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167-710: The National Museum of African American History and Culture ( NMAAHC ), colloquially known as the Blacksonian , is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in 2003 and opened its permanent home in 2016 with a ceremony led by President Barack Obama . Early efforts to establish a federally owned museum featuring African-American history and culture can be traced to 1915 and

334-644: A nickel - chrome plating was dismissed for not achieving the right color, luster, or warmth. In early 2014, tests were made with polyvinyl difluoride (PVDF). This coating was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts on February 20, 2014, and by the National Capital Planning Commission in April 2014. The museum's groundbreaking ceremony took place on February 22, 2012. President Barack Obama and museum director Bunch were among

501-541: A "collections identification project" to identify donors who might be willing to donate, sell, or loan their items to the proposed new Smithsonian museum. The Smithsonian Board of Regents agreed in September 1991 to draft museum legislation, and submitted their bill to Congress in February 1992. The bill was criticized by Tom Mack and others for putting the museum in a building that was too small and old to properly house

668-473: A "putty-like appearance under overcast conditions" and visually fell "far short of the beautiful poetic intention promised by the concept design". A second finish, the sprayable metal LuminOre, was rejected by the commission because it was difficult to produce in the high quality needed, and was prone to flaking and discoloration. Electroless plating and anodized aluminum were rejected because they lacked durability. A physical vapor deposition process involving

835-484: A 19-year-old, Richard Hunt taught himself how to weld. Only two years later, he gained national recognition when the Museum of Modern Art acquired his sculpture, Arachne . Another Richard Hunt sculpture, Hero Construction , now stands as the centerpiece of The Art Institute of Chicago . Richard Hunt has held over 150 solo exhibitions and is represented in more than 100 public museums. Painter Faith Ringgold , who

1002-584: A botanical garden, and a museum that was designed to have a national and permanent status. The former occupied space where the present Botanic Garden sits. The museum contained specimens of zoology, botany, archeology, fossils, etc., some of which were passed on to the Smithsonian Institution after its formation. The institute's charter expired in 1838, but its spirit lived on in the National Institution , founded in 1840. With

1169-489: A commission charged with building a "National Memorial Building" showcasing African-American achievements in the arts and sciences. But Congress did not back the project, and private fundraising also failed. Although proposals for an African-American history and culture museum would be floated in Congress for the next 40 years, none gained more than minimal support. Proposals for a museum began circulating again in Congress in

1336-457: A competition in 2008 to design a 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m) building with three stories below-ground and five stories above-ground. The building was limited to the 5-acre (20,000 m) site chosen by the site selection committee, had to be LEED Gold certified, and had to meet stringent federal security standards. The cost of construction was limited to $ 500 million ($ 707,573,416 in 2023 dollars). The competition criteria specified that

1503-466: A gift / So rare as genius.″ The grandchild of slaves , print artist and sculptor Elizabeth Catlett was also an activist. Although some of her art includes confrontational symbols from the Black Power movement , she is best known for her portrayals of African-American heroes: MLK, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman — and strong maternal women. Sculptor Augusta Savage 's work was similarly uplifting. In

1670-472: A high-level advisory board to conduct a more thorough study of the issue. The Brown study was blunt in its discussion of the divisions within the African-American community about the advisability of a stand-alone national museum of African-American culture and history, but also forceful in its advocacy of a national museum of national prominence and national visibility with a broad mandate to document

1837-491: A large commission for the 1939 New York World's Fair , Lift Every Voice and Sing , which is often described as the Black National Anthem , inspired a called Lift Every Voice and Sing , also known as The Harp as it depicted black singers as the strings of the instrument. Richard Hunt , is a sculptor born on Chicago's South Side in 1935. A recurrent theme of his work is the integration and expression of

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2004-574: A later date. Instead, the museum had to be built around them. By late December 2013, construction was just weeks from finishing the five basement levels, and above-ground work was scheduled to begin in late January 2014. At that time, the Smithsonian estimated the museum would be finished in November 2015. Guy Nordenson and Associates were the engineers for the superstructure of the museum building and long-span porch. Robert Silman Associates oversaw

2171-466: A major exhibit, "Field to Factory", which focused on the black diaspora out of the Deep South in the 1950s. "Field to Factory" encouraged Mack to continue pursuing a museum. In 1987 and 1988, NCEED began lining up support among black members of Congress for legislation that would establish an independent African-American national history museum in Washington, D.C. But NCEED ran into opposition from

2338-872: A museum or other building in the L'Enfant Plan of 1791 and the McMillan Plan of 1902. The United States Department of State originally planned to build its headquarters there in the early 20th century, and the National World War II Memorial Advisory Board had considered the parcel in 1995. On March 15, 2005, the Smithsonian named Dr. Lonnie G. Bunch III to be the Director of the National African American Museum of History and Culture. The National Museum of African American History and Culture Council (the museum's board of trustees) sponsored

2505-558: A museum. In 1988, an ad hoc group of African-American scholars—most from within the Smithsonian, but some from other museums as well—began debating what an African-American history museum might look like. While the group discussed the issue informally, Smithsonian Secretary Robert McCormick Adams, Jr. publicly suggested in October 1989 that "just a wing" of the National Museum of American History should be devoted to black culture,

2672-716: A national museum dedicated to African-American history and culture can be traced back to the second decade of the 20th century. In 1915, African-American veterans of the Union Army met at the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., for a reunion and parade. Frustrated with the racial discrimination they still faced, the veterans formed a committee to build a memorial to various African-American achievements. Their efforts paid off in 1929, when President Herbert Hoover appointed Mary Church Terrell , Mary McLeod Bethune , and 10 others to

2839-617: A national museum focusing on African Americans, and won his support for federal legislation in 1985. Leland sponsored a non-binding resolution (H.R. 666) advocating an African-American museum on the National Mall, which passed the House of Representatives in 1986. The congressional attention motivated the Smithsonian to improve its presentation of African-American history. In 1987, the National Museum of American History sponsored

3006-451: A new wave of important black art professors. Mixed media, abstract art, cubism, and social realism became not only acceptable, but desirable. Artists of the WPA united to form the 1935 Harlem Artists Guild , which developed community art facilities in major cities. Leading forms of art included drawing, sculpture, printmaking, painting, pottery, quilting, weaving and photography. In 1939, however,

3173-591: A paid, one-month internship. Pilar O'Leary launched the program when she served as executive director of the Smithsonian Latino Center. According to the Latino Center, O'Leary told the press in 2007: "Our goal is to help our Young Ambassadors become the next generation of leaders in the arts and culture fields. This program encourages students to be proud of their roots and learn more about their cultural heritage to inspire them to educate

3340-480: A planned exhibit about African Americans in the entertainment industry. Women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault objected to the display. In response to the resulting controversy, the museum added the following sentence to its description of Cosby's career: "In recent years, revelations about alleged sexual misconduct have cast a shadow over Cosby's entertainment career and severely damaged his reputation." Google donated $ 1 million (~$ 1.24 million in 2023) to

3507-623: A private group—upset with congressional delays—proposed constructing a $ 40 million (~$ 67.3 million in 2023), 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m) museum on Poplar Point, a site on the Anacostia River across from the Washington Navy Yard . In 2001, Lewis and Representative J. C. Watts re-introduced legislation for a museum in the House of Representatives. Under the leadership of its new Secretary, Lawrence M. Small ,

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3674-417: A pronouncement that generated extensive controversy. The discussions by the ad hoc group prompted the Smithsonian to take a more formal approach to the idea of an African-American heritage museum. In December 1989 the Smithsonian hired nationally respected museum administrator Claudine Brown to conduct a formal study of the museum issue. Brown's group reported six months later that the Smithsonian should form

