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Annals of the Smithsonian Institution 1 999 



The exhibition focuses on nineteenth-century industrial 

 workers and managers in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Jewish 

 immigrants in Cincinnati, Ohio; and slaves and free blacks 

 in the low country of South Carolina. Dynamic panoramas, 

 more than 200 historical artifacts, and almost 400 photo- 

 graphs, illustrations, graphics and personal recollections 

 explore what the promise of America meant to the three dif- 

 ferent communities. 



February 15 



■ Benefit The Archives of American Arr holds irs longest- 

 running annual fund-raising event, Lundi Gras XL, a gala 

 black-tie dinner, in Detroit, Michigan, where the Archives 

 was founded in 1954. 



February 1 5 



■ Management excellence The Board of Trustees of the 

 Archives of American Art meets at the Cranbrook Educa- 

 tional Community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. 



February 1 8 



■ Public program The Einsrein Planetarium at the National 

 Air and Space Museum was the setting for The Smithsonian 

 Associates' dramatic recreation of the celestial canopy above 

 Stonehenge when that ancient structure was new. 



February 19 



■ Medical breakthrough Dr. Richard Montah, National Zoo 

 pathologist, Dr. Laura Richman, and Dr. Gary Hayward, 

 Johns Hopkins University, publish their research in Science 

 documenting two new viruses believed to be responsible for 

 the deaths of at least 10 Asian and African elephant calves in 

 Norrh America since 1983. 



February 19-August 8 



■ Exhibition "George and Martha Washington: Portraits 

 from the Presidential Years" was on view at the National 

 Portrait Gallery. Timed to coincide with the 200th anniver- 

 sary of the death of George Washington, this exhibition 

 presented a rare view of the first American president and 

 first lady Martha Washington through 25 portraits made 

 from life during Washington's years in office that included 

 portraits by Gilbert Stuart, Charles Willson Peale, Rem- 

 brandt Peale, and John Trumball. 



February 22 



■ New research laboratory The Smithsonian Institution held 

 a dedication ceremony for a newly constructed research labo- 

 ratory building for the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort 

 Pietce. It replaced the National Museum of Natural His- 

 tory's former coastal/marine field station in Florida, which 

 had been housed in an old World War II Army barge for 27 

 years. The new 8,000-square-foot building is located on the 



8-acre site acquired by the Smithsonian from the MacArthur 

 Foundation. The building includes offices, individual labora- 

 tories, general-use laboratories for chemistry, histology, 

 electron microscopy, and a wet laboratory. The new labora- 

 tory will be the first of several phases planned for the 

 development of the 8-acre campus. 



February 23 



■ Symposium The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage 

 and Children's Television Workshop cosponsored a sympo- 

 sium that examined the 30-year history of diversity and 

 multicultural programming on Sesame Street, the longest-run- 

 ning television series in the world. 



February 25 



■ Reinstallation After an extensive five-month renovation of 

 its thitd floor, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden 

 ushered in its 2 5th-anniversary year by opening "The Hirsh- 

 horn Collection at 25: Celebrating Modern Art," the first 

 phase of a major reinstallation of its holdings. Assistant Di- 

 rector for Art and Public Programs Neal Benezra and 

 curators Judith Zilczer and Valerie Fletcher conceived and 

 carried out the tehanging in reconfigured spaces replete with 

 new catpeting and lighting. Washington Post critic Jo Ann 

 Lewis praised the "provocative groupings" in this "vital and 

 tespected national museum of modern art." Further marking 

 the annivetsary were an open house and director's lecture 

 (April 25), a redesigned museum calendar (Winter 1999 is- 

 sue), outdoor banners, and a month-long documentary 

 exhibition ("Faces of Friendship," April 7-May 9) recount- 

 ing Joseph Hirshhorn's patronage in archival, inscribed 

 photographs donared by his widow, Olga Hirshhorn. 



March 



■ Acquisition Patticia Smith Melton presented a collection 

 of 34 rare American appliqued, pieced, and whole cloth 

 quilts made befote 1850 to the Smithsonian American Art 

 Museum's Renwick Gallery. 



March 



■ Award The Smirhsonian American Art Museum was 

 awarded "Best Research Site" at the 1999 Museums and the 

 Web confetence held in New Orleans. The depth of research 

 information, a testament to the museum's long tradition in 

 developing research resources, was among the critetia con- 

 sidered by the judges. 



March 



■ Award The Smithsonian American Art Museum was 

 given the Smithsonian Institution's 1999 Exhibition Award 

 for Best Design and Installation for the exhibition "Daniel 

 Brush: Gold without Boundaries," on view at the Renwick 

 Gallery in fall 1998. 



