Wealthy English scientist James Smithson (1765-1829), the illegitimate son of the duke of Northumberland, never explained why he willed his vast fortune to the United States, a country he had never visited. Speculation is that he felt the new nation, lacking established cultural institutions, most needed his bequest. Smithson died in Genoa, Italy, in 1829. Congress accepted his gift in 1836; 2 years later, half a million dollars' worth of gold sovereigns (a considerable sum in the 19th century) arrived at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. For the next 8 years, Congress debated the best possible use for these funds. Finally, in 1846, James Polk signed an act into law establishing the Smithsonian Institution and authorizing a board to receive "all objects of art and of foreign and curious research, and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens . . . for research and museum purposes."
Since then, private donations have swelled Smithson's original legacy many times over. Although the Smithsonian acquires approximately 70% of its yearly budget from congressional allocations, the institution depends quite heavily on these monies from private donors. Lately, the Smithsonian's pursuit of contributions has been criticized by people both within (some longtime Smithsonian curators and directors have resigned) and without the organization, who fear that donors are given too much say in curatorial matters, that important research is underfunded, and that the institution itself is being crassly commercialized as its new wings and exhibits open bearing the names of the companies and individuals who have paid for them. Stay tuned.
The Smithsonian's collection of nearly 141 million objects spans the entire world and all of its history, its peoples and animals (past and present), and our attempts to probe into the future. The sprawling institution comprises 14 museums (the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian this year brings that number to 15, with 10 of them on the Mall), as well as the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. (there are 2 additional museums in New York City). Still, the Smithsonian's collection is so vast that its museums display only about 1% or 2% of the collection's holdings at any given time. Its holdings, in every area of human interest, range from a 3.5-billion-year-old fossil to part of a 1902 Horn & Hardart Automat. Thousands of scientific expeditions sponsored by the Smithsonian have pushed into remote frontiers in the deserts, mountains, polar regions, and jungles.
To find out information about any of the Smithsonian museums, you call the same number: tel. 202/357-2700 or TTY 202/357-1729. The information specialists who answer are very professional and always helpful. The Smithsonian museums also share the same website, www.si.edu, which will help get you to their individual home pages.
Information, Please--If you want to know what's happening at any of the Smithsonian museums, just get on the phone. Dial-a-Museum (tel. 202/357-2020, or 202/633-9126 for Spanish), a recorded information line, lists daily activities and special events. For other information, call tel. 202/357-2700.
Museum Exhibits Scheduled for 2004--The following listing, though hardly comprehensive, is enough to give you an idea about upcoming or current exhibits at major Washington museums. Because schedules sometimes change, it's always a good idea to call ahead.
Anacostia Museum and Center for African-American History and Culture -- "In Their Own Words: African-American Slave Narratives" (Sep 14, 2003-Mar 7, 2004) presents a slave's perspective, drawing on the narratives of slaves, letters to and from their descendants, and folktales handed down through generations.
Arts and Industries Building -- "The Beatles! Backstage and Behind the Scenes" (Dec 1, 2003-Mar 31, 2004) showcases 70 black and white Life magazine and CBS photographs taken during the 1964 Beatles tour to the U.S., including their performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Corcoran Gallery of Art -- "W. Eugene Smith" (Jan 31 -Apr 12, 2004) is the first museum show in Washington, D.C., of Smith's photographs. The retrospective encompasses approximately 60 photographs drawn from the collection of the photographer's son, Kevin Smith.
Folger Shakespeare Library -- "Voices for Tolerance in an Age of Persecution" (June to mid-Oct 2004) draws on the library's collection of 16th and 17th century books, manuscripts, and art to highlight voices who argued for tolerance in early modern Europe.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden -- "Douglas Gordon" (Feb 12-May 9, 2004). This is a survey of works by the Scottish artist best known for his video installations using classic Hollywood films, like Psycho and Taxi Driver, as his subjects.
National Gallery of Art -- "Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya" (Apr 4-Jul 25, 2004) and "The Drawings Of Jim Dine" (Mar 21-Aug 29, 2004) are two exhibits overlapping at the gallery.
National Air and Space Museum -- "The Wright Brothers and The Invention of the Aerial Age" (Oct 11, 2003-TBD), celebrates the 100th anniversary of powered flight. The Wright brothers' 1903 Wright Flyer is displayed at street level, and the exhibit includes 250 photographs and 150 artifacts related to the lives of the brothers.
National Museum of Natural History -- "Baseball as America" (Apr 3-Aug 15, 2004) displays the treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the first time these objects have been shown outside their home in Cooperstown, NY.
National Postal Museum -- "The Art of the Stamp" (Jul 31, 2003-Feb 16, 2004) exhibits original artwork by more than 70 artists and designers, representing 40 years of illustration history.
Phillips Collection -- "The Paintings of Joan Mitchell" (Summer 2004, dates TBD). This retrospective features works by the renowned Abstract Expressionist American painter, who was born in 1925 and died in 1992. This exhibit is the final stop of a tour organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Renwick Gallery -- "Jewels and Gems" (Sept. 26, 2003-Feb 8, 2004) shows 100 jewelry pieces, often called "wearable sculpture," that span the last 100 years or so, from the Arts and Crafts Movement to the present.