3841-442: A slave statue and a set of fine china". A 1999 MacArthur "genius grant " recipient, his work encourages "unpacking and upending assumptions about race and history surrounding each". Narrative artists like Jacob Lawrence use history painting to tell a story in images, as his own Migration Series shows. The 60-panel epic depicts the relocation of a million African Americans to the industrialized North after World War II. As in

4008-418: A total of 10 stories (five above and five below ground). In January 2016, the Smithsonian set an opening day of September 24, 2016, for the museum's opening. President Barack Obama would dedicate the museum, which would be followed by a week of special events. The museum would open for extended hours during that week to accommodate crowds and visitors. NMAAHC officials said that construction scaffolding around

4175-554: A trust instrumentality and is not formally a part of any of the three branches of the federal government . The institution is named after its founding donor, British scientist James Smithson . It was originally organized as the United States National Museum , but that name ceased to exist administratively in 1967. The Smithsonian Institution has historical holdings of over 157 million items, 21 museums, 21 libraries, 14 education and research centers,

4342-464: A year and includes as ex officio members the chief justice of the United States and the vice president of the United States . The nominal head of the institution is the chancellor , an office which has traditionally been held by the chief justice. In September 2007, the board created the position of chair of the Board of Regents, a position currently held by Risa Lavizzo-Mourey . Other members of

4509-576: A zoo, and historical and architectural landmarks, mostly located in Washington, D.C. Additional facilities are located in Maryland , New York , and Virginia . More than 200 institutions and museums in 47 states , Puerto Rico , and Panama are Smithsonian Affiliates . Institution publications include Smithsonian and Air & Space magazines. Almost all of the institution's 30 million annual visitors are admitted without charge,

4676-640: Is illustrated by an artist like Emory Douglas , the former minister of culture for the Black Panther Party , whose art was consciously radical, and has since become iconic. "[C]redited with popularising the term 'pigs' for corrupt police officers", his best-known imagery was often harshly critical of the existing power structure, openly violent and, like all political iconography, intended to persuade. Sculptor Edmonia Lewis , by contrast, financed her first trip to Europe in 1865 by selling sculptures of abolitionist John Brown and Robert Gould Shaw ,

4843-409: Is interested, might be interested or ought to be interested". Another Secretary of the Smithsonian, Walter Boyne, founded Air & Space . The organization publishes under the imprints Smithsonian Institution Press, Smithsonian Books, and Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. The Smithsonian makes a number of awards to acknowledge and support meritorious work. The Smithsonian Institution

5010-520: Is known for her politicized art, has been described as having a "gorgeous gut punch". Her The American People Series #20: Die which depicts a bloody clash between Cubist black and white figures, was hung opposite Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in the newly renovated MOMA in 2019, the better to start a conversation between the "savage force" of their respective compositions. Conceptual artist Fred Wilson focuses on other kinds of composition, "juxtaposing wildly anomalous items, such as

5177-487: Is the world's largest museum dedicated to African-American history and culture. In 2022 it welcomed 1,092,552 visitors, and was the second-most visited Smithsonian Museum and eighth-most visited museum in the United States . The museum has more than 40,000 objects in its collection, although only about 3,500 items are on display. The 350,000-square-foot (33,000 m), 10 story building (five above and five below ground) and its exhibits have won critical praise. The concept of

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5344-494: The 13th Amendment and the Emancipation Proclamation , of which only a limited number were printed. Few of these have survived. David Rubenstein purchased both items in 2012. In late March 2016, Microsoft announced a $ 1 million (~$ 1.24 million in 2023) donation to the museum. On March 27, the museum drew criticism for agreeing to include a small number of items from the career of actor Bill Cosby in

5511-624: The Harmon Foundation in 1922, and it served as a large-scale patron of African-American art until 1967, generating interest in, and recognition for, artists who might have otherwise remained unknown. The Harmon Award and the annual "Exhibition of the Work of Negro Artists" further contributed to the support, as did the William E. Harmon Foundation Award for Distinguished Achievement Among Negroes , which although not limited to visual artists

5678-779: The Janson House , built on the Hudson River in 1712, was the work of African-Americans. Many of the oldest buildings in Louisiana, South Carolina and Georgia were built by craftsmen slaves. In the mid-18th century, John Bush was a powder horn carver and soldier with the Massachusetts militia fighting with the British in the French and Indian War . Patrick H. Reason , Joshua Johnson , and Scipio Moorhead were among

5845-544: The Marquis de Lafayette . Operating expenses were covered from the $ 5 yearly dues collected from each member. The institute proposed a number of undertakings. These included the study of plant life and the creation of a botanical garden on the Capitol Mall , an examination of the country's mineral production, improvement in the management and care of livestock, and the writing of a topographical and statistical history of

6012-536: The National Gallery of Art ), but rejected these approaches in favor of a board appointed by and answerable only to the Smithsonian Board of Regents. The commission proposed a 350,000 square-foot museum that would cost $ 360 million to build. Half the construction funds would come from private money, half from the federal government. Legislation to implement the commission's report was sponsored in

6179-517: The National Memorial Association , although the modern push for such an organization did not begin until the 1970s. After years of little success, a legislative push began in 1988 that led to authorization of the museum in 2003. A site was selected in 2006, and a design submitted by Freelon Group / Adjaye Associates / Davis Brody Bond was chosen in 2009. Construction began in 2012 and the museum completed in 2016. The NMAAHC

6346-713: The National Museum of African Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery opened in a new, joint, underground museum between the Freer Gallery and the Smithsonian Castle. Reuse of another old building came in 1993 with the opening of the National Postal Museum in the 1904 former City Post Office building, a few city blocks from the Mall. In 2004, the Smithsonian opened the National Museum of

6513-536: The National Museum of African Art , as well as the National Gallery of Art , were formally returned to Nigerian cultural officials in a ceremony held in Washington D.C. The Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed , and Prince Aghatise Erediauwa, representing the Oba of Benin Kingdom, spoke at the ceremony. Mohammed said the "decision to return the timeless artworks is worth emulating." In February 2020,

6680-498: The Renwick Gallery . A smaller amount of funds would go to educational initiatives and digitization of collections. As of September 2017, the Smithsonian claimed to have raised $ 1.79 billion, with three months left in the formal campaign calendar. Separately from the major capital campaign, the Smithsonian has begun fundraising through Kickstarter . An example is a campaign to fund the preservation and maintenance of

6847-644: The Second World War , some artists took a global approach, working and exhibiting abroad, in Paris, and as the decade wore on, relocated gradually in other welcoming cities such as Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Stockholm: Barbara Chase-Riboud , Edward Clark , Harvey Cropper , Beauford Delaney , Herbert Gentry , Bill Hutson , Clifford Jackson, Sam Middleton , Larry Potter, Haywood Bill Rivers, Merton Simpson , and Walter Williams. Some African-American artists did make it into important New York galleries by

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7014-486: The Smithsonian American Women's History Museum . In 2011, the Smithsonian undertook its first-ever capital fundraising campaign. The $ 1.5 billion effort raised $ 1 billion at the three-year mark. Smithsonian officials made the campaign public in October 2014 in an effort to raise the remaining $ 500 million. More than 60,000 individuals and organizations donated money to the campaign by

7181-632: The South Pacific Ocean . These specimens and artifacts became part of the Smithsonian collections, as did those collected by several military and civilian surveys of the American West , including the Mexican Boundary Survey and Pacific Railroad Surveys , which assembled many Native American artifacts and natural history specimens. In 1846, the regents developed a plan for weather observation; in 1847, money

