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Category: Special Collections

Political messages in Artists’ books

Erin Rushing
May 16, 2013
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Sue Coe 1
Cover of Sue Coe’s “X”.

This post was contributed by Anna Brooke, librarian at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library.

One of the Hirshhorn Museum Library’s artists’ books with a political message is X by Sue Coe.  Coe is a British artist-journalist born Tamworth (Staffordshire), England in 1951. She attended the Royal College of Art, London. In 1972 she moved to New York City where she lives and works. Art and politics will be the theme for the Art Libraries Society (Arlis) conference which will be held in Washington, D. C. in the spring of 2014.

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Visionaire at the Hirshhorn Library

Alexandra Reigle
April 10, 2013
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One of the pieces from Visionaire, no. 33
One of the pieces from Visionaire issue “Touch” where actual string is stitched into the cardboard sheet.

The Hirshhorn Library has had the benefit of receiving creative, non-traditional items from generous contributors that reflect a playfulness with format and materials found in contemporary art.  One such unexpected gift was that of the art and fashion periodical Visionaire , which has been published three times a year in limited quantities since 1991. Each issue has a particular theme that is illustrated in some form or another through the collaboration of Visionaire with contemporary artists and fashion designers from around the world.

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Joyeux Anniversaire, Felix Nadar!

Erin Rushing
April 5, 2013
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Portrait of Felix NadarTomorrow, April 6th, would mark the 193rd birthday of Felix Nadar. Nadar, aeronautical scientist and photographer, became an unexpected star of the Smithsonian Libraries’ Dibner Portrait collection in The Commons on Flickr. Although probably not a household name these days (and definitely not under his given name – Gaspard-Félix Tournachon), Nadar was quite a character in 19th century France. Luminaries of all kinds, including George Sand and Marcel Proust, flocked to his Paris photography studio for portrait sittings. He was also a regular contributor to several French comic papers.

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Engineering Prints and Drawings from the Collection of Edward E. White

Erin Rushing
April 3, 2013
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Edward E. White gift 1This post was contributed by Lilla Vekerdy, Head of Special Collections.

On December 19th, 2012 an unusual gift arrived to the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology in two huge crates. The cargo did not look like, nor was it packed as  books, more like art work. Naturally, the shipment was not a surprise: its arrival had been preceded by a year’s worth of correspondence, administration, a trip to pack and ship, and several phone calls about the material.

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Smithsonian Libraries Accepting Resident Scholar Applications for 2014

Liz O'Brien
March 8, 2013
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_DSC0309The Smithsonian Libraries will award grants to Dibner Library Resident Scholars and Baird Society Resident Scholars for the 2014 calendar year. These competitive short-term grants are offered for one to six months to historians, librarians and bibliographers, as well as predoctoral and postdoctoral students, with an approved research project.

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African American art and the Harmon Foundation

Anne Evenhaugen
February 22, 2013
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1928 Harmon Exhibition Brouchure featuring Sargent Johnson
1928 Harmon Exhibition Brouchure featuring Sargent Johnson

When wealthy real estate developer William Elmer Harmon founded the Harmon Foundation in 1922, it originally supported causes as varied as playgrounds, biblical films and nursing programs. But it is better known today as one of the first major supporters of African American creativity and ingenuity.

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