48 



Annals of the Smithsonian Institution 2000 



Photographic Archives and Library 



The museum continues to be a leading research and reference 

 center for the visual arts of Africa. The Warren M. Robbins 

 Library, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, 

 contains more than 20,000 volumes on African art and ma- 

 terial culture. The Eliot Elisofon Photogtaphic Archives 

 specializes in the collection and preservation of visual mate- 

 rials on African art, culture, and the environment. 



National Museum of American History 



Spencer R. Crew, Director 



The National Museum of America History dedicates its 

 collections and scholarship to inspiting a broader under- 

 standing of our nation and its many peoples. The museum 

 creates learning opportunities, stimulates imaginations, and 

 presents challenging idea about our nation's past through 

 publications, family programs, electronic outreach and dis- 

 tance learning, community-based collaborations, and 

 affiliations. In FY 2000, the museum acquired over 9,000 

 objects and had a budget of $32 million. The annual visita- 

 tion grew by 20 percent to 6.3 million. 



The Museum launched into its capital campaign, called 

 "Who Is Responsible for America?" With a directive to seek 

 private funding from individuals, corporations, and founda- 

 tions for critical and strategic capital improvements, gifts 

 and pledges reached $98 million in 2000. Paul O'Neill, 

 Chairman of Alcoa, Inc. was named the Campaign Chair, 

 and Senator Nancy Kassebaum Baker was named the Hon- 

 orary Campaign Chair. On March 27, the museum 

 announced sponsorship in the amount of $2.4 million from 

 the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in support of a 

 new exhibition, "Within These Walls," centered around a 

 two-and-a-half story house that stood in Ipswich, Massachu- 

 setts, for nearly 300 years. In September 2000, the museum 

 announced an $80 million gift of Kenneth E. Behring, the 

 largest single donation in the history of the Smithsonian. 

 Mr. Behring 's generous contribution will allow for a com- 

 plete transformation and modernization of the museum. 



Findings from The Star-Spangled Banner Conservation 

 was a major highlight of the year. After close examination 

 and documentation of the Star-Spangled Banner, the conser- 

 vation staff spent most of 1999 removing the 1.7 million 

 stitches that had attached it to the 19 14 linen lining. After 

 adding a temporary support layer, they turned the flag over 

 to remove the stitching altogether, and are now in the 

 process of detaching the linen. The next steps include de- 

 tailed examination and evaluation of that newly revealed side 

 of the flag, followed by research and decision-making re- 

 garding cleaning protocols. Various matetials will also be 

 discussed for possible use to provide support for the fragile 

 Star-Spangled Banner. 



The museum continues to engage the public in this sig- 

 nificant work. Members of the project team lecture on the 



subject, and continue to lead twice-weekly tours of the 

 Star-Spangled Banner conservation exhibition. A public 

 relations campaign tied to the conservation lab and exhibi- 

 tion won the Silver Anvil Award of Excellence from the 

 Public Relations Society of America. The project Web site 

 (http://Americanhistory.si.edu/ssb), launched in November 

 1999, features innovative design, interactives for people of 

 all ages, and updates on the preservation effort. In the year 

 since, the site has had bestowed upon it an American Associ- 

 ation of Museums award in 2000 and commendations from 

 Communication Arts, www.4kids.0rg, and www.surfingthenet 

 withkids.com. On July 4, 2000, "The Today Show" and 

 "Good Morning America" interviewed the Secretary and the 

 Chief Conservator about the project in the exhibition for 

 national broadcast. On the same date, museum historian 

 Lonn Taylor published The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag 

 that Inspired the National Anthem, documenting the flag's his- 

 tory as it relates to our National Anthem, the Armistead 

 family, the Smithsonian, and the American public. 



"On Time" opened in November 1999 to tell the story of 

 how and why clocks and watches have become so significant 

 in American life. Its five engaging historical sections — 

 Marking Time, Mechanizing Time, Synchronizing Time, 

 Saving Time, and Expanding Time — chronicle the ways in 

 which people have measured, used, and thought about time 

 over three centuries. A concluding section asks visitors to 

 pause and consider what other kinds of time besides clock 

 time they experience everyday. Each section is represented by 

 landmark objects, such as the Ellicott Clock — a unique 

 eighteenth-century four-sided clock. Interactive stations pro- 

 vide "virtual showcases," and activity catts enable visitors to 

 patticipate in time-related projects. The exhibition's sponsor, 

 Timex Corporation, loaned the watches for a changing ex- 

 hibit case, which currently spotlights Inventing the Mickey 

 Mouse Watch. 



The museum began the yearlong "Piano 300: Celebrating 

 Three Centuries of People and Pianos" in grand style. 

 Billy Joel, Dave Brubeck, and Jerry Lee Lewis were on hand 

 at the exhibition's opening to receive the James Smithson 

 Bicentennial Medal. They later taped "Piano Grand! A 

 Smithsonian Celebration," which aired nationwide on PBS. 

 Smithsonian Productions and Maryland Public Television 

 coproduced the show. A PBS documentary based on the ex- 

 hibition is in preparation. 



Drawing from museum collections, the exhibition, which 

 opened in March 2000, traces the piano from its origins in 

 Italy, to its American incarnations, to its modern-day 

 manufacture in Asia. It features 25 keyboards such as a 

 Florentine piano made in 1722 by the inventor, Bartolomeo 

 Cristofori; an 1854 Erard grand piano presented to Prince 

 Albert by Queen Victoria; the 1893 concert grand created 

 fot Paderewski's American tours by Steinway & Sons; Irving 

 Berlin's customized transposing upright piano; and Liber- 

 ace's rhinestone-encrusted Baldwin grand. Manuscripts and 

 first editions by masters from Mozart to Gershwin, on loan 

 from the Library of Congress, are also displayed. Special 

 "Piano 300" events have included performance tours led by 

 professional pianists and museum staff; concerts at NMAH, 