7348-664: The Thankful Poor although those paintings — like many of his landscapes and Biblical scenes — often seem illuminated from within. The first African-American to enroll in the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1880, Tanner studied with Realist painter Thomas Eakens . He went on to become the first African-American artist to earn international acclaim. He was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1910 and designated an honorary chevalier of

7515-756: The UK Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, the 1955 lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi , the release of Motown 's first number-one song, " Please Mr. Postman " by The Marvellettes , Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 " I Have a Dream " speech, the landfall of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the night then-senator Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president at the 2008 Democratic National Convention . On September 24, 2016, President Barack Obama formally opened

7682-625: The Union Colonel who led the enlisted black 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War . She would later incorporate issues of race more subtly, using modern themes and ancient symbols in Neoclassical sculpture to suggestive ends. In response to a bust Lewis had made of her, her patron Anna Quincey Waterston wrote admiringly of her: ″Tis fitting that a daughter of the race / Whose chains are breaking should receive

7849-458: The deaccession and restitution of items collected under circumstances considered unethical by contemporary standards and thus places moral over legal arguments. A month before, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art had announced the planned return of most of its 39 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria , as well as of other cultural items to Turkey . On October 11, 2022, Benin Bronzes from

8016-474: The privilege of the floor at the United States Senate . On September 18, 2013, Secretary G. Wayne Clough announced he would retire in October 2014. The Smithsonian Board of Regents said it asked regent John McCarter, Jr., to lead a search committee. On March 10, 2014, the Smithsonian Board selected David Skorton , a physician and president of Cornell University , as the thirteenth secretary of

8183-1012: The ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland for her role as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz . Nineteen museums and galleries, as well as the National Zoological Park , comprise the Smithsonian museums. Eleven are on the National Mall , the park that runs between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol . Other museums are located elsewhere in Washington, D.C., with two more in New York City and one in Chantilly, Virginia . The Smithsonian has close ties with 168 other museums in 39 states, Panama , and Puerto Rico . These museums are known as Smithsonian Affiliated museums. Collections of artifacts are given to these museums in

8350-414: The "sculptor of horrors", Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller favored a mix of conceptual realism and symbolism , and took inspiration from ghost stories. Mentored by Henry Osawa Tanner , critiqued by Auguste Rodin , and exhibited in the 1903 Salon , she recognized that a continued career relied on "meet[ing] requests for race-based work from the leading Black scholars, activists, and luminaries who controlled

8517-458: The $ 250 million cost of constructing its building. To bolster the fundraising, the Smithsonian said it would contribute a portion of its $ 1.5 billion capital campaign to help complete the structure. The entire steel superstructure and all above-ground concrete pouring was complete in January 2015. Glass for the windows and curtain walls began to be placed that same month, with glass enclosure of

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8684-521: The 1950s and 1960s: Horace Pippin , Romare Bearden , Jacob Lawrence , Richard Hunt , William T. Williams , Norman Lewis , Thomas Sills , and Sam Gilliam were among the few who had successfully been received in a gallery setting. Richard Hunt was the first African American visual artist to serve on the National Council on the Arts , appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. Hunt

8851-539: The AAMA instead advocated that Congress establish a $ 50 million fund to create a national foundation to support local black history museums as a means of mitigating these problems. Others, pointing to the Smithsonian's long history of discrimination against black employees, questioned whether the white-dominated Smithsonian could properly administer an African-American history museum. Lastly, many local African-American museums worried that they would be forced to become adjuncts of

9018-640: The African American Museum Association (AAMA), an umbrella group that represented small local African-American art , cultural, and history museums across the United States. John Kinard , president of the AAMA and co-founder of the Anacostia Community Museum (which became part of the Smithsonian in 1967), opposed NCEED's effort. Kinard argued that a national museum would consume donor dollars and out-bid local museums for artifacts and trained staff. Kinard and

9185-514: The African American history and culture, despite his focus on his own freedom as an artist to work in an abstract mode or one referential or suggestive of his subjects. A descendant of slaves brought to this country through the port of Savannah, Georgia, Richard Hunt has singularly made the largest contribution to public art in the U.S.; more than 160 public sculpture commissions grace prominent locations in 24 states and Washington D.C. As

9352-465: The African-American museum tried to salvage the proposal by suggesting that the Native Indian museum (then moving through Congress) and African-American museum share the same space. But the compromise did not work and the bill died. Lewis and Leland introduced another bill in 1989. Once more, cost considerations killed the bill. The Smithsonian Institution, however, was moving toward support for

9519-611: The American Indian in a new building near the United States Capitol . Twelve years later almost to the day, in 2016, the latest museum opened: the National Museum of African American History and Culture , in a new building near the Washington Monument . Two more museums have been established and are being planned for eventual construction on the mall: the National Museum of the American Latino and

9686-604: The Antebellum South and are reminiscent of the earlier work of Harriet Powers . Her nightmarish yet fantastical images incorporate a cinematic feel. In 2007, Walker was listed among Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in The World, Artists and Entertainers". Textile artists are part of African-American art history. According to the 2010 Quilting in America industry survey, there are 1.6 million quilters in

9853-447: The Arts and Industries Building. On February 8, 2005, with the site selection committee still deliberating, President Bush again endorsed placing the museum on the National Mall. The site selection committee did not issue its recommendation until January 31, 2006—a full 13 months late. It recommended the site west of the National Museum of American History. The area was part of the Washington Monument grounds, but had been set aside for

10020-406: The Board of Regents are three members of the U.S. House of Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House ; three members of the Senate, appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate ; and nine citizen members, nominated by the board and approved by the Congress in a joint resolution signed by the president of the United States. Regents who are senators or representatives serve for

10187-411: The European Romantic and Classical traditions of landscapes and portraits. Edward Mitchell Bannister , Henry Ossawa Tanner and Edmonia Lewis are the most notable from this period. Others include Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller , a female artist who, like Edmonia Lewis, was a sculptor, as well as Grafton Tyler Brown and Nelson A. Primus . The goal of widespread recognition across racial boundaries

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10354-426: The Evolution of Black Music for the Congressional Black Caucus at a Google sponsored event in Howard Theatre . This event was a part of the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture . On September 23, 2016, The Washington Post reported that Robert F. Smith , the founder, chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners , had given $ 20 million (~$ 24.9 million in 2023) to

10521-433: The Florida landscape and peddled some 200,000 of them from the trunks of their cars. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was impossible to find galleries interested in selling artworks by a group of unknown, self-taught African Americans, so they sold their art directly to the public rather than through galleries and art agents. Rediscovered in the mid-1990s, they are recognized today as an important part of American folk history, and

10688-493: The GDP at the time it may be more comparable to $ 220 million in the year 2007. Once the money was in hand, eight years of congressional haggling ensued over how to interpret Smithson's rather vague mandate "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." The money was invested by the US Treasury in bonds issued by the state of Arkansas, which soon defaulted. After heated debate, Massachusetts representative (and former president) John Quincy Adams persuaded Congress to restore

10855-650: The NMAAHC. The gift was second-largest in the museum's history, exceeded only by the $ 21 million donated by Oprah Winfrey. Ava DuVernay was commissioned by the museum to create a film which debuted at the museum's opening on September 24, 2016. This film, August 28: A Day in the Life of a People (2016), tells of six significant events in African-American history that happened on the same date, August 28. The 22-minute film stars Lupita Nyong'o , Don Cheadle , Regina King , David Oyelowo , Angela Bassett , Michael Ealy , Gugu Mbatha-Raw , André Holland and Glynn Turman . Events depicted include William IV 's royal assent to

11022-404: The NMAAHC. This was in addition to the $ 1 million (~$ 1.42 million in 2023) she donated to the museum in 2007. The Smithsonian said it would name the NMAAHC's 350-seat theater after her. The GM Foundation announced a $ 1 million (~$ 1.27 million in 2023) donation to the museum on January 22, 2014, to fund construction of the building and design and install permanent exhibits. The design of

