At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

Virtually explore the Smithsonian American Art Museum with Smarthistory as your guide

Some background

videos + essays

Link to the Smithsonian American Art Museum's website

SAAM: Nam June Paik, Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, 1995
SAAM: Nam June Paik, Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, 1995

Take a trip across the U.S.A. with Nam June Paik's "Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, 1995."

Thomas Moran, <em>Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone</em>
Thomas Moran, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

The painting that inspired a National Park

Superman, World War II, and Japanese-American experience
Superman, World War II, and Japanese-American experience

Superman makes an appearance in what looks (at first sight) like a Japanese print.

Millard Sheets, <em>Tenement Flats</em>
Millard Sheets, Tenement Flats

Cats, gossip, and laundry — a view of Los Angeles during the Great Depression.

What’s in a map? Jaune Quick-To-See Smith’s <em>State Names</em>
What’s in a map? Jaune Quick-To-See Smith’s State Names

Thinking about our history in a different way helps us rethink our present. 

Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, <em>Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way</em>
Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way

Daniel Boone, Moses, and the western frontier: creating an American mythology

Nam June Paik, <em>Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii</em>
Nam June Paik, Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii

The “father of video art” argued that electronic communication, not transportation, unites the modern world.

Henry Ossawa Tanner, <em>Angels Appearing before the Shepherds</em>
Henry Ossawa Tanner, Angels Appearing before the Shepherds

Refusing to be known only for African-American genre pictures, Tanner was devoted to lush religious scenes.

Grafton Tyler Brown, <em>View of the Lower Falls, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone</em>
Grafton Tyler Brown, View of the Lower Falls, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

In order to capture the beauty of America’s national parks, Brown faced the prejudices of the lawless West.