Smithsonian Associates - Educating and Entertaining Audiences for More Than 50 Years

Neal Asbury and Jean-Pierre Isbouts trace the critical role that maps played in battles including those of the French and Indian War, and examine how British strategy during the Revolutionary War became entirely dependent on hastily engraved (and often flawed) charts of geographical features and enemy dispositions.

His role as Union Army quartermaster general is well known, but Montgomery Meigs was also an engineer, architect, inventor, and patron of the arts who left an indelible impression on the face of the capital city. Historian Bill Keene offers a virtual tour of sites in the Washington area associated with Meigs in his role of engineer and architect.

The House of Bourbon remains one of the most historically important European royal houses. The Bourbons came to prominence in the 16th century when they first became the rulers of Navarre, in Spain, and later of France proper. Historian Alexander Mikaberidze explores their rise to power—and the root causes of their fall.

Curator Elizabeth Lay is joined by Maryhill Museum of Art’s Curator, Steven Grafe to share the story, the designs, and the backdrops that represent a collection of 172 outfits by 52 Parisian couturiers, a reminder to the world that Paris still ruled fashion in 1945 after the war. Part of a 3-session Decorative Arts summer series.

Understanding how to fully utilize your camera’s flash is key for photographers wishing to take their photographic skill to the next level. This class, designed for digital photographers familiar with aperture, shutter speed, ISO and metering in manual mode, offers to do just that.

The Harry Potter novels may seem like a strange perspective from which to view economics. In a realm filled with magic, we might expect the economic problems that we muggles face to disappear in a puff of smoke. But, as economist Brian O’Roark explains, even the Boy Who Lived has to come to grips with fiscal reality.