11189-437: The NMAAHC: "We couldn't look any further than the Smithsonian for the overall award. It is a project of beautiful design, massive cultural impact, delivers an emotional experience, and has a scale deserve of this major award." Topping out of the museum occurred in October 2014. That same month, the Smithsonian announced that the National Museum of African American History and Culture had received $ 162 million in donations toward

11356-445: The National Museum of African-American Heritage and Culture. The opening of the center was prompted, in part, by the publishing of a report called "Willful Neglect: The Smithsonian and U.S. Latinos". According to documents obtained by The Washington Post , when former Latino Center executive director Pilar O'Leary first took the job, the center faced employees who had "serious performance issues". No performance plans existed for

11523-578: The Order of the Legion of Honor in 1923. The earliest evidence of African-American art in the United States is the work of skilled craftsmen slaves from New England . Two categories of slave craft items survive from colonial America: articles that were created for personal use by slaves and articles created for public use. Examples from between the 17th century and the early 19th century include: small drums, quilts, wrought-iron figures, baskets, ceramic vessels, and gravestones. Many of Africa's most skilled slave artisans were hired out by slave owners. With

11690-429: The Senate by Sam Brownback and in the house by John Lewis. As Congress considered the legislation, the museum's location became the major sticking point. Various members of the public, Congress, and advocacy groups felt the Capitol Hill site was too prominent and made the National Mall look crowded. Alternative proposed sites included the Liberty Loan Federal Building at 401 14th Street SW and Benjamin Banneker Park at

11857-523: The Senate followed suit two days later. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law on December 16. The legislation appropriated $ 17 million for museum planning and a site selection process, and $ 15 million for educational programs. The educational programs included grants to African-American museums to help them improve their operations and collections; grants to African-American museums for internships and fellowships; scholarships for individuals pursuing careers African-American studies; grants to promote

12024-468: The Smithsonian Board of Regents reversed course yet again in June 2001 and agreed to support a stand-alone National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Smithsonian asked Congress to establish a federally funded study commission. Congress swiftly agreed, and on December 29, President George W. Bush signed legislation establishing a 23-member commission to study the need for a museum, how to raise

12191-489: The Smithsonian Libraries and Smithsonian Archives merged into one research center in 2020. The Smithsonian Institution includes three cultural centers among its units: In 1997, the Smithsonian Latino Center was created as a way to recognize Latinos across the Smithsonian Institution. The primary purpose of the center is to place Latino contributions to the arts, history, science, and national culture across

12358-646: The Smithsonian and funds to build the museum to hold it (which was named the Freer Gallery ), it was among the Smithsonian's first major donations from a private individual. The gallery opened in 1923. More than 40 years would pass before the next museum, the Museum of History and Technology (renamed the National Museum of American History in 1980), opened in 1964. It was designed by the world-renowned firm of McKim, Mead & White . The Anacostia Community Museum , an "experimental store-front" museum created at

12525-501: The Smithsonian made 2.8 million digital items available to the public under a Creative Commons Zero Public Domain Dedication, with a commitment to release further items in the future. The Smithsonian has eight research centers, located in Washington, D.C.; Front Royal, Virginia ; Edgewater, Maryland ; Suitland, Maryland ; Fort Pierce, Florida ; Cambridge, Massachusetts ; and Panama . Formerly two separate entities,

12692-581: The Smithsonian's Department of Living Animals. The park was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted . The National Museum of Natural History opened in June 1911 to similarly accommodate the Smithsonian's United States National Museum, which had previously been housed in the Castle and then the Arts and Industries Building. This structure was designed by the D.C. architectural firm of Hornblower & Marshall . When Detroit philanthropist Charles Lang Freer donated his private collection to

12859-411: The Smithsonian's museums and research centers. The center is a division of the Smithsonian Institution. As of May 2016, the center is run by an executive director, Eduardo Díaz. At the time of its creation, the Smithsonian Institution had other entities dedicated to other minority groups: National Museum of the American Indian, Freer-Sackler Gallery for Asian Arts and Culture, African Art Museum, and

13026-484: The Smithsonian, slightly increased from previous years. Institution exhibits are free of charge, though in 2010 the Deficit Commission recommended admission fees. As approved by Congress on August 10, 1846, the legislation that created the Smithsonian Institution called for the creation of a Board of Regents to govern and administer the organization. This seventeen-member board meets at least four times

13193-532: The Smithsonian. Though the Smithsonian's first secretary, Joseph Henry , wanted the institution to be a center for scientific research, it also became the depository for various Washington and U.S. government collections. The United States Exploring Expedition by the U.S. Navy circumnavigated the globe between 1838 and 1842. The voyage amassed thousands of animal specimens, an herbarium of 50,000 plant specimens, and diverse shells and minerals, tropical birds, jars of seawater, and ethnographic artifacts from

13360-606: The Smithsonian. Skorton took the reins of the institution on July 1, 2015. Upon Skorton's announced resignation in 2019, the Board selected Lonnie Bunch III , the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture , as the fourteenth secretary. African-American art Many have also been inspired by European traditions in art, as well as personal experience of life, work and studies there. Like their Western colleagues, many work in Realist , Modernist and Conceptual styles, and all

13527-2019: The United States. One historic non profit organization with several members who are quilters and fiber artists is Women of Visions, Inc. located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts . WOV Inc artists past and present work in a variety of mediums. Those who have shown internationally include Renee Stout and Tina Williams Brewer . Influential contemporary artists include Larry D. Alexander , Laylah Ali , Amalia Amaki , Emma Amos , Jean-Michel Basquiat , Dawoud Bey , Camille Billops , Mark Bradford , Edward Clark , Willie Cole , Robert Colescott , Louis Delsarte , David Driskell , Leonardo Drew , Mel Edwards , Ricardo Francis, Charles Gaines , Ellen Gallagher , Herbert Gentry , Sam Gilliam , David Hammons , Jerry Harris , Joseph Holston , Richard Hunt , Martha Jackson-Jarvis , Katie S. Mallory, M. Scott Johnson, Rashid Johnson , Joe Lewis , Glenn Ligon , James Little, Edward L. Loper Sr. , Alvin D. Loving , Kerry James Marshall , Eugene J. Martin , Richard Mayhew , Sam Middleton , Howard McCalebb , Charles McGill, Thaddeus Mosley , Sana Musasama , Senga Nengudi, Joe Overstreet , Martin Puryear , Adrian Piper , Howardena Pindell , Faith Ringgold , Gale Fulton Ross , Alison Saar , Betye Saar , John Solomon Sandridge , Raymond Saunders , John T. Scott , Joyce Scott , Gary Simmons , Lorna Simpson , Renee Stout , Kara Walker , Carrie Mae Weems , Stanley Whitney, William T. Williams , Jack Whitten , Fred Wilson , Richard Wyatt Jr. , Richard Yarde , and Purvis Young , Kehinde Wiley , Mickalene Thomas , Barkley Hendricks , Jeff Sonhouse , William Walker , Ellsworth Ausby, Che Baraka , Emmett Wigglesworth , Otto Neals , Dindga McCannon , Terry Dixon (artist) , Frederick J. Brown , and many others. (Selection

13694-595: The United States. Reports were to be published periodically to share this knowledge with the greater public, but due to a lack of funds, this initially did not occur. The institute first met in Blodget's Hotel, later in the Treasury Department and City Hall, before being assigned a permanent home in 1824 in the Capitol building. Beginning in 1825, weekly sittings were arranged during sessions of Congress for

