Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery

Dates: Tuesday, November 10th OR Thursday, November 12th 

Link: https://npg.si.edu/

This week we are talking to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery! It falls under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution. You can visit their website here: https://npg.si.edu/

Let’s quickly review the background of the Smithsonian, before we take a short look at the pre-visit materials the Portrait Gallery has provided for us.

The Smithsonian 

So how did THE Smithsonian get its start? We owe it all to a man named James Smithson, who died in 1829. James was the illegitimate son of a wealthy Englishman who actually never even visited America! For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, Smithson left the entirety of his estate, a half million dollars, to the United States government. He dictated that his gift be used to establish an institution dedicated to knowledge gathering and learning. Though it would take until 1846 for the Senate to pass an act to organize the institution, its legacy continues to inspire and impact generations.

To read more about the Smithsonian’s history, you can check out their retrospective on 175 years here: https://www.si.edu/175

The Smithsonian is now the largest museum, education, and research complex in the world, with 21 museums, the National Zoo, and 9 research facilities! So far, our class has visited (virtually, of course) 7 of the list. Can you remember which ones (I’ll tell you after the graphic). Check out the list of museums that make up the complex:

So far, our class has visited the following:

1. Anacostia Community Museum

2. National Air and Space Museum

3. National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

4. Freer Gallery of Art & Arthur M. Sackler Gallery (National Museum of Asian Art)

5. National Postal Museum

6. Smithsonian American Art Museum

7. National Zoo (not on the list above but I still count it)

Read more about each of the locations here:

Let me know what you think we should visit next! Some, of course, lack virtual programming, but I’m trying to get to them all!

This week we get to talk to examine a number of portraits that are a part of the collection at the national portrait gallery. Before our visit, they have provided us some resources:

From the Gallery about our visit:

The National Portrait Gallery tells the story of America through the Individuals who have shaped our country and our culture. There are many ways to explore the lives of presidents, activists, renegades, artists, writers, and other Americans who have a place in our national story. Our student programs enable young people to engage with these individuals and their stories through our inquiry-based gallery experiences. Along the way, we hope students are inspired to reflect on their own story too. Through analysis of the visual elements of portraiture, students explore biography, art, and the American experience. Each standards-based, themed student program is facilitated by specially trained gallery educators and complements curricula in art, history, social studies, and language arts. To prepare for your visit, students should look at and explore visual clues found in portraits in order to begin to read them.

Below, you will find key terms, links to our Portrait Spotlights and Search Collections pages, and questions to pose using our Elements of Portrayal Guide. The questions can be adapted to meet your needs. You can read several portraits or just one prior to your visit.

Key Terms

Portrait: A likeness or image of a person that is created by an artist.

Image: A picture of something or someone.

Sitter/Subject: The person or people who are in a portrait.

Symbol: Something representing something else by association; objects, characters, or other concrete representations of abstract ideas, concepts, or events

Medium: Materials used to create a portrait.

Links

Search Collections: http://npg.si.edu/portraits

Portrait Spotlight: http://npg.si.edu/teachers/classroom-resources

Reading Portraiture Guide for Educators: https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/reading-portraiture-a-guide-for-educators/AkwthxLAbBPpTY8r

Tune in this week to go through some portraits with Smithsonian professionals to explore some of the fantastic portraits we have in our ‘national attic’! I can’t wait!

https://npg.si.edu/sites/default/files/npg_pre-visit_lesson_0.pdf

https://npg.si.edu/teachers/classroom-resources

https://npg.si.edu/