National Portrait Gallery USA

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Join us this Thursday at the National Portrait Gallery to celebrate el Día de los Mu***os! 🎉⁣⁣From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., enj...
10/29/2023

Join us this Thursday at the National Portrait Gallery to celebrate el Día de los Mu***os! 🎉⁣

From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., enjoy: ⁣
💃🏽 Performances by Mariachi Imperial and DC Folklórico Dance Company⁣
💀 Crafts and activities including face painting and making papel picado⁣
🧡 A community altar (we encourage visitors to bring artworks, photos, and other offerings for la ofrenda!)⁣
🎥 A live projection on the outside of the museum created by artists MasPaz and Guache⁣

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3S5mzFi

Photos: © Matailong Du

***os ***os

A gifted pianist and singer who moved easily between jazz and the classics, Hazel Scott dazzled audiences with her witty...
10/28/2023

A gifted pianist and singer who moved easily between jazz and the classics, Hazel Scott dazzled audiences with her witty, daring, and sophisticated performances.⁣

Her prodigious talent was evident at an early age. At fifteen, she appeared as soloist with Count Basie and his orchestra in 1935. Just three years later, Scott made her Broadway debut. ⁣

In 1940, her Carnegie Hall performance of a "swing" version of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody created a sensation, delighting her fans and confounding the critics.⁣

From 1939 to 1945, Scott not only enjoyed star status as a nightclub performer in New York, but also appeared in several films and toured extensively. ⁣

A staunch proponent of equal rights, she maintained a professional contract enabling her to refuse to perform before racially segregated audiences.⁣

📸: "Hazel Scott" by James VanDerZee, 1936. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. © Donna Mussenden VanDerZee

This photograph of Pablo Picasso was taken in 1934 by Albert E. Gallatin, a noted art collector of his works. ⁣⁣Picasso ...
10/25/2023

This photograph of Pablo Picasso was taken in 1934 by Albert E. Gallatin, a noted art collector of his works. ⁣

Picasso was arguably the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Born in Spain in 1881, he became a central figure in the development of Cubism. ⁣

Although his work “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” (1907) was not publicly seen until 1937, it is considered the most revolutionary painting of his career and the true beginning of Cubism. ⁣

Surrealist artist Roland Penrose once declared that chiefly because of Picasso, “the conception of art as a powerful emotional medium, rather than a speech for the perfection of ideal forms of beauty, has become accepted among the artists of our time.” ⁣

📸: “Pablo Picasso” (detail) by Albert Eugene Gallatin, 1934. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Judith Esterow.

Kick your feet up and learn something new with Season 5 of our PORTRAITS podcast, out now!⁣⁣On the first episode of Seas...
10/24/2023

Kick your feet up and learn something new with Season 5 of our PORTRAITS podcast, out now!⁣

On the first episode of Season 5, “It Depends How You Frame It,” our director Kim Sajet explores how the frame around a portrait can add to its meaning with conservator Bill Adair and artist Ruth Buentello. ⁣

🎧 Listen wherever you find your podcasts or at npg.si.edu/podcasts

Born   in 1906, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel in a record time of fourteen h...
10/23/2023

Born in 1906, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel in a record time of fourteen hours and thirty-one minutes.⁣⁣
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She beat the record by two hours, despite swimming an extra four miles across the 21 mile channel. ⁣

When she paused occasionally to accept nourishment, concerned observers asked her if she wanted to come out. She responded, “What for?”⁣⁣ 🏊🏻‍♀️
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During a time when women were not taken seriously as athletes, Ederle proved critics wrong.⁣⁣

📸: "Gertrude Ederle" by Underwood & Underwood, 1925. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

This is the last weekend to visit the "Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees" exhibition!⁣⁣ 🏛️⭐️⁣⁣⁣⁣This exhibition includ...
10/21/2023

This is the last weekend to visit the "Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees" exhibition!⁣⁣ 🏛️⭐️⁣
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This exhibition includes seven portraits of individuals who have made transformative contributions to the U.S. and its people, including:⁣⁣⁣
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– Venus Williams, 23 Grand Slam champion and entrepreneur ⁣⁣⁣
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– Serena Williams, fellow tennis champion and pay equity activist⁣⁣⁣
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– Ava DuVernay, Academy Award–nominated and Peabody Award– winning filmmaker⁣⁣⁣