13861-591: The WPA, including Jacob Lawrence , Gwendolyn Knight , sculptor William Artis ; painter and children's book illustrator Ernest Crichlow , cartoonist and illustrator Elton C. Fax , photographer Marvin Smith , Dox Thrash , who invented the printmaking method carborundum Mezzotint , painters Georgette Seabrooke and Elba Lightfoot , best known for their Harlem Hospital murals; Chicago printmaker Eldzier Cortor ; and renowned Illinois-based artist Adrian Troy and many others. Many of these artists found themselves drawn to

14028-534: The above-ground floors. This staircase has no intermediate supports, and weighs in at more than 80,000 lb (36,000 kg). SteelFab fabricated more than 4,050 short tons (3,670 t) of structural steel for the museum in conjunction with AIW, Inc. who fabricated the architecturally exposed, and ornamental steel and bronze metal work. SteelFab received an award from the Washington Building Congress for its work. ArchDaily has reported that

14195-456: The advisory board was an important step for the Smithsonian. There were many on the Smithsonian's Board of Regents who believed that "African-American culture and history" was indefinable and that not enough artifacts and art of national significance could be found to build a museum. On May 6, 1991, after a year of study, the advisory board issued a report in favor of a national museum, and the Smithsonian Board of Regents voted unanimously to support

14362-630: The architectural scrim which surrounds the building was changed in September 2012. The proposed building itself was a box-like structure. The three-part corona of the building's design was created by a structure only minimally attached to the building. The exterior of this structure, whose frames lean outward to create the corona, consisted of a thin screen or "scrim" perforated by geometrical patterns based on historic iron grilles found in African-American communities in Charleston, South Carolina , and New Orleans , Louisiana. The original design proposed that

14529-470: The arts in the black community. Emboldened by Congress's action in 1981, Mack began using the NCEED to press for a stand-alone African-American museum in D.C. in 1985. Mack did not collaborate with other black-led cultural foundations that were working to improve the representation of African Americans by Smithsonian and other federal institutions. Mack contacted Representative Mickey Leland about his idea for

14696-500: The artwork of African-American women. By the 1980s and 1990s, hip-hop graffiti began to predominate in urban communities. Most major cities had developed museums devoted to African-American artists. The National Endowment for the Arts provided increasing support for these artists. Kara Walker , a contemporary American artist, is known for her exploration of race, gender, sexuality, violence and identity in her artworks. Walker's silhouette images work to bridge unfinished folklore in

14863-420: The building complete on April 14, 2015. That same day, the first of the structure's 3,600 bronze-colored panels for the building's corona were installed. A worker was severely injured at the construction site on June 3, 2015, when scaffolding on the roof collapsed on top of him. 35-year-old Ivan Smyntyna was rushed to a local hospital, where he later died. The 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m) building has

15030-418: The cases of Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald , history painting can also involve portraiture ; in this instance, the official portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama, respectively. Artists like Horace Pippen and Romare Bearden chose more ordinary subject matter, relying on contemporary life to inspire uncontroversial imagery. The influential Henry Tanner did, too, in paintings like The Banjo Lesson and

15197-415: The change: "The appeal of bronze is its warm golden sheen and the rich patina that it acquires over time, but uniformly painted surfaces lack these attributes, and over time they don't age, they merely flake. ... At the time of this writing, the African American museum risks compromising its original intention. In architecture, beauty sometimes really is only skin-deep." The Smithsonian then radically changed

15364-399: The commission pipeline". By accepting that reality, W. E. B. Du Bois became one of her patrons, and she became the first African-American woman recipient of a federal commission ... for progress-themed dioramas for Jamestown's tercentennial ... and, later, for the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation ", but it all came at some cost. Another extreme

15531-652: The consent of their masters, some slave artisans were also able to keep a small percentage of the wages earned in their spare time to save enough money to purchase their freedom, and that of their family members. The public works of art produced by slave craftsmen were an important contribution to the Colonial economy. In New England and the Mid-Atlantic colonies, slaves were apprenticed as goldsmiths, cabinetmakers, engravers, carvers, portrait painters, carpenters, masons and iron workers. The construction and decoration of

15698-615: The construction of the Arts and Industries Building in 1881. Congress had promised to build a new structure for the museum if the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition generated enough income. It did, and the building was designed by architects Adolf Cluss and Paul Schulze, based on original plans developed by Major General Montgomery C. Meigs of the United States Army Corps of Engineers . It opened in 1881. The National Zoological Park opened in 1889 to accommodate

15865-401: The corona's finish continued into 2014 before being resolved. The Commission of Fine Arts repeatedly urged the architects to use bronze for the scrim, as it created a "shimmering, lustrous effect under many lighting conditions" and "conveyed dignity, permanence and beauty". Duranar paint was the first substitute proposed by the architects, but the commission members rejected it, noting that it had

16032-591: The costly WPA and its projects all were terminated. In 1943, James A. Porter , a professor in the Department of Art at Howard University , wrote the first major text on African-American art and artists, Modern Negro Art . In the 1950s and 1960s, few African-American artists were widely known or accepted. Despite this, the Highwaymen , a loose association of 26 African-American artists from Fort Pierce , Florida , created idyllic, quickly realized images of

16199-638: The current market price for an original Highwaymen painting can easily bring in thousands of dollars. In 2004, the original group of 26 were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame . Currently eight of the 26 are deceased, including A. Hair, H. Newton, Ellis and George Buckner, A. Moran, L. Roberts, Hezekiah Baker and, most recently, Johnny Daniels. The full list of 26 can be found in the Florida Artists Hall of Fame, as well as various highwaymen and Florida art websites. After

16366-514: The design competition. Six firms were chosen as finalists: The design submitted by the Freelon Group / Adjaye Associates / Davis Brody Bond won the design competition. The above-ground floors featured an inverted step pyramid surrounded by a bronze architectural scrim, which reflected a crown used in Yoruba culture; specifically, these three stacked trapezoidal shapes were inspired by

16533-401: The duration of their elected terms, while citizen Regents serve a maximum of two six-year terms. Regents are compensated on a part-time basis. The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Smithsonian is the secretary, who is appointed by the Board of Regents. The secretary also serves as secretary to the Board of Regents but is not a voting member of that body. The secretary of the Smithsonian has

16700-829: The earliest known portrait artists, from the period of 1773–1887. Patronage by some white families allowed for private tutoring in special cases. Many of these sponsoring whites were abolitionists . The artists received more encouragement and were better able to support themselves in cities, of which there were more in the North and border states. Harriet Powers (1837–1910) was an African-American folk artist and quilt maker from rural Georgia, United States , born into slavery. Now nationally recognized for her quilts , she used traditional appliqué techniques to record local legends, Bible stories and astronomical events on her quilts. Only two of her late quilts have survived: Bible Quilt 1886 and Bible Quilt 1898 . Her quilts are considered among

16867-603: The early 1970s. In 1981, Congress approved a federal charter for a National Afro-American Museum in Wilberforce, Ohio . The museum, built and funded with private money, opened in 1987. In the early 1980s, Tom Mack (the African-American chairman of Tourmobile , a tourist bus company) founded the National Council of Education and Economic Development (NCEED). Mack's intention was to use the non-profit group to advance his ideas about economic development, education, and

17034-466: The engineering of the below-grade structure and exhibit structural support. The steel was fabricated by SteelFab, Inc. While the below-grade floors were made of reinforced concrete, with columns supporting each floor above, the above-grade floors were primarily exhibit space and needed to be kept column-free. To support the upper floors, four massive walls, consisting of steel frames and cast-in-place concrete infill, were constructed. Design and fabrication of

