin’s The Bar makes us reflect on the spaces we’ve carved out as our own.

Pride

Andrew Rondinone on June 10, 2021

Chicanx Graphic Arts in Focus: Manifestaciones

Explore Dominican York Proyecto GRAFICA, a New York art collective inspired by Chicano print centers

Chicano Graphics

Exhibitions

Rebekah on June 8, 2021

Making the Most: In the Studio with Kit Paulson

Kit Paulson is currently a resident artist at the Penland School of Craft in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. She makes intricate and whimsical glassworks that embody histories of ornamentation, material culture, and natural history. SAAM is acquiring her work, Lungs.

Making the Most - Craft Practice during the Dual Pandemics

New Acquisitions

Mary on June 4, 2021

Discoveries from the Collection: Honoring Sacrifice this Memorial Day with U.S. Military Cemetery Historian

Discover how a partnership between SAAM and the American Battle Monuments Commission commemorates the honor, service and sacrifice of America’s fallen in wars abroad.

Education

Ashley on May 28, 2021