SAAM Stories

A photograph of a mastodon fossil inside a building.
Conservation 04/29/2020
Mysteries of the First Mastodon
Conservator Ariel O'Connor unearths the mysteries behind Charles Willson Peale’s mastodon.
A photograph of a woman standing in an art gallery with busts behind her.
Ariel O'Connor
Objects Conservator
A watercolor image of a lake with mountains in the background.
Exhibitions 04/27/2020
Chiura Obata: Artist Interrupted
In our time of social distancing, Obata's handwritten notes have us thinking about how we communicate with one another, and how important a simple note can be.
A photograph of a woman.
Katie Hondorf
Public Affairs Specialist
A photograph of a man standing next to mastodon fossils
Exhibitions 04/24/2020
Hips Don't Lie: The American Incognitum
What's a mastodon doing at SAAM? Dr. Advait Mahesh Jukar, a Deep Time Fellow and Paleontologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, answers our questions.
Libby Weiler
IT Specialist - External Affairs and Digital Strategies
A photograph of a book open on a table.
04/23/2020
Designing for Humboldt: Five Questions with Karen Siatras
How a graphic designer at SAAM was inspired to incorporate Humboldt's ideas about nature into the exhibition catalogue
A photograph of a woman.
Katie Hondorf
Public Affairs Specialist
A painting of a mountain
Exhibitions 04/22/2020
A Brush with Nature: Alexander von Humboldt and Frederic Church
Humboldt’s ideas on art, nature, and philosophy helped to shape American artists, including the influential Hudson River school painters
A photograph of a woman.
Katie Hondorf
Public Affairs Specialist
A woman standing by a podium
Conservation 04/21/2020
Stemming the Tide: A Call to Climate Action for Cultural Heritage
Looking at climate change and cultural heritage worldwide as we honor the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
Amber Kerr
Craft supplies
Craft Making Activities 04/20/2020
Flower Exploration and Natural Dye Lab
Bring nature indoors in this easy-to-do craft inspired by explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt
An image of Gloria Kenyon.
Gloria Kenyon
Public Programs Coordinator
A recreation of a drypoint study of a dog by Jessie A. Walker.
04/06/2020
SAAM’s Best Friends: Animals in Art and at Home
Because at SAAM everything eventually comes back to American art, some of us have been inspired to model our sweet, sassy, bored, annoyed, sleepy, amusing pets after favorite artworks in our collection. We offer them as amusement and inspiration, and as evidence of the creativity and sense of humor we appreciate in each other.
Amy Fox
Social Media and Digital Content Specialist
A teenage boy packing backpacks
Education 04/03/2020
We’ve Got Your Back...Pack
How SAAM is helping students stay creative when they can’t visit the museum
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Carol Wilson
A photo of a woman in front of an artwork
Behind-the-Scenes 03/27/2020
The Art of the Teleconference
Transform your Zoom virtual background or computer desktop into a work of art
A photograph of Sara Snyder
Sara Snyder
Former Head of External Affairs & Digital Strategies
Media - 1962.4.17 - SAAM-1962.4.17_1 - 52538
Craft Making Activities 03/26/2020
Museum from Home: Crafting Edition
Instructions for an easy cherry blossom craft to make at home
An image of Gloria Kenyon.
Gloria Kenyon
Public Programs Coordinator
Media - 1987.59.2 - SAAM-1987.59.2_1 - 81745
From the Director 03/23/2020
The Art of Difficult Times
Director Stephanie Stebich reflects on connecting online with art, and with one another, during challenging times.
 Stephanie Stebich, Former Margaret and Terry Stent Direction in the museum's Lincoln Gallery. Photo by Gene Young. 
Stephanie Stebich
Former Director, Smithsonian American Art Museum
an image of a gallery at the Renwick featuring sculpture
Exhibitions 03/11/2020
The Writing on the Wall
Why Hearts of Our People exhibition labels have been translated into dozens of Native languages
Juline Chevalier
An image of conservators looking at a painting outside of Casa Ulanga, Puerto Rico
Conservation 03/06/2020
Shelter from the Storm: the Aftermath of Hurricane Maria
SAAM conservators help to preserve cultural heritage when natural disaster strikes.
Laura Hoffman
Lunder Conservation Center Program Manager
Still from Lizzie Borden's Born in Flames
03/04/2020
Creating Sparks: Five Questions with Lizzie Borden
The groundbreaking director of "Born in Flames" discusses about her work in advance of her talk at SAAM.
This is a photograph of curator Saisha Grayson
Saisha Grayson
Curator of Time-Based Media
Media - 2011.46 - SAAM-2011.46_1 - 76353
02/25/2020
Balance and Harmony: Radiant by Felrath Hines
Applying countless layers of color gives the artist's work depth and luminosity
Staff
An image of six women each with a hand filled with pink slime
Behind-the-Scenes 02/21/2020
Women's Films, All of Our Futures
Join us at SAAM for the second Women Filmmakers Festival March 6 and 7
This is a photograph of curator Saisha Grayson
Saisha Grayson
Curator of Time-Based Media
A colorful acrylic on canvas
02/14/2020
How Native Women Artists Guided the Creation of Hearts of Our People
The groundbreaking exhibition at the Renwick features more than 80 works from antiquity to the present
Teri Greeves