Smithsonian American Art Museum
Can you believe April is just around the corner? Personally, I'm not sure where March went. As you may know we opened a wildly popular exhibition, The Art of Video Games, two weeks ago and I'm not going to lie: things got a bit crazy around here. Now that we've recovered, though, I'm getting back to all of the other great things on my desk. Things like spring programs and happenings at the museum's Renwick Gallery. It struck me that in just over a month we'll be closing Something of Splendor: Decorative Arts from the White House, and I want to encourage you all to stop in and see the stunning display of Presidential decor--a visual history of the nation's foremost home and its residents. My personal favorites are the quirky creature-adorned dishes from Rutherford B. Hayes' State China Service. But maybe you prefer Daniel Webster's sofa, acquired by Jacqueline Kennedy, or the coverlet Grace Coolidge made for the Lincoln bed? You can see all of this and more if you stop in over lunch or attend any of the programs you see below. The Renwick is just a hop, skip, and a jump from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street, and our daily hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. And bonus: you don't need a note from your Congressman to see us.
 
Mandy
Public Affairs Associate

 

 

 

 Upcoming Free Programs:

  

 

The Red Room
  
April 1 | Art in the White House
Distinguished art historian Bill Kloss, a member of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, looks at the paintings and sculpture of the White House in relation to its decorative arts collection. Talk begins at 2 p.m. 

 
 
April 5 | Baseball and the Presidency
From Ike to JFK, U.S. Presidents have taken interest in the national pastime. Baseball historian and enthusiast Mel Marmer shares stories about our nation's leaders on and off the diamond. Talk begins at noon.
 

  
Card Table, about 1800
April 6 | Something of Splendor Gallery Talk
Melissa Naulin, assistant curator of the White House, shares insight into a selection of works in the exhibition pertaining to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's role in the historic preservation of the White House. Talk begins at noon.
 


 
All programs free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
Need more information?
Visit our online calendar or e-mail us at [email protected].
 
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IMAGES | The President's House, Overmantel, about 1824, watercolor on plaster, by Rufus Porter, Gift of the White House Historical Association, 1992, photo courtesy White House Historical Association  Card Table, about 1800, mahogany, Baltimore, MD, Gift of Mrs. Fred T. Couper, 1961, photo courtesy White House Historical Association | Morris Kantor, Baseball at Night, 1934, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Smithsonian American Art Museum 

8th & F Streets NW

Washington, D.C. 20004

 

Renwick Gallery

Pennsylvania Ave at 17th Street NW

Washington, D.C. 20006

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