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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What Domingo Ulloa's Braceros Means to Me

Local student Amaia Noursi responds to the painting, Braceros, by Domingo Ulloa, as part of SAAM's "Creating American Stories" program.

Education

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What Mark Bradford's Amendment #8 means to me

DC public school student Myles Bell, responds to Mark Bradford's painting, Amendment #8

Education

Artist Brendan Fernandes On the Dance Floor as a Space for Resistance and Resilience

Dancer/choreographer Brendan Fernandes talks about his work, including Free Fall 49, making its East Coast debut at SAAM on June 9.

Programs

David Levinthal: Toying with the Past?

Populated with toy cowboys and cavalry, Barbie dolls and baseball players, David Levinthal’s photographs reference iconic images and events that shaped postwar American society.

Exhibitions

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SAAM Hears America Singing

Walt Whitman, born in 1819, would be celebrating his two-hundredth birthday today, if such a thing were possible. Let us celebrate the poet with a round of American art from our collection.

Blog - Stephanie Stebich, We hear America Sing

From the Director: We Hear America Singing

SAAM's director, Stephanie Stebich, on our touring exhibitions, national programs, and museum initiatives.

From the Director

Wine and Sign at ASL After Five

The second ASL After Five happy hour event for the D.C. area’s Deaf community will take place on May 31, 2019

Education

Popping (Up) With Pride at SAAM

Saisha Grayson, curator of time-based media at SAAM, discusses the pop-up exhibition for the June 9 celebration of Pride.

Programs

Mom's the Word with artist Tyler Fuqua

A blog post in honor of Mother's Day, featuring Burning Man artist Tyler Fuqua and his mother talking about his work in "No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man."

Exhibitions

Craft and Decorative Arts

Artists Respond: Vietnam on Film

SAAM is presenting three films on the Vietnam War in honor of the exhibition, "Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965-1975."

Programs

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Nature is the Boss: Tony Bennett's Central Park

Painter Anthony Benedetto is better known as crooner Tony Bennett. His painting "Central Park" depicts the New York oasis in autumn.

Luce Foundation Center

Luce Unplugged: Five Questions for We Were Pirates

An interview with Mike Boggs of We Were Pirates, in advance of their Luce Unplugged appearance.

Luce Foundation Center

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Notre Dame

Senior Curator Eleanor Harvey describes the allure of Paris and Notre Dame on American artists beginning after the Civil War.

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Niagara by George Inness: Familiar and Strange

A closer look at the late-19th-century landscape of "Niagara" by George Inness.

Still from Julie Dash's Daughters of the Dust

Beyond Black Boxes and Gender Barriers: A Year of Time-Based Media at SAAM

Curator of Time-Based Media at SAAM talks about upcoming initiatives emphasizing women artists and LGBTQ+ perspectives.

Beyond the Studio with Simon Bull

Simon Bull, official artist of the 2019 National Cherry Blossom Festival, leads a "Beyond the Studio" workshop at the Luce Foundation Center.

Luce Foundation Center

American Art and the Vietnam War

Curator Melissa Ho reflects on what drew her to the subject matter for her upcoming exhibition exploring how American artists responded to the turbulence of the Vietnam War.

Exhibitions

Luce Unplugged: Five Questions for Jax Deluca

Luce Unplugged interviews Jax Deluca, performing as part of the Community Showcase on March 8, 2019.

Luce Foundation Center