– José Andrés, chef and humanitarian⁣
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– Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, leading public health expert⁣⁣⁣
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– Clive Davis, a Grammy Award–winning music executive and philanthropist⁣⁣⁣
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– Marian Wright Edelman, attorney and children's rights activist⁣⁣⁣

Visit through this Sunday, October 22 at the National Portrait Gallery from 11:30 a.m. - 7 p.m. Learn more: https://s.si.edu/3OfO5h6

Now Open: "Forces of Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism"⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣This exhibition presents key people—scientists,...
10/20/2023

Now Open: "Forces of Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism"⁣⁣⁣⁣
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This exhibition presents key people—scientists, politicians, activists, writers and artists—whose work has influenced attitudes toward the environment in the U.S. from the late 19th century until today. ⁣⁣⁣⁣
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This exhibition features more than 25 people who have made an enduring impact on public perceptions of the natural world. ⁣Pictured here is marine biologist and ocean conservationist Julie Packard.
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This exhibition is on view until September 2, 2024. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3M9mw7n

🖼: "Julie Packard" (detail) by Hope Gangloff, 2019. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Funded by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Board of Trustees. ⁣ ⁣⁣

10/17/2023

Real Stories, Real People 🎧 Season 5 of the PORTRAITS podcast is beginning on Oct. 24!⁣

Hosted by the Portrait Gallery’s director, Kim Sajet, this season will cover a wide range of topics including artificial intelligence and art fraud.⁣

“Whether we’re discussing frames and fakes, monuments and movies, advertising or AI, the past impacts how we look at our present and future. Our hope is that you will learn more about portraits where no one is as innocent as they appear, and nothing is as simple as it seems.” – Kim Sajet. ⁣

Listen to the full trailer wherever you find your podcasts or on our website: npg.si.edu/podcasts

Noah Webster was a man of many words. Seventy thousand to be exact. His dictionary, “the American Dictionary of the Engl...
10/16/2023

Noah Webster was a man of many words. Seventy thousand to be exact. His dictionary, “the American Dictionary of the English Language” (1928) lives on today as the Merriam-Webster dictionary. ⁣

This dictionary surpassed Samuel Johnson’s groundbreaking “Dictionary of the English Language” (1755). With thirty-thousand more entries, Webster’s dictionary documented words, idioms, and pronunciations that were unique to English in the United States, like the word “skunk.” 🦨⁣

Webster also standardized the simplified spellings that still differentiate American English from British English. He is the reason we say “color” not “colour,” “center” not “centre,” and “gray” not “grey.” ⁣

Born in 1758, Webster grew up alongside the Revolutionary War. He considered the founding of the United States an opportunity for reinvention. ⁣

“Now is the time and this the country in which we may expect success in attempting changes to language, science, and government,” he wrote in 1789. “Let us then seize the present moment and establish a national language as well as a national government.”⁣

🖼: “Noah Webster” by James Herring, 1833. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of William A. Ellis.


In 1978, Mexican American actor Edward James Olmos got his big break in the role of El Pachuco, the narrator in the musi...
10/15/2023

In 1978, Mexican American actor Edward James Olmos got his big break in the role of El Pachuco, the narrator in the musical Zoot Suit. ⁣

The musical, created by Luis Valdez, was based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder in 1942 and the subsequent riots between Euro-American servicemen and Mexican American youths. When the play moved to Broadway a year later, Olmos’s electrifying performance earned him a Tony nomination and a role in the film version of the play. ⁣⁣
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After joining the cast of Miami Vice, he became a household name in the 1980s. He delivered an award-winning performance as Lieutenant Martin Castillo in the TV series. ⁣⁣
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This was followed by an Academy Award nomination for his down-to-earth portrayal of high school math teacher Jaime Escalante in “Stand and Deliver” (1988). The movie depicted how Escalante lead a group of Hispanic students to pass a rigorous Advanced Placement exam.⁣⁣
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On the wake of the film’s success, Olmos, who is also an activist, lectured nationally on the need for educational reforms in Latino schools.⁣⁣

📸: “Edward James Olmos” (detail) by George Rodríguez, 1980. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. ©1992 George Rodríguez. This acquisition was made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.

