Lectures on American Art

Annie Leibovitz's State of the Union

February 7, 2012

Annie Leibovitz, Plano, Illinois, 2011. © Annie Leibovitz, 2011 On Tuesday, January 24, a couple of hours before the President delivered his address to Congress, Annie Leibovitz presented her own state of the union to a sold-out audience at American...

Mousetrap 101: Patents and Innovation with Collector Alan Rothschild

December 13, 2011

Mousetrap, 1870, John O. Kopas (Inventor), George W. Bauer (Inventor), mixed media, 10 x 8 1/2 x 9 in. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Alan and Ann Rothschild, 2011.37.15 The American Art Museum is no stranger to invention. The...

Internet Pioneers and the Fathers of Invention

November 17, 2011

Friends from way back: Steve Crocker, right, was Vinton Cerf's Best Man at his wedding. Judging by the conversation between Internet gurus Steve Crocker and Vinton Cerf, the world as we know it began about fifty years ago. That's when...

Julie Mehretu on "Grey"

November 9, 2011

Julie Mehretu's Local Calm New York-based artist, Julie Mehretu, was the third and final speaker in this year's Clarice Smith Distinguished Lectures in American Art. Her work uses layers of architectural images--stadiums, airports, ruins both contemporary and ancient--and repurposes them...

Elizabeth Peyton: A Passion for Beauty

October 18, 2011

Elizabeth Peyton - Photo by Bruce Guthrie "I think my work is more capable of articulating my thoughts and feelings than I'm willing to say. I'm going to let the work speak for itself," Elizabeth Peyton said at the beginning...