SAAM Staff

This post is part of an ongoing series on Eye Level: The Best of Ask Joan of Art. Question: I was visiting the Renwick Gallery's Grand Salon and wanted to know why the works were displayed so differently from the other gallery exhibits?

Laurel Fehrenbach, public programs assistant here at American Art, spoke with Doc Scantlin and Chou Chou from the Imperial Palm Orchestra about their upcoming performance at Take 5!

his post is part of an ongoing series on Eye Level: The Best of Ask Joan of Art. Begun in 1993. Question: I have noticed several statues such as Hiram Powers's Eve Tempted that appear to have holes bored in them. What caused the holes and why are they not repaired?

On October 23 the 21st Century Consort performs its first concert of its season at American Art. The concert is inspired by the museum's Norman Rockwell exhibition, Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

Last month the American Art Museum received a commendation for Art Signs OnLine from the international JODI Awards which recognize innovative uses of digital media to make museums, galleries, libraries, archives, and heritage venues more accessible to disabled people. Susan Nichols, Chief of Education at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, tells us about the genesis of the program.

For your own sketching epiphany sign up for our next Draw and Discover program. The workshop runs every Tuesday from 3-4:30pm in the Luce Foundation Center, third floor. Check the online calendar for special workshops like this one.

This post is part of an ongoing series on Eye Level: The Best of Ask Joan of Art. Question: How does one clean an oil painting from the 1930s covered with dust and nicotine stains?

Photographer Craig Thoburn, a big fan of Norman Rockwell, set up his own backdrop to make this wild Rockwell Saturday Evening Post homage to the artist. His brother was more than eager to pose. Here's what Thoburn said about Rockwell and our exhibition Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

Hayley Plack interned in American Art's External Affairs department during the summer. Before she left, she wrote this post about discovering her uncle's artwork in our collection.

This post is part of an ongoing series on Eye Level: The Best of Ask Joan of Art. Begun in 1993, Ask Joan of Art is the longest-running arts-based electronic reference service in the country. Question: When did artists begin to sign their works? I would assume there was no need to sign commissions intended for private use. Is there a certain genre of paintings that tends to include signatures?

Silent Orchestra will be performing a live score for the classic silent film Salomé on Saturday, August 7, at 3:00 p.m. Free tickets will be distributed in the G Street Lobby thirty minutes before the program begins.Allison Jessing, public programs coordinator for American Art and the National Portrait Gallery, spoke with orchestra members Carlos Garza and Rich O'Meara about their work.

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Steven Spielberg by filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau on August 6, 2008.

The following is an excerpt from an interview with George Lucas by Laurent Bouzereau, filmmaker, and Virginia Mecklenburg, senior curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, on September 12, 2008.

Where you off to this summer? We want to know and we've devised an art-related way you can show us where you've been. We've put together a set of artworks from our collection, depicting places around the country. Should you be going to any of these spots, take a photo and post it to our Flickr group: American Art Road Trip. The more the merrier.

Steven Spielberg tries his hand at being a shadow artist in front of Norman Rockwell's Shadow Artist.

Laurel Fehrenbach, public programs assistant here at American Art, spoke with Sergeant Kevin Burns from Airmen of Note. The jazz group will be performing Saturday, July 3 and Sunday, July 4, from 1 to 3 p.m. as part of our celebration for the opening of our exhibition, Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

This post is part of an ongoing series on Eye Level: The Best of Ask Joan of Art. Question: A friend told me about an exhibition she had seen a few years ago of small paintings of eyes. I can't find any information on these "eye" paintings. Have you heard of this genre? Where could I find out more about these works?

Hugh Shockey, one of American Art's conservators, recently returned from Haiti where he was helping to preserve some of the country's artworks after the recent earthquake there. Here is one of the reports he filed while he was there.

American Art's Mandy Young is receiving reports from our conservator, Hugh Shockey, who is in Haiti to help with the rehab of the country's artworks after the recent earthquake there.

This post is part of an ongoing series on Eye Level: The Best of Ask Joan of Art. Question: At the museum's Renwick Gallery, I saw a grandfather clock covered in a white cloth, but I can't remember the artist or title of this work.