Here's to Friday the 13th! 🦇 Stephen King is an expert in the art of the spooky story. ⁣⁣King turned to writing after co...
10/13/2023

Here's to Friday the 13th! 🦇 Stephen King is an expert in the art of the spooky story. ⁣⁣King turned to writing after college. His mastery of narrative and suspense allowed to him thrive in the Gothic genre. ⁣⁣
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Over his career, he has sold more than 350 million copies of his books, including classics like:⁣⁣
⁣– 🎈 "It" (1986) ⁣
– 🏨 "The Shining"(1977)⁣
– 🪩 "Carrie" (1974)⁣
– 🧛🏻‍♀️ "Salem's Lot" (1975) ⁣

This portrait of the acclaimed author was painted by Gottfried Helnwein for an Oct. 6, 1986 issue of magazine. King had just released his latest book, "It."⁣

The cover story, by Stefan Kanfer, read: "In his new novel, It, Stephen proves once again that he is the indisputable King of horror, a demon fabulist who raises gooseflesh for fun and profit."⁣

Do you have a favorite Stephen King novel?⁣

🖼: "Stephen King" by Gottfried Helnwein, 1986. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Time magazine. © Gottfried Helnwein
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A luminous beauty, Grace Kelly’s film career spanned just six years.⁣She made her film debut in 1951 with a minor role i...
10/12/2023

A luminous beauty, Grace Kelly’s film career spanned just six years.

She made her film debut in 1951 with a minor role in the film “Fourteen Hours.” However, it was her performance opposite Gary Cooper in “High Noon” (1952) that garnered wide notice. ⁣

In 1954, Kelly starred in two of Alfred Hitchcock’s thrillers, “Dial M for Murder” and “Rear Window.” She was awarded the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Georgie Elgin in the drama, “The Country Girl” (1954). ⁣

She scored additional hits with “To Catch a Thief” (1955) and the musical “High Society” (1956) before ending her Hollywood career to marry Monaco’s Prince Rainier in April 1956.

This photograph was taken three year before their marriage, which was one of the most thoroughly covered news events of the 1950s.⁣

Princess Grace lived in Monaco until her death in an automobile accident—said to be at the spot on the Riviera where the picnic scene from the movie “To Catch a Thief” was filmed.⁣

📸: “Grace Kelly” by Mark Shaw, 1953. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. © The Mark Shaw Photographic Archive.

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Cuban American actor Andy García began landing film roles in the early 1980s. During that time, though, he was often cas...
10/11/2023

Cuban American actor Andy García began landing film roles in the early 1980s. During that time, though, he was often cast to play criminals. He soon grew weary of typecasting and pushed for better representation of Latinos in the entertainment industry. ⁣

To that end, he acted in the award-winning film, “Stand and Deliver” (1988). The film tells the true story of the Bolivian American math teacher Jaime Escalante (1930–2010), who leads a group of Hispanic students to pass a rigorous Advanced Placement exam. ⁣

Two years later, García claimed Hollywood star status after playing Vincent Mancini in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather: Part III” (1990). For his performance, he received an Academy Award nomination.⁣
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📸: "Andy García" (detail) by Alexis Rodríguez-Duarte, 1995 (printed 2016). Styled by Tico Torres. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. This acquisition was made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. © Alexis Rodríguez-Duarte ⁣

Russell Means agreed to sit for this portrait by artist Bob Coronado as long as the portrait conveyed that “Indians are ...
10/09/2023

Russell Means agreed to sit for this portrait by artist Bob Coronado as long as the portrait conveyed that “Indians are not the idea of old Hollywood westerns or to be thought of as ‘in the past’ but a people very much of today, and with a rich history.” ⁣

Born on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, Russell Means was Oglala Lakota Sioux. In 1968, he became an activist and joined the American Indian Movement (AIM), who fought for Native sovereignty.⁣

Five years later, he became the organization’s spokesperson during AIM’s armed occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Wounded Knee was the site of the infamous nineteenth-Century massacre of the Sioux. The siege lasted seventy-one days, as AIM called on the federal government to honor broken treaties. ⁣

In this painting, the artist and Means decided to include the upside-down U.S. flag. It is a sign used by the Navy as a symbol of distress and one that AIM often displayed during protests.⁣

⁣🖼️: “Russell Means” (detail) by Bob Coronado, 2012. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. © 2009 Bob Coronato

Cuban poet and thinker José Martí was imprisoned at seventeen years old for publishing “La patria libre” (The free homel...
10/07/2023

Cuban poet and thinker José Martí was imprisoned at seventeen years old for publishing “La patria libre” (The free homeland). At the time, Cuba was under Spanish colonial rule and this newspaper supported the Ten Years’ War.

