August 



■ Collection Loan A set of John James Audubon's four- 

 volume Birds of America, his Viviparous Quadrupeds of 

 North America (the complete 155 color lithographs), and 

 manuscript materials are on long-term loan to the 

 Smithsonian Institution Libraries from the National Au- 

 dubon Society. These materials, appraised at nearly $3 

 million, are housed in the Dibner Library. 



August 



■ Milestone For the first time in the 40-year history of 

 the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Ser- 

 vice, federal funds will allow SITES to offer exhibitions 

 at substantially lower fees, thus enabling more people 

 nationwide the opportunity to experience the full range 

 of Smithsonian programs. 



fountain and fabricate interpretive signs in the Mary L. 

 Ripley Garden. 



August 2} 



■ Expansion and Renovation Staff of the Freer Gallery of 

 Art completed the four-month relocation and subse- 

 quent inventory of the gallery's entire collection of ap- 

 proximately 27,000 objects to a 13,300-square-foot 

 research and storage facility on the newly excavated 

 lower level. With completion of the gallery's expansion 

 and construction on its lower levels, the Department of 

 Conservation and Scientific Research moved from tem- 

 porary quarters in the Sackler Gallery, which it had oc- 

 cupied since 1987, to a new io.OOO-square-foot lab at 

 the Freer. The facility offers expanded and modernized 

 facilities for art conservation and research on ancient ma- 

 terials and technology. 



August 3-4 



■ Acquisition A team of National Museum of Ameri- 

 can History archivists and curators traveled to New 

 York City to receive the gift of music manuscripts, pho- 

 tographs, recordings, business records, and other memo- 

 rabilia of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, presented 

 by the composer's sister, Ruth Kennedy Boarwright. 

 With this gift, the museum's Duke Ellington Collection 

 became the world's largest repository of Ellington 

 materials. 



August p 



■ Special Project At the National Zoological Park, art- 

 ists from the Latin American Youth Center in Washing- 

 ton, D.C., completed an Amazonia Wildlife Mural on a 

 huge concrete wall near parking lot C. 



August p 



U Grant The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 

 received a planning grant from the Smithsonian Special 

 Exhibition Fund to establish an exhibition and public 

 education program on marine resources in Panama. The 

 exhibition will be located on Culebra Island near STRI's 

 Naos Island Laboratory. 



August 16 



■ Grant A gift from the Folger Fund will help the Of- 

 fice of Horticulture restore the 19th-century cast-iron 



September 



■ Cultural Diversity National Hispanic Heritage 

 Month was celebrated by the Smithsonian with con- 

 certs, lectures, demonstrations, and tours. Highlights 

 were the keynote address by Luis Cancel, executive di- 

 rector of the Bronx Museum of the Arts; Fun Fiesta Mu- 

 sical, an afternoon of festive music and dance at the 

 National Zoo; and a lecture by Latina astronaut Ellen 

 Ochoa. A comprehensive publicity campaign organized 

 by the Office of Public Affairs included newspaper ad- 

 vertisements in three local Hispanic newspapers, paid 

 commercials on two Spanish-language radio stations, 

 and a remote broadcast by radio station WMDO from 

 the pan-Institution community event held at the Na- 

 tional Zoo. 



September 



■ Exhibition During fiscal year 1991, the Smithsonian 

 Institution Traveling Exhibition Service circulated 268 

 exhibitions to 40 states, including the District of Co- 

 lumbia, and to Canada, Ethiopia, Madagascar, 

 Mauritius, Rwanda, and Uganda. 



September 



■ Quincentenary The opening events of the 

 Smithsonian's Quincentenary commemoration were pro- 

 moted by the Office of Public Affairs with a broad-scale 

 campaign. In addition to basic media activities, contacts 

 with social and food editors resulted in wide coverage of 



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