17201-460: The entrance on Constitution Avenue were a pond, garden, and bridge, so that visitors would have to "cross over the water" like slaves did when they came to America. The Smithsonian estimated in February 2012 that museum would to open in 2015. Until then, the museum would occupy a gallery on the second floor of the National Museum of American History. On June 10, 2013, media magnate Oprah Winfrey donated $ 12 million (~$ 15.5 million in 2023) to

17368-413: The exception being Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, which charges an admissions fee. The Smithsonian's annual budget is around $ 1.25 billion, with two-thirds coming from annual federal appropriations. Other funding comes from the institution's endowment , private and corporate contributions, membership dues, and earned retail, concession, and licensing revenue. As of 2021,

17535-476: The exhibit) to mitigate this problem, although this led to still longer lines in the foyer. Smithsonian officials announced that the museum had 3 million visitors in its first full year of operation. An average of 8,000 people a day attended the museum, double the number anticipated. The museum has become an "essential stop" for tourists, and patrons are diverse and international (not just African American and domestic). The heavy attendance has caused wear and tear on

17702-533: The exterior of the building should come down in April 2016, at which time some of the more dust-and-humidity resistant artifacts and displays could be installed. Installation of more delicate items would wait until the building's environmental controls had stabilized the interior humidity and removed most of the dust from the air. The museum identified 3,000 items in its collections which would form 11 initial exhibits. More than 130 video and audio installations would be installed as part of these exhibits. In January 2016,

17869-428: The fifth above-ground floor supported the corona. Some of these girders were so complex they required more than 180 parts. The 200 ft (61 m) long-span porch that covers the main entrance was built of long plate girders and box columns (also made of plate). A 16 in (41 cm) long steel camber beam at the midpoint helps support the porch roof. An elliptical monumental staircase runs continually between

18036-463: The finest examples of 19th-century Southern quilting. Like Powers, the women of Gee's Bend developed a distinctive, bold and sophisticated quilting style based on traditional American (and African-American) quilts, but with a geometric simplicity. Although widely separated by geography, they have qualities reminiscent of Amish quilts and Modern art . The women of Gee's Bend passed their skills and aesthetic down through at least six generations to

18203-944: The form of long-term loans. The Smithsonian also has a large number of traveling exhibitions, operated through the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). In 2008, 58 of these traveling exhibitions went to 510 venues across the country. Smithsonian collections include 156 million artworks, artifacts, and specimens. The National Museum of Natural History houses 145 million of these specimens and artifacts, which are mostly animals preserved in formaldehyde. The Collections Search Center has 9.9 million digital records available online. The Smithsonian Institution Libraries hold 2 million library volumes. Smithsonian Archives hold 156,830 cubic feet (4,441 m ) of archival material. The Smithsonian Institution has many categories of displays that can be visited at

18370-426: The foundations, although the building itself will be only 70 ft (21 m) deep. The museum is located at a low point on the Mall, and groundwater puts 27.78 psi (191.5 kPa) on the walls. To compensate, 85 US gal (320 L) per minute of water were pumped out every day during construction of the foundation and below-grade walls, and a slurry of cement and sand injected into forms to stabilize

18537-421: The funds to build and support it, and where it should be located. At the signing ceremony, the president expressed his opinion that the museum should be located on the National Mall . The study commission's work took nearly two years, not the anticipated nine months. In November 2002, in anticipation of a positive outcome, the insurance company AFLAC donated $ 1 million (~$ 1.62 million in 2023) to help build

18704-653: The idea. However, the proposal the regents adopted only called not for a stand-alone institution but a "museum" housed in the East Hall of the existing Arts and Industries Building . The regents also agreed to keep the Anacostia Community Museum a separate facility; to give the new museum its own governing board, independent of existing museums; and to support the proposal for a grant-making program to help local African-American museums build their collections and train their staff. The regents also approved

18871-857: The initiative of Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley , opened in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in 1967. That same year, the Smithsonian signed an agreement to take over the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration (now the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum ). The National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum opened in the Old Patent Office Building (built in 1867) on October 7, 1968. The reuse of an older building continued with

19038-552: The institution's endowment had a total value of about $ 5.4 billion. In many ways, the origin of the Smithsonian Institution can be traced to a group of Washington citizens who, being "impressed with the importance of forming an association for promoting useful knowledge," met on June 28, 1816, to establish the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences . Officers were elected in October 1816, and

19205-596: The intended collection, and despite winning approval in both House and Senate committees the bill died once more. In 1994, Senator Jesse Helms refused to allow the legislation to come to the Senate floor (voicing both fiscal and philosophical concerns) despite bipartisan support. In 1995, citing funding issues, the Smithsonian abandoned its support for a new museum and instead proposed a new Center for African American History and Culture within organization. The Smithsonian's new Secretary, Ira Michael Heyman , openly questioned

19372-524: The interwar movement known as Social Realism , which reflected the politics and socioeconomic views of a generation that had been drafted into WWI, only to dance through the Roaring 1920s and crash in the Great Depression. Important cities with significant black populations and important African-American art circles included Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The WPA led to

19539-416: The landscaping of the under-construction museum in summer 2013. The original design for the museum planned a wetland with flowing creek, bridges, and native plants in this area. But cost considerations led the agency to eliminate it. At first, the Smithsonian proposed a low hedge. It brought this design to the Commission of Fine Arts in April 2013, which rejected it. The Commission expressed "great concern about

19706-531: The legacy bequeathed to the nation and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust on July 1, 1836. The American diplomat Richard Rush was dispatched to England by President Andrew Jackson to collect the bequest. Rush returned in August 1838 with 105 sacks containing 104,960 gold sovereigns . This is approximately $ 500,000 at the time, which is equivalent to $ 14,000,000 in 2023 or equivalent to £12,000,000 in 2023. However, when considering

19873-400: The lost funds with interest and, despite designs on the money for other purposes, convinced his colleagues to preserve it for an institution of science and learning. Finally, on August 10, 1846, President James K. Polk signed the legislation that established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust instrumentality of the United States, to be administered by a Board of Regents and a secretary of

20040-401: The meantime, other cities moved forward with major new African-American museums. The city of Detroit opened a $ 38.4 million, 120,000 sq ft (11,000 m) Museum of African-American History in 1997, and the city of Cincinnati was raising funds for a $ 90 million, 157,000 sq ft (14,600 m) National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (which broke ground in 2002). In 2000,

20207-452: The mission to "promote science and the useful arts, and to establish a national museum of natural history," this organization continued to press Congress to establish a museum that would be structured in terms that were very similar to those finally incorporated into the founding of the Smithsonian Institution. Its work helped to develop an underlying philosophy that pushed for the pursuit and development of scientific knowledge that would benefit

20374-442: The museum announced the receipt of a $ 10 million gift from David Rubenstein, CEO of The Carlyle Group and a Smithsonian regent, as well as a $ 1 million donation from Wells Fargo . As of January 30, 2016, the museum still needed to raise $ 40 million toward its $ 270 million construction goal. Two unique documents, both signed by President Abraham Lincoln, would be loaned to the museum for its opening. These are commemorative copies of

20541-467: The museum foyer to take an elevator down to the underground level. The exhibits start with the Middle Passage and slavery where the hallway is intentionally designed to be cramped and somewhat claustrophobic. The large number of visitors who stop to read the exhibit's signs caused dangerous overcrowding. Museum officials began to limit the number of people who could take the elevator (and thus enter

20708-537: The museum in early September 2016. The technology firm had previously worked with the NMAAHC to create a 3D interactive exhibit which allows visitors to see artifacts in a close-up, 360-degree view using their mobile phone. The 3D exhibit was created by designers and engineers from the Black Googler Network. On September 16, 2016, violinist Edward W. Hardy composed and performed Evolution - Inspired by