Martí used the written word to advance his anticolonial ideas. After being exiled, he spent fifteen years in New York City. There, he established the Partido Revolucionario Cubano (Cuban Revolutionary Party) in 1892.

Martí called for a final “Necessary War” against Spain to liberate Cuba and combat the legacy of slavery: racial inequality. He aspired to create “a republic for all.” Martí died in battle in May 1895 during Cuba’s third War of Independence (1895–98).

🖼: “Portrait of José Martí” by Miguel Díaz Salinero, 1942. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Fernandez; Photo: Daniella Piantini.

Nicknamed “La alondra de la frontera” (the lark of the border), Lydia Mendoza was an icon of Tejano music.⁣ 🎶⭐️⁣Mendoza ...
10/04/2023

Nicknamed “La alondra de la frontera” (the lark of the border), Lydia Mendoza was an icon of Tejano music.⁣ 🎶⭐️

Mendoza recorded her first album at just twelve years old with her family’s Cuarteto Carta Blanca. After moving to San Antonio, Texas in the early 1930s, they performed in restaurants and plazas.

Soon, Mendoza was discovered by the radio show “Voz Latina.” In 1934, she recorded her first solo hit with the song “Mal Hombre” (Evil Man). ⁣

She delighted packed theaters in Mexico, Cuba, and Colombia with her twelve-string guitar and mezzo-soprano voice throughout the 1940’s and ‘50s. ⁣

Her rich, heartfelt sound reverberated for decades throughout the Americas and she continued performing until the late 1980s. ⁣

🖼: “La Reina Tejana” by Ester Hernández, 2005. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
© 2005 Ester Hernández

10/03/2023

Artist Devon Rodriguez creating a portrait of our director, Kim Sajet! ✏️

Do you want to see your artwork at the National Portrait Gallery? The Call for Entries is now open for the 2025 Outwin B...
10/02/2023

Do you want to see your artwork at the National Portrait Gallery? The Call for Entries is now open for the 2025 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Submissions close on January 26, 2024.

Submit your artwork for consideration at portraitcompetition.si.edu.

Selected artworks will comprise “The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today” exhibition to premiere at the National Portrait Gallery before touring across the U.S.

The first prize winner will be given $25,000 plus a commision to create a portrait for the National Portrait Gallery's collection. The second and third prize winners will receive $10,000 and $7,500, respectively.

Maurice Sendak wrote and illustrated "Where the Wild Things Are" in 1963. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣The beloved children's book was highly...
10/01/2023

Maurice Sendak wrote and illustrated "Where the Wild Things Are" in 1963. ⁣⁣⁣⁣
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The beloved children's book was highly original, combining elements of the grotesque with a largely upbeat story line.⁣⁣⁣ 📖🌴⁣
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As a child, Sendak grew up in a household scarred by the loss of family members to the Holocaust. He was a sickly boy who sought comfort in books and took pleasure in drawing from an early age.⁣⁣⁣⁣
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He was awarded the coveted Caldecott Medal for his superb illustrations in "Where the Wild Things Are." ⁣⁣
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Sendak went on to produce other well-received children’s titles, including "Higglety Pigglety Pop! Or There Must Be More to Life" (1967) and "In the Night Kitchen" (1970).⁣⁣⁣

In this portrait, Maurice Sendak poses with his dog, Herman. ⁣

📸: "Maurice Sendak" by Mariana R. Cook, 2005 (printed 2012). National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. © Mariana R. Cook
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In the event of a government shutdown on Oct. 1, Smithsonian museums, research centers and the National Zoo will remain ...
09/29/2023

In the event of a government shutdown on Oct. 1, Smithsonian museums, research centers and the National Zoo will remain OPEN through at least Oct. 7. ⁣⁣The Smithsonian can use prior-year funds still available to us to remain open. ⁣⁣

Visit si.edu for updates. ⁣⁣
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Photo: © Tony Powell, 2019.⁣

Having run away from home as a teenager, Jean-Michel Basquiat supported himself initially by selling homemade postcards ...
09/28/2023

Having run away from home as a teenager, Jean-Michel Basquiat supported himself initially by selling homemade postcards and sweatshirts on the street. ⁣He emerged as an underground celebrity in 1978, when he and a friend began spray-painting cryptic social messages and the tag SAMO (short for "Same Old S**t") all over Lower Manhattan. ⁣

Working in a graffiti style, he moved into producing artworks that combined expressively drawn elements like figures and skulls with incisive words and phrases. Soon, he was exhibiting at major galleries and museums and collaborating with Andy Warhol.

