What's your favorite way to spend a summer day? Perhaps taking in a museum exhibition, getting away to a beach, savoring a glass of wine, or indulging in some shopping are at the top of your list. This week's offerings make them all just a click away.
It's all designed to make sure you continue to enjoy what you've come to value from Smithsonian Associates: programs and experiences that are entertaining, informative, eclectic, and insightful.
The Man Who Was Interested in Everything
He lived for 90 years, published more than 36 books, traveled across three continents, and wrote well over 25,000 letters to an international network of colleagues and admirers. Today his name has fallen from popular culture, but his legacy lives on. He was Prussian naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt, one of the most influential intellectuals of the 19th century. An exhibition spotlighting the celebrated polymath at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum, Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture, never got to welcome the public, but you can still take it in on a video tour guided by curator Eleanor Jones Harvey. And learn how Humboldt-through science and art-inspired a key part of America's national identity in "The Last Man Who Knew It All," an episode from Sidedoor: A Podcast from the Smithsonian.
Tour the SAAM Exhibition
Listen to the Podcast
Sip with a Sommelier
Join Food and Wine magazine's 2019 Sommelier of the Year Erik Segelbaum in an interactive Smithsonian Associates Streaming series designed to boost the wine IQ of both novices and seasoned aficionados. He dives into the worlds of French and Italian wine, covering our regions whose output is world-renowned-and you follow along at home with a personal kit of tasting samples. Segelbaum offers new insights, unravels misconceptions, reinvigorates your love of favorite varieties, and guides you in discovering some new ones. He also offers tips on navigating restaurant wine lists, tackling food and wine pairings, and more useful topics for wine lovers. The itinerary begins in Bordeaux on Friday, July 24.
Register for the Program
A Day at the Beach
Missing the shore this summer? Plunge into a gallery of artworks from Smithsonian collections that depict the pleasures and beauty of the beach. The images range from a 1902 print of a demure Japanese bather to a vivid 1920s Prendergast painting of a crowded Canadian beach, a charming sketch of the French Riviera to a '60s neon masterpiece of a poster for an iconic documentary about Californian surfers. They add up to a digital escape that can transport you to an endless summer.
View the Gallery
Posters with a Punch
The Great Depression, two world wars, and the activism of the 1960s sparked some of the most memorable poster art of the last century, enduring images that capture defining moments in American history. The DC-based trio behind the Viral Art Project-an artist, a political branding specialist, and an historian and curator-invited artists and designers to respond to COVID-19 by creating posters that speak to one of today's national challenges. The result is more than 200 graphic messages available for free download or sale that remind us to stay home, stay healthy, and stay hopeful, all delivered with wit, great design, and on-target messages. Washingtonian magazine offers the stories behind a few of them.
Browse the Art Project
Read the Article
Shop the Smithsonian Store From Home
Were you captivated by Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrors at the Hirshhorn? Smithsonian Store offers the perfect complement to your selfies from the exhibition: a collection filled with clothing and accessories designed in the Japanese artist's signature eye-popping graphic style. They're among the wide rage of Smithsonian-inspired offerings from a site that deserves to be bookmarked among your online-shopping favorites. It's the ideal place find just the right gift for summer birthdays, anniversaries, or other special occasions. Take advantage of a current seasonal sale-and remember that Smithsonian Associates members receive a 10% discount on their purchases.
Shop the Store
