Tag Archives: SAAM

Man with a Briefcase

June 12, 2017

IMG_9810.jpgMan with a Briefcase // Jonathan Borofsky // COR-TEN steel // 1979-1988

A colossal statue of a 27 foot tall man sporting a hat and carrying a briefcase is located outside the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C. This figure resembles the classic image of a typical salesman, walking door to door. This subject is a reoccurring theme by Borofsky, seen in other large scale statues in cities such as Forth Worth, TX and Minneapolis, MN. This particular statue is a newly acquired work by SAAM.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

April 24, 2017

IMG_9862.jpgElectronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii // Nam June Paik // forty-nine-channel closed-circuit video installation, neon, steel & electronic components

Located in the heart of our nation’s capital is an art museum dedicated to acquiring and exhibiting American art. Known as SAAM, the Smithsonian American Art Museum has an extensive collection of works including early America, the 19th and 20th centuries and portraiture, to name a few. Here are a few that caught my eye.

IMG_9884.jpgSnails Space with Vari-Lites, “Painting as Performance” // David Hockney // oil & acrylic on canvas with Vari Lights // 1995-1996

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Drag-on // Karin Davie // oil on canvas // 1999

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Sculpture Group Symbolizing World’s Communication in the Atomic Age // Harry Bertoia // brazed & welded brass & bronze // 1959

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Nenuphar // Alexander Calder // sheet steel // 1968

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William Jefferson Clinton (Forty-second president) // Chuck Close // oil on canvas // 2006

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Tableau Noir // Alexander Calder // painted steel // 1970 // 140 x 145 x 140 in