As a Black and Latino man in a predominantly white art scene, he found himself increasingly caught between a desire for fame and a fear of being exploited by that world. ⁣During his prolific yet short-lived career, Basquiat became a leading figure in the 1980s art world.⁣

📸: "Jean-Michel Basquiat" by Dmitri Kasterine, 1986. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Acquired through the generosity of Norman and Beverly Cox in honor of their daughter Cara. © Dmitri Kasterine

09/26/2023

Calling all artists! Starting on October 2 you can submit a portrait to our seventh triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.⁣

The first-prize winner will receive $25,000 and a commission to portray a remarkable living American for the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. ⁣

Selected artworks will be featured in “The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today” exhibition at the Portrait Gallery.⁣

⭐️ For more information, visit portraitcompetition.si.edu

09/23/2023

José Hernández reached the final 100 contestants three times before finally being selected for NASA’s astronaut program in 2004. Since then, he has spent 13 days, 20 hours, and 54 minutes in space.

The son of migrant farm workers from Mexico, Hernández grew up along what he calls the “California Circuit,” picking produce between March and December. Watching the Apollo 17 mission on TV in 1972 sparked his childhood interest in space.

After earning a master’s degree in electrical engineering, Hernández developed the first full-field digital mammography system for the early detection of breast cancer. Then, in 2009, he was sent on a NASA mission, tasked with helping to complete construction of the International Space Station. There, he sent the first Spanish-language tweet from space.

Before his tweet in Spanish, he shared some thoughts in English: “Settling in and realizing my dream… Micro G is great. Finished setting up the computers and ready for bed! Don’t need pillow!”

Celebrate by following our National Museum of the American Latino



📷 : “José Moreno Hernández” by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, National Portrait Gallery USA; gift of Catherine and Ingrid Pino Duran, 2011.

Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith premiered as the “Charlie’s Angels”   in 1976.Aired on ABC-TV, the show c...
09/22/2023

Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith premiered as the “Charlie’s Angels” in 1976.

Aired on ABC-TV, the show chronicled the adventures of the crime-fighting trio:
✨ Jill Munroe (played by Fawcett),
✨ Sabrina Duncan (played by Jackson)
✨ Kelly Garrett (played by Smith)

This photograph by Douglas Kirkland was taken for magazine’s November 22, 1976 issue. The title of their story was “TV’s Super Women: Charlie’s Angels.”

The cover story was released exactly two months after the show’s premiere. The show ran for five years but Jaclyn Smith was the only actress to stay with the franchise for its entirety.

📸: “Charlie’s Angels” by Douglas Kirkland, 1976. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Time magazine. © Douglas Kirkland

🎵 Do you remember the 21st night of September?⁣⁣💕 Love was changin' the minds of pretenders⁣⁣🌥️ While chasin' the clouds...
09/21/2023

🎵 Do you remember the 21st night of September?⁣⁣
💕 Love was changin' the minds of pretenders⁣⁣
🌥️ While chasin' the clouds away⁣⁣
🔔 Our hearts were ringin' ⁣⁣
🎙️ In the key that our souls were singin'⁣⁣
🕺 As we danced in the night, remember⁣⁣
🌟 How the stars stole the night away⁣⁣
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Earth, Wind & Fire, with chart-topping hits like "September," sold more than ninety million albums worldwide. ⁣

Under the leadership of founder and principal singer Maurice White, the band developed a lush, horn-driven sound. ⁣Their music fused elements of jazz, funk, R&B, and gospel. ⁣⁣

In 2000, they secured their place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.⁣

Commissioned to create a portrait of Earth, Wind & Fire in 1978, photographer Bruce Talamon wanted to represent the band’s members as superheroes. ⁣

📸: "Earth, Wind & Fire" by Bruce W. Talamon, 1978. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Acquired through the generosity of Randi Charno Levine. © Bruce W. Talamon.