20875-409: The museum in its first three months. The Smithsonian required all visitors to have a ticket to access the museum. At first, the organization used pre-purchased timed-entry tickets, combined with a limited number of same-day tickets released every morning. The timed-entry tickets allowed visitors to enter at a specific time of day, with a shorter wait in line than would be expected if everyone showed up at

21042-664: The museum was named the winner for the architecture category and the overall winner for the Beazley Design of the Year award for 2017. According to the award criteria set by the Design Museum in London, the NMAAHC is "further solidified as promoting or delivering change, enabling access, extending design practice, or capturing the spirit of the year." Ozwald Boateng OBE, a jury member, made a statement expressing his thoughts on

21209-462: The museum. Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( / s m ɪ θ ˈ s oʊ n i ə n / smith- SOH -nee-ən ), or simply the Smithsonian , is a group of museums , education and research centers , the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge." Founded on August 10, 1846, it operates as

21376-508: The museum. On April 3, 2003, the study commission released its final report. As expected, the commission said a museum was needed, and recommended an extremely high-level site: A plot of land adjacent to the Capitol Reflecting Pool , bounded by Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues NW and 1st and 3rd Streets NW. The commission ruled out establishing the museum within the Arts & Industries Building, concluding renovations to

21543-629: The museums. In 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft donated her inauguration gown to the museum to begin the First Ladies' Gown display at the National Museum of American History , one of the Smithsonian's most popular exhibits. The museum displays treasures such as the Star-Spangled Banner , the stove pipe hat that was worn by President Abraham Lincoln , the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard Of Oz , and

21710-473: The nation, and edify its citizens at the same time. The British scientist James Smithson (1765–1829) left most of his wealth to his nephew Henry James Hungerford. When Hungerford died childless in 1835, the estate passed "to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men", in accordance with Smithson's will. Congress officially accepted

21877-462: The need for "ethnic" museums on the National Mall. Many, including Mary Campbell Schmidt, saw this as a step backward, a characterization Smithsonian officials strongly disputed. To demonstrate its support for African-American history preservation, the Smithsonian held a fundraiser in March 1998 for the new center which raised $ 100,000 (~$ 174,422 in 2023). Heymann left the Smithsonian in January 1999. In

22044-636: The new museum along with four generations of the Bonner family, from 99-year-old Ruth Bonner to Ruth's great-granddaughter Christine. Together with the Obamas, Ruth and her family rang the Freedom Bell (rather than cut a ribbon) to officially open the museum. The bell came from the first Baptist church organized by and for African Americans, founded in 1776 in Williamsburg, Virginia, where at the time it

22211-621: The opening of the Renwick Gallery in 1972 in the 1874 Renwick-designed art gallery originally built by local philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran to house the Corcoran Gallery of Art . The first new museum building to open since the National Museum of History and Technology was the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden , which opened in 1974. The National Air and Space Museum , the Smithsonian's largest in terms of floor space, opened in June 1976. Eleven years later,

22378-809: The organization was granted a charter by Congress on April 20, 1818 (this charter expired in 1838). Benjamin Latrobe , who was architect for the US Capitol after the War of 1812, and William Thornton , the architect who designed the Octagon House and Tudor Place , would serve as officers. Other prominent members, who numbered from 30 to 70 during the institute's existence, included John Quincy Adams , Andrew Jackson , Henry Clay , Judge William Cranch , and James Hoban . Honorary members included James Madison , James Monroe , John Adams , Thomas Jefferson , and

22545-443: The original Teddy Bear that was named after President Theodore Roosevelt . In 2016, the Smithsonian's Air & Space museum curators restored the large model Enterprise from the original Star Trek TV series. Following international debates about the decolonisation of museums and the legal and moral justifications of their acquisitions, the Smithsonian adopted a new "ethical returns policy" on April 29, 2022. This will permit

22712-461: The possible loss of the symbolic meaning that had been skillfully woven into the design of both the landscape and the building". In July, the Smithsonian replaced the hedge with a low dull black granite wall. The Commission of Fine Arts approved that redesign, and the Smithsonian brought it to the National Capital Planning Commission. As of August 2013, the NCPC was anticipated to approve it. Debate over

22879-639: The present. At one time, scholars believed slaves sometimes used quilt blocks to alert other slaves to escape plans during the time of the Underground Railroad , but most historians do not agree. Quilting remains alive as form of artistic expression in the African-American community. After the Civil War, it became increasingly acceptable for African American-created works to be exhibited in museums, and painters and sculptors increasingly produced works for this purpose. These were works mostly in

23046-474: The proposed Smithsonian museum. These institutions had fought for decades for political, financial, and academic independence from white-dominated, sometimes racist local governments. Now they feared losing that hard-won independence. In 1988, Rep. John Lewis and Rep. Leland introduced legislation for a stand-alone African-American history museum within the Smithsonian Institution. But the bill faced significant opposition in Congress due to its cost. Supporters of

23213-422: The public in their own communities about how Latinos are enriching America's cultural fabric." The institution publishes Smithsonian magazine monthly and Air & Space magazine bimonthly. Smithsonian was the result of Secretary of the Smithsonian S. Dillon Ripley asking the retired editor of Life magazine Edward K. Thompson to produce a magazine "about things in which the Smithsonian Institution

23380-433: The purpose of displaying African-American art, and collegiate teaching positions were created by and for African-American artists. Some African-American women were also active in the feminist art movement in the 1970s. Faith Ringgold made work that featured black female subjects and that addressed the conjunction of racism and sexism in the U.S., while the collective Where We At (WWA) held exhibitions exclusively featuring

23547-419: The reading of scientific and literary productions, but this was continued for only a short time, as the number attending declined rapidly. Eighty-five communications by 26 people were made to Congress during the entire life of the society, with more than a half relating to astronomy or mathematics. Among all the activities planned by the institute, only a few were actually implemented. Two were the establishment of

23714-483: The same time. Patron traffic proved so heavy that the NMAAHC began offering many fewer same-day tickets, and changed their release from early morning to early afternoon. After six months, 1.2 million people had visited the NMAAHC, making it one of the four most-visited Smithsonian museums. Patrons spent an average of six hours at the museum, twice as long as had been estimated before the museum's opening. The museum's popularity led to some problems. Visitors stood in line in

23881-448: The scrim be made of bronze, which would have made the museum the only one on the National Mall whose exterior was not made of limestone or marble. Cost issues forced the architects to change this to bronze-painted aluminum in September 2012. The change was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts, but the commissioners criticized the change for lacking the warm, reflective qualities of bronze. Noted architect Witold Rybczynski also criticized

24048-504: The site. Lasers continually monitored the walls during construction for any signs of bulging or movement. The first concrete for the foundations was poured in November 2012. As the lower levels were completed, cranes installed a segregated railroad passenger car and a guard tower from the Louisiana State Penitentiary on November 17, 2013. These items were so large that they could not be dismantled and installed at

24215-470: The southern end of L'Enfant Promenade . This controversy threatened to kill the legislation. To save the bill, backers of the museum said in mid-November 2003 that they would abandon their push for the Capitol Hill site. The compromise saved the legislation: The House passed the "National Museum of African American History and Culture Act" ( Pub. L.   108–184 (text) (PDF) ) on November 19, and

24382-532: The speakers at the ceremony. Actress Phylicia Rashād was the Master of Ceremonies for the event, which also featured poetry and music performed by Denyce Graves , Thomas Hampson , and the Heritage Signature Chorale. Clark Construction Group, Smoot Construction, and H.J. Russell & Company won the contract to build the museum. The architectural firm of McKissack & McKissack (which

