Lighting Techniques in the Smithsonian American Art Museum 

Time-lapse video showing lighting techniques used to light the gilded age galleries on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. By turning on lights one at a time, this video demonstrates how track lighting fixtures reveal the museum's art and architecture. The video shows how the lighting is built in layers: the first layer is a series of floodlights illumining the walls; next is a series of spotlights revealing the special qualities inherent in each artwork. The video concludes with a demonstration of how a series of lights are used in combination to illuminate a monumental sculpture with multiple narrow beam spotlights. The lighting equipment used in this gallery were: PAR30 halogen floodlights and PAR36 incandescent narrow beam spotlights. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a leader in transitioning from these incandescent technologies to LED lighting.