Eleven seconds flat. That is all the time it took for Wilma Rudolph to streak to victory in the 100-meter sprint and cla...
09/20/2023

Eleven seconds flat. That is all the time it took for Wilma Rudolph to streak to victory in the 100-meter sprint and claim Olympic gold at the 1960 Summer Games in Rome. ⁣

The twenty-year-old sprinter, known as “Skeeter,” had overcome tremendous odds to reach the pinnacle in her sport. ⁣As a child, Rudolph endured a series of illnesses that left her with a partially paralyzed leg. After a brace, an orthopedic shoe, and years of therapy, she not only regained full use of her leg but emerged as a lightning-fast runner.⁣

She delivered stellar performances at the Summer Games in Rome. She won first place in the 100- and 200-meter sprints and the 400-meter relay.⁣ These achievements made her the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field events in a single Olympics. 🥇

When she later refused to participate in a segregated victory celebration in Clarksville, Tennessee, the festivity became that town’s first integrated function.⁣

📸: “Wilma Rudolph” (detail) by George Silk, 1960. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. © George Silk / The LIFE Picture Collection / Shutterstock

09/19/2023

Chita Rivera has been sparkling for 90 years. ✨
A three-time Tony Award Recipient, Rivera was born in Washington, D.C., to a Puerto Rican father who played the clarinet and saxophone for the United States Navy Band.

Rivera is best known for originating roles in multiple Broadway shows, such as Anita in “West Side Story” (1957), Rosie in “Bye Bye Birdie” (1960) and Velma in “Chicago” (1975). In this 1984 photo, Rivera is dressed as her villainous character, The Queen, from the musical “Merlin,” for which she nominated for a Tony in 1983.

Rivera is one of ten Puerto Ricans to be presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the first Latino artist to receive a Kennedy Center Honor.

Follow our National Museum of the American Latino this for more.

📷 : "Chita Rivera" by ADÁL, 1984. National Portrait Gallery USA, Smithsonian Institution. ©1984 Adál

This acquisition was made possible through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center.

Actress, producer, and director America Ferrera was born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents. Early in her career, she ga...
09/17/2023

Actress, producer, and director America Ferrera was born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents.

Early in her career, she garnered modest success with film roles in the Disney original “Gotta Kick It Up!” (2002) and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” (2005). Ferrera took on one of her most famous roles as Betty Suarez in the ABC comedy-drama “Ugly Betty” (2006–10).

She has received numerous accolades, including an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2007, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

📸: “America Ferrera” by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, 2011. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Catherine and Ingrid Pino Duran. © 2011 Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

We’re kicking off   with this portrait of Celia Cruz, aka “the Queen of Salsa.”⁣⁣Cruz was born in Cuba. In the 1950s, he...
09/15/2023

We’re kicking off with this portrait of Celia Cruz, aka “the Queen of Salsa.”⁣

Cruz was born in Cuba. In the 1950s, her dynamic performances, rich voice, and flamboyant attire brought her to the stage of Havana’s famed Tropicana nightclub. ⁣

In 1959, Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba. Cruz defected in 1961 and eventually settled in New York City. By the 1970s, as the new genre of salsa saturated the airwaves, Cruz reigned supreme. 👑💃🏽⁣

Her songs became a direct connection to Cuba for the thousands of exiles living in the United States and elsewhere in the world. As photographer Alexis Rodríguez-Duarte has noted, Cruz “brought [people] home again.”⁣

📸: “¡Yo soy de Cuba la Voz, Guantanamera!” by Alexis Rodríguez-Duarte, 1994 (printed 2016). Styled by Tico Torres. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. © 1994, Alexis Rodríguez-Duarte

This portrait of Chief Thundercloud from the Blackfoot Tribe is one of many pocket-sized portraits in the museum’s colle...
09/14/2023

This portrait of Chief Thundercloud from the Blackfoot Tribe is one of many pocket-sized portraits in the museum’s collection. Painted on ivory around 1901, this miniature portrait stands at just three inches tall. ⁣

Born in Canada, Chief Thundercloud was well-known as an artist’s model. He also toured with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show for a time. ⁣

The precise circumstances surrounding the creation of this work are unknown. However, Chief Thundercloud and artist Eulabee Dix likely crossed paths while they were both in New York. Chief Thundercloud was modeling there while Dix was finishing her studies at the Art Students League. ⁣

Dix was learning to paint on ivory at the time, and this vibrantly colored likeness was probably one of the first miniatures she completed in that medium.⁣

🖼: “Chief Thundercloud” by Eulabee Dix, c. 1901. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of the family of Philip Dix Becker. Conserved with funds from the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Kenturah Davis created this portrait of filmmaker Ava DuVernay using ink-dipped rubber letter stamps. ⁣⁣Together, each l...
09/12/2023

