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: Letters to Jonathan Van Ness
We imagine the letters of 19th-century sitters to Jonathan Van Ness, star of the Netflix series, Queer Eye.
Get Your Game On: SAAM Arcade 2018
Congratulations are in order! We’re so excited to announce that we’ve selected fifteen incredible independent games to showcase at this year’s SAAM Arcade!
Trevor Paglen: Sites Unseen Now Open
Installing Trevor Paglen's Prototype for a Nonfunctional Satellite in the exhibition Trevor Paglen: Sites Unseen.
Ten Million Patents...and Counting
SAAM is honoring the Patent Office's issuing of its 10 millionth patent on June 19, 2018, with a look at patents in our own collection.
Sites Unseen: Trevor Paglen’s Retrospective at SAAM
"Trevor Paglen: Sites Unseen," is as sanguine as it is surreptitious, inviting viewers to question the very essence of surveillance and to ask themselves whether a surreal sky or landscape can ever be just that.
Movies at SAAM: Designing a Film
Summer movies at SAAM include Barry Lyndon; 2001: A Space Odyssey; and Taxi Driver.
Truth Is Beauty
“What would the world be like if women were truly safe?” This is the question Marco Cochrane challenges both male and female audiences to consider when viewing his sculpture "Truth is Beauty."
SAAM’s Docents Celebrate 50 Years of Artful Conversations
The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own corps of volunteer docents has an illustrious history of creating eye-opening experiences for visitors, and this year marks their 50th anniversary.
Paint the Town Red
The exterior of the Reynolds Center, home to SAAM and NPG, is being lit red in honor of the Washington Capitals, and the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Vinnie Ream's Sappho
On the artist Vinnie Ream, one of a handful of successful female sculptors in the 19th century, and her sculpture, Sappho, on view at SAAM.
Movies at SAAM: When Film Imitates Art
The Terrence Malick film, Days of Heaven, relies heavily on images inspired by artist Andrew Wyeth.
Flipping for the Art-O-Mat!
Do you remember the thrill of putting a quarter in a slot and getting a gumball? Now imagine pulling a lever and getting a piece of art! That’s what you can do in the Luce Foundation Center, at a vending machine called the Art-o-mat.
On Lava Thomas's Requiem for Charleston
The other day, my colleague, Libby, and I walked through the museum in search of an artwork we could talk about. And though each artwork has a story to tell, Lava Thomas's "Requiem for Charleston," the artist's response to the church massacre at Mother Emanuel in 2015, spoke the most to us, in a quietly powerful way (if such a thing is possible).
Luce Unplugged: Five Questions for Bat Fangs
On Thursday, April 26th, the Luce Foundation Center hosts another installment of Luce Unplugged from 6-8 p.m. Thursday shows, presented with D.C. Music Download, are a tribute to a Luce Center artwork selected by the performer. This installment of Luce Unplugged features DC rock duo, Bat Fangs, whose music recalls the rock icons of the 80s with their catchy lyrics and raucous guitar riffs.
The Renwick's (David) Best Temple
David Best creates temples for Burning Man that are made of recycled wood that are ritually burned at the end of the annual festival. In this video Best discusses the Temple he created for the Renwick Gallery’s Bettie Rubenstein Grand Salon, as a sacred space for people to reflect on loss.