Smithsonian American Art Museum – Virtual Tour

The Smithsonian American Art Museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution. It holds one of the largest collections of art, from the American colonial period to the present.

The museum has more than 7,000 artists represented in the collection. The museum’s main building is the old Patent Office Building, which it shares with the National Portrait Gallery. Craft-focused exhibitions are shown in the Renwick Gallery.

Virtual Tour of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Highlights Tour of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

“Skating in Central Park” by Agnes Tait

“Skating in Central Park” by Agnes Tait is a large, festive scene of winter revelers in Central Park, New York City. It depicts skaters and sledders on the frozen lake and the snowy slopes of the park.

It is late afternoon, the sun is setting behind the Manhattan skyline, and the contrast between the snow and the dark branches of the bare trees is delightful.

“Buffalo Hunt on the Southwestern Prairies” by John Mix Stanley

“Buffalo Hunt on the Southwestern Prairies” by John Mix Stanley depicts the American West and the Native American life in a highly naturalistic depiction.

Stanley was an artist-explorer, a painter of landscapes, and Native American portraits and tribal life.

Unfortunately, over 200 of Stanley’s paintings, which were being held at the Smithsonian, were lost in an 1865 fire.

This significant loss of most of his works makes this portrayal of the American West highly valued.

“Surrender of a Confederate Soldier” by Julian Scott

“Surrender of a Confederate Soldier” by Julian Scott depicts a wounded soldier of the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War waving a flag of surrender.

The soldier is accompanied by a black man, presumed to be the soldier’s slave, and a woman holding an infant assumed to be his wife and child.

The painting does not glorify war, and instead, it shows the suffering and human sacrifice associated with war.

“Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way” by Emanuel Leutze

“Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way” by Emanuel Leutze is a painted study of a massive painted mural currently displayed behind the western staircase of the House of Representatives chamber in the United States Capitol Building.

The picture depicts a group of pioneers on their journey westward as they catch their first glimpse of the “promised land” of California.

“The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane” by John Quidor

“The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane” by John Quidor depicts a scene from Washington Irving’s 1820 short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

The schoolmaster Ichabod Crane is fleeing on a white horse, pursued by the Headless Horseman on a black horse. The Headless Horseman is holding a pumpkin, which he is preparing to throw at Crane.

Visible in the background is the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow and the adjacent Cemetery, and the full moon.

The painting is one of several by John Quidor based on scenes from Irving’s written works about Dutch New York.