Kenturah Davis created this portrait of filmmaker Ava DuVernay using ink-dipped rubber letter stamps. ⁣

Together, each letter contained within the squares of this portrait spelled out a sentimental message from DuVernay’s father. ⁣

Davis often ties language and writing into her artistic process. She explains that “language and how we use it is fundamental to how we understand ourselves and the world around us… so I began this process of trying to make portraits by writing.” ⁣

Davis will discuss her unique artistic approach with the Portrait Gallery’s director of curatorial affairs, Rhea L. Combs, on September 17. ⁣

This conversation is in partnership with Arion Press, which is releasing a limited edition publication of Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” that features Davis’s artwork. ⁣

This event is free but registration is encouraged. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3P0NEpK

🖼: “AVA” (detail) by Kenturah Davis, oil stamp on kozo paper, 2022. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Acquired in part through the generosity of Agnes Gund.

This photograph of New York City television reporter Lou Young was taken after the attacks on the World Trade Center bui...
09/11/2023

This photograph of New York City television reporter Lou Young was taken after the attacks on the World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001. ⁣

Young stands at an intersection adjacent to the WTC site where the media congregated for their stand-up reports from the scene.⁣

Young, who worked for the CBS affiliate in the city, gathers himself as he prepares to go back on the air.⁣

His pose evokes a sense of resolution as well as the fatigue and incomprehension that encapsulated the national mood in the direct aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

📸 “Lou Young” (detail) by Frank Schramm, 2001. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Frank Schramm. © 2001 Frank Schramm

American boxer Joe Louis began his pro career in 1934 and quickly eliminated a series of opponents with his devastating ...
09/09/2023

American boxer Joe Louis began his pro career in 1934 and quickly eliminated a series of opponents with his devastating knockout punch. 💥🥊⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣
Widely expected to take the 1936 heavyweight title, Louis was stunned by his defeat at the hands of German champion Max Schmeling. ⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣
When he reentered the ring against Schmeling in 1938, far more was at stake than a world heavyweight crown. ⁣⁣⁣Schmeling came to the contest as Adolf Hitler’s champion of A***n supremacy while Louis, the first African American boxer to win the enthusiastic support of Black and white Americans alike, was embraced as democracy’s standard-bearer. ⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣
Louis struck like lightning when the fight began. Staggering Schmeling with a sequence of tremendous blows, Louis took only 124 seconds to claim one of the sweetest victories in boxing history. ⁣⁣⁣As reporter Heywood Broun rightly observed, Louis had “exploded the Nordic myth with a boxing glove.”⁣⁣⁣⁣

📸: “Joe Louis” by Underwood & Underwood, c. 1935. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

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I photographed 12 death row inmates in Texas - They are the definition of modern American Portraiture.
Works of faith, hope and love, www.faopal.hu 16million year-old wood, lamps crosses mode of opal, wood opal.
EQUIPOISE, pen & ink drawing by Steven E. Counsell, Black Swan Editions located in Santa Fe NM. https://blackswaneditions.com/product/equipoise-by-steven-e-counsell/
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I am extremely dismayed that you are now displaying a picture of ex-president Trump. This man deserves no respect in any fashion and your display attempts to normalize his treachery against the nation. He attempted to destroy our democracy by encouraging and help plan an insurrection on the capitol, and is still pushing his big lie about Biden's win. And, due to his incompetence, hubris, and lack of morality, he caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans from Covid-19. These are only two of the many transgressions he instigated against our nation. PLEASE, REMOVE HIS PICTURE!
Kim Sajet -- Here is another Unknown Abraham Lincoln image for you - show it to Ann, so she'll know what he looks like ! This makes my second unknown Lincoln !
Could you help me and my cousin identify this person. My cousin owns this portrait. We know this portrait was painted by Charles T. Webber in 1870 and that this women is from Ohio.
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In searching Family history, read an article about Bartholomew Gosnold, realizing you have him at the Smithsonian. They said, they believe it's him, needed DNA to comfirm.
My maternal side, is related to him, he's my first cousin 13 times removed. Sir Robert Gosnold III. is my 12th Great Grandfather.
Can my DNA confirm if it's him? Thank you all, for all the work you've done, to find him.
Looking forward, in hearing from you.
Virginia
How wonderful to be back in your space for a visit today. Everything is being handled perfectly for a safe museum visit. We had a wonderful time and will be back soon.
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