Smithsonian's Archives of American Art

06/12/2026

06/03/2026

Which historically costumed animal are you? Tag urself!

All Images:
Joseph James Burgess Jr. Animal sketches, undated. Anna Kang Burgess and Joseph James Burgess Jr. papers. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

06/02/2026

Mail art had meaning beyond creating networks. For q***r artists, sending collages, stamped correspondence, and other handmade materials through the mail became a way to share work more freely at a time when mainstream galleries weren’t as welcoming to their work.

Les Petites Bon-bons was a q***r artist collective that invited recipients of this booklet found in critic Lucy Lippard’s papers to “imagine a gay universe.” It was bold and campy, as seen in their use of bright pink construction paper and fruit stickers.

Artist Stacey Aspey's used stamps of male figures in a piece of correspondence art he sent to art critic Gregory Battcock.

This Pride Month, these q***r artists remind us that human connection can form through different mediums of art and a letter can go a long way.

🌈 See more Q***r Correspondence from our 2019 exhibition “Pushing the Envelope: Mail Art from the Archives of American Art” on our website: s.si.edu/4x4WMz4.

Images:
All, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
1–2. Les Petites Bon-bons. Les Petites Bons-bons mail art to Lucy Lippard, 197-. Lucy R. Lippard papers.
3–4. Stacey Aspey. Stacey Aspey mail art to Gregory Battcock, 1980. Gregory Battcock papers.

05/29/2026

Stepping into the bloom-filled, garden immersion of summer gets us in the mood for foraging! Be sure to verify your blooms are safe to eat before taking a bite 😉

Image:
Abril Lamarque with flower bud, 1969 June. Abril Lamarque papers. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

05/22/2026

Zarina Hashmi (1937–2020) was an artist active in New York City. Born in Aligarh, India, Hashmi studied mathematics before discovering printmaking and papermaking in the 1960s. She studied intaglio with Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17 in Paris and woodblock printing at Toshi Yoshida Studio in Tokyo. Through printmaking, drawing, and sculpture, Hashmi explores themes of geographical and social borders, migration, and home, often incorporating text in her native Urdu.

Hashmi’s papers include biographical materials, correspondence, diaries and lectures, notebooks with sketches and notes on projects, files for “Homes | Made” book project and others, printed materials, and photographs of Hashmi and artwork.

Visit our website to learn more about Zarina Hashmi: s.si.edu/4dEVh1u.

Images:
All, Zarina Hashmi papers. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
1. Photograph of Zarina and Saad Hashmi and others, 196-?.
2. Zarina Hashmi. Material from Unknown Project, undated.
3. Zarina Hashmi. Material from “10,000 Things” Project, circa 2009.
4. Zarina Hashmi. Material from Unknown Project, circa 2010.

05/21/2026

With the academic year drawing to a close, be sure to make time on your calendar to consult the Archives’ collections and submit your research to the Archives of American Art Journal! Learn more about the journal and our submission guidelines on our website: s.si.edu/3OElTor.

Image:
Bernarda Bryson Shaw. May 21-27 spread from appointment book, 1972. Bernarda Bryson Shahn papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

05/20/2026

The papers of Kaili Chun are now part of the collections of the Archives of American Art. While the archives stewards papers of many artists born or based in Hawai‘i, Chun’s collection marks the first of a Kanaka ‘Ōiwi artist. As Christina Ayson-Plank notes in an essay on the papers, “[r]esearchers can track the development of Chun’s career as an artist who seeks to transform physical spaces into environments that recall the history and genealogy of a place.”

Learn more about Kaili Chun and her papers on our blog: s.si.edu/4wEQPbQ.

Images:
Both, Kaili Chun Papers. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
1. Kaili Chun, sketch of her “Ua ‘eha ka ’ili i ka maka o ka ihe” installation for the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, February 1, 1997. Ink and graphite on paper.
2. Kaili Chun, sketch of “Pe’a” sail construction for the Kona Village Resort, Hawai‘i, ca. 2023. Ink and graphite on paper.

05/13/2026

Mark your calendars for the 2026 Archives of American Art Gala! On September 17, 2026, we will recognize three brilliant honorees for their groundbreaking contributions to American art and culture. Come celebrate why art matters.

05/12/2026

05/11/2026

We continue our celebration of Asian American Native Hawai‘ian Pacific Islander Heritage Month with California-based painter and educator Kenjilo Nanao.

Nanao was born in Aomori, Japan, and graduated with a degree in economics in 1953 from Nihon University before immigrating to the United States to study art in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kenjilo's primary artistic medium was lithography in which he became known for Surrealist minimal figurative compositions. Eventually he immersed himself in painting in an abstract expressionist style that became his main form of artistic production from the 1980s on. Nanao taught lithography and painting at California State University at Hayward and lectured at various other schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Learn more about Kenjilo Nanao and view the finding aid to his papers on our website: s.si.edu/4cB0Wq7.

Image Credits:
All, Kenjilo Nanao papers. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
1. Kenjilo Nanao. Paint Sketch from Sketchbook, circa 1988.
2. Photographs of Kenjilo Nanao, circa 1997.
3. Kenjilo Nanao. Paint Sketch from Sketchbook, circa 1980-2000.
4. Kenjilo Nanao. Paint Sketches from Sketchbook, circa 2009.
5. Kenjilo Nanao. Paint Sketch from Sketchbook, circa 1988.