24549-640: The staff and unfulfilled financial obligations to sponsors existed. The website's quality was poor, and the center did not have a public affairs manager, a programs director, adequate human resources support, or cohesive mission statement. After difficult times in the first few years, the center improved. According to the Smithsonian, the center "support[s] scholarly research, exhibitions, public and educational programs, web-based content and virtual platforms, and collections and archives. [It] also manage[s] leadership and professional development programs for Latino youth, emerging scholars and museum professionals." Today,

24716-415: The steel members of the above-ground structure required extreme precision, as the steel elements penetrated one another at more than 500 places and some beams had several hundred bolt-holes in them. All structural steel elements also had to work almost perfectly with the rebar and rebar couplers so that elements would not run into one another and yet maintain structural integrity. A system of girders around

24883-522: The structure would be too costly. It considered a site just west of the National Museum of American History and a site on the southwest Washington waterfront, but rejected both. The commission considered whether the museum should have an independent board of trustees (similar to that of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum ) or a board answerable both to the Smithsonian and independent trustees (similar to that of

25050-513: The study of modern-day slavery throughout the world; and grants to help African-American museums build their endowments. The legislation established a committee to select a site, and required it to report its recommendation within 12 months. The site selection committee was limited to studying four sites: The site just west of the National Museum of American History, the Liberty Loan Federal Building site, Banneker Park, and

25217-473: The time it went public. This included 192 gifts of at least $ 1 million. Members of the boards of directors of various Smithsonian museums donated $ 372 million. The Smithsonian said that funds raised would go toward completion of the National Museum of African American History and Culture building, and renovations of the National Air and Space Museum , National Museum of American History , and

25384-584: The top of an Olowe of Ise sculpture which is now on display inside the museum. Under federal law, the National Capital Planning Commission , the United States Commission of Fine Arts , and the D.C. Historic Preservation Commission all have review and approval rights over construction in the metropolitan D.C. area. As the design went through these agencies for approval, it was slightly revised. The building

25551-505: The variations in between, including America's home-grown Abstract expressionist movement, an approach to art seen in the work of Howardena Pindell , McArthur Binion and Norman Lewis , among others. Like their peers, African-American artists also work in an array of media, including painting, print-making, collage, assemblage, drawing, sculpture and more. Their themes are similarly varied, although many also address, or feel they must address, issues of American Blackness. Once known as

25718-494: The vast sweep of the African-American experience in the United States. The study was also highly critical of the Smithsonian's ability to adequately represent African-American culture and history within an existing institution, and its willingness to appoint African-American staff to high-ranking positions within the museum. The Smithsonian formed a 22-member advisory board, chaired by Mary Schmidt Campbell , in May 1990. The creation of

25885-546: The website features a high-tech virtual museum including self-guided virtual tours of past and present exhibits. The Smithsonian Latino Center's Young Ambassadors Program (YAP) is a program within the Latino Center that reaches out to Latino high school students with the goal of encouraging them to become leaders in arts, sciences, and the humanities. Students selected for the program travel to Washington, D.C. for an "enrichment seminar" that lasts approximately five days. Afterwards, students return to their communities to serve in

26052-576: The winning design had to respect the history and views of the Washington Monument as well as demonstrate an understanding of the African-American experience. The winning design was required to reflect optimism, spirituality, and joy, but also acknowledge and incorporate "the dark corners" of the African-American experience. The museum design was required to function as a museum, but also be able to host cultural events of various kinds. Hundreds of architects and firms were invited to participate in

26219-850: Was appropriated for meteorological research. The institution became a magnet for young scientists from 1857 to 1866, who formed a group called the Megatherium Club . The Smithsonian played a critical role as the US partner institution in early bilateral scientific exchanges with the Academy of Sciences of Cuba . Construction began on the Smithsonian Institution Building ("the Castle") in 1849. Designed by architect James Renwick Jr. , its interiors were completed by general contractor Gilbert Cameron. The building opened in 1855. The Smithsonian's first expansion came with

26386-509: Was attempting to provide support for artists in 1933, but their efforts proved ineffective. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935, and that program succeeded at providing all American artists, and especially African-American artists, with a means to earn a living in a devastated economy. By the middle of the 1930s, more than 250,000 African Americans were involved with

26553-464: Was awarded to several of them, including Hale Woodruff , Palmer Hayden and Archibald Motley . In 1929, the funding temporarily ended as a result of the Great Depression , only to resume mounting exhibitions and offering funding once the economy revived artists like Jacob Lawrence , Laura Wheeler Waring and others. By 1933, the U.S. Treasury Department 's Public Works of Art Project

26720-559: Was established as a trust instrumentality by act of Congress. More than two-thirds of the Smithsonian's workforce of some 6,300 persons are employees of the federal government. The Smithsonian Institution Office of Protection Services oversees security at the Smithsonian facilities and enforces laws and regulations for National Capital Parks together with the United States Park Police . The president's 2011 budget proposed just under $ 800 million in support for

26887-407: Was first eased within America's big cities, including Philadelphia , Boston , Chicago , New York , and New Orleans . Even in these places, however, there were discriminatory limitations. Abroad, however, African Americans were much better received. In Europe — especially Paris, France — these artists were freer to experiment with techniques outside traditional western art. Freedom of expression

27054-506: Was limited by availability.) (Selection was limited by availability.) (Selection was limited by availability.) (Selection was limited by availability.) (Selection was limited by availability.) Many American museums hold works by African-American artists, including Smithsonian American Art Museum Colleges and universities with important collections include Fisk University , Spelman College and Howard University . Other important collections of African-American art include

27221-424: Was moved toward the southern boundary of its plot of land, to give a better view of the Washington Monument from Constitution Avenue . The size of the upper floors were shrunk by 17 percent. Although three upper floors were permitted (instead of just two), the ceiling height of each floor was lowered so that the overall height of the building was lowered. The large, box-like first floor was largely eliminated. Added to

27388-781: Was much more prevalent in Paris and, to a lesser extent, Munich and Rome . The Harlem Renaissance refers to an enormous flourishing in African-American art of all kinds, including visual art. Ideas that were already widespread in other parts of the world at the time had begun to spread into U.S. artistic communities during the 1920s. Notable artists in this period included Richmond Barthé , Aaron Douglas , Lawrence Harris , Palmer Hayden , William H. Johnson , Sargent Johnson , John T. Biggers , Earle Wilton Richardson , Malvin Gray Johnson , Archibald Motley , Augusta Savage , Hale Woodruff and photographer James Van Der Zee . William E. Harmon, an art patron and aficionado, established

27555-528: Was the first African American-owned architectural firm in the United States) provided project management services on behalf of the Smithsonian, and acted as liaison between the Smithsonian and public utilities and D.C. government agencies. Guy Nordenson and Associates and Robert Silman Associates were the structural engineers for the project. The NMAAHC became the deepest museum on the National Mall. Excavators dug 80 ft (24 m) below grade to lay

27722-399: Was the fourth African American on the council, after Marian Anderson , Ralph Ellison , and Duke Ellington . In 1971, Richard Hunt was the first African American sculptor to have a major solo retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art . The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s led artists to capture and express the changing times. Galleries and community art centers developed for

27889-531: Was unlawful for blacks to congregate or preach. During his speech at the museum's opening, Obama shed tears discussing his thoughts on visiting the museum with future grandchildren. The total cost of the museum's design, construction, and installation of exhibits was $ 540 million ($ 685,557,404 in 2023 dollars). By the time the museum's founding fundraising campaign had ended, the NMAAHC had raised $ 386 million ($ 490,046,589 in 2023 dollars), 143 percent more than its goal of $ 270 million. More than 600,000 people visited

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