SAAM Stories

It's part of my job at the Luce Center for American Art's information desk to explain the concept of the Center to visitors. But I can tell how eager they are to begin exploring when, midway through our conversation, their eyes begin to wander. If they happen to notice a particular case in the craft section, the next question I hear is frequently, "Are those quilts?"

In September, SAAM launched an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) titled Ghosts of a Chance. SAAM is the first museum to host an ARG, which is an immersive gaming experience that intentionally blurs the line between reality and fiction, inviting players to interact with the story using tools that are part of their everyday lives such as web sites, email, and cell phones.

The grand Renwick Gallery, which is part of SAAM, was built in the mid nineteenth century to house the art collection of Washington banker and philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran. From the beginning the Renwick was an important building, and Corcoran was a superstar mover and shaker in D.C.

A Brush with Georgia O'Keeffe is a play about the artist who is being celebrated—along with photographer Ansel Adams—in SAAM's current exhibition, Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities. Actress and playwright Natalie Mosco stars in the play she wrote about O'Keeffe and the important people in her life, most notably her husband, photographer and general mover and shaker, Alfred Stieglitz.

Lewis Nerman is a passionate collector of contemporary art. In 2007, he and his family opened the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas.

Not sure what you want to be for Halloween? Do you have visions of making your grand entrance only to find you're the third person at the party wearing a superhero or witch costume? If you're looking for inspiration, please visit us at the Luce Center!

When Lino Tagliapietra's wife had admired a Valentino couture gown some years back, he told her to forget about the dress: he'd make her something even better.

In January, Abbott Handerson Thayer’s Male Wood Duck in a Forest Pool is leaving the Luce Center to go out on loan for an exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art.

In honor of our recent exhibition Aaron Douglas: African American Modernist, the Lunder Conservation Center presented a behind-the-scenes look at the artist's Fisk murals.

As we celebrate National Cake Decorating Day on Friday, October 10 (people, check your calendars!), I can think of no greater tribute to the sugary art of confection than pausing to look at one of Wayne Thiebaud's own creations.

The market's up! The market's down! While the financial markets try to regain their footing, I decided to see how artists have portrayed Wall Street over the years, and came across this interesting lithograph by Arnold Ronnebeck.

Georgina Bath is the Interpretive Programs Manager for the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, our visible storage facility. Last month the Luce Foundation Center launched Ghosts of a Chance, a creative initiative that calls for audience participation on a grand scale.

Lino Tagliapietra in Retrospect: A Modern Renaissance in Glass opens tomorrow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery.

Eric Widing, head of the American Paintings and Sculpture Department for Christie's since 1998, kicked off the 2008 Collector's Roundtable series with his talk, "Buying at Auction," offering us a capsule of his years in the art business.

Mark Dion has been chosen as the 2008 winner of the Lucelia Artist Award, given annually by the Smithsonian American Art Museum to an artist younger than 50 who has shown outstanding creativity through an exceptional body of work.

What do Mickey Mouse, a lobster, and a football player all have in common? Give up? They can all be found in Lloyd G. Schermer’s An American Puzzle!

Georgina Bath is the Interpretive Programs Manager for the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, our visible storage facility. Earlier this month the Luce Foundation Center launched Ghosts of a Chance, a creative initiative that calls for audience participation on a grand scale. We asked her to fill us in on the latest.

Bill Viola kicked off the 2008 Clarice Smith Distinguished Lectures in American Art series last week to a full house at SAAM. His talk "Transfigurations" gave a behind-the-scenes look into the artist's Zen-influenced philosophy of art, life, technology, and death.