Museums Deck The Halls For o THE SMITHSONIAN Holiday Season By Kathryn Lindeman TORCH The Smithsonian museums will add fuel to holiday spirits later this month with trees No. 77-12 Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. December 1977 decora ted in antique styles, informal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ programs of Christmas music, special holi­ day foods, and free films for the kids. A strolling accordianist will playas Secretary and Mrs. Ripley hold their an­ nual Christmas party in the Museum of Natural History rotunda. All Smithsonian employees are invited to a ttend between 3 and 5: 15 p.m . Tuesday, December 20. Decorated for the a nnual Women's Com­ mittee December 9 dance, the rotunda will exhibit miniature sleighs made by William Schneiderma n of New York. As a hobby, Schneiderm a n m akes tiny models of J beautiful old sleighs such as the one belong­ ing to Catherine the Great. Glittering gifts will hang from the balcony, and a large sleigh filled with packages will complete the scene. Extravaganza at MHT Puppets, music, crafts, and da ncing will all be a pa rt of "A n Old-Fashioned Christ­ mas" in the Museum of History and Technology December 26 through January I . Produced by the Division of Performing . A rts in cooperation with M HT, " An Old­ Fashioned Christmas" will be celebrated from noon to 4 p.m. dail y throughout the building. Musical progra ms will feature hand bell ringi ng, Renaissance music, madrigal sing­ ing , holid ay chamber music, a nd barbershop quartets near the Model-T Ford. Craft demonstrators wi ll cast lead soldiers, fas hion gingerbread houses, m ake rag dolls and marzipan. Jugglers, mimes, and storytellers wil l entertain, and the a udience will be invited to join baroque cir­ cle dancers. "Christmas in the American Past" daily from II a.m. to noon will feature a walk­ around of American period rooms and dis­ cussion of appropriate holiday customs with ..H 101;8 u .tt--tiocerrt's . A holiday film festival at MHT will pre­ sent such classics as "A Child's Christmas in Wales" in which Dylan Thomas recounts in lyrical verse his childhood experiences of Christmas, the original version of "The Wizard of Oz" with Judy Garland, and " H ans Brinker, or the Silver Skates." The film s will be shown in Carmichael Auditorium December 26 through JanJ.lary I. For a complete schedule, call ext. 6264. M HT's Christmas celebration also will J feature a one-hour program, "A Century of Mechanical Christmas Music in the American Home," with original Regina music boxes and early phonographs and cylinders from the Museum's collections being played at 1:30 p.m. each day. Another touch of th~ season at MHT: Faith Bradford's doll house will once again be decorated with a miniature Christmas tree in the parlor and wreaths adorning the mansion's windows. Christmas performances The second annual Hirshhorn Holiday is slated for Saturday, December 3, from 10 a. m . to 2 p.m. for kids six and older accom­ panied by adults. Mu sic , puppets, and a tour of " The Animal in Art" exhibit will be spiced with seasonal spirit. Emmy A ward Horticulture staff members Lauranne Nash (left) and Michelle Sengsourinh decorate for Christmas. They are surrounded by a selection of winning performer M arsha ll Izen will pre­ holiday ornaments from MHT. Photographs by Richard Hofmeister and Robert Meyers. sent a Picasso-inspired puppet program, and c1o,wns and mimes will give free enter- tainment. Employees in the National Air a nd Space The Anacosti a Neighborhood Museum is Museum will hea r carolers periodically dur­ presenting workshops on Kwanza for Handmade Ornaments Trim Trees ing the two weeks prior to Christmas. children as well as adults December I and 2. Sopra no Martha Connolly will present a Kwa nza, a n Afro-American adaptation of program of medieval Christmas carols and the African harvest festi val, is celebrated by Hundreds of European and American or­ years, from 1964 to 1969, making the orna­ 20th-century works composed by Frank m a ny- bl ack people in America from naments ha ndmade by Smithsonian and ments from images she had collected during Martin, Hugo Wolf, and John J acob Niles December 26 through January I. The Washington area volunteers will brighten European travel. She has donated her orna­ at the Renwick Gallery Sunday, December celebration of Kwanza, based on seven "The Trees of Christmas," an exhibit of 12 ments to the Smithsonia n. 18, at 4 p.m . Connoll y will be accompanied principles that apply to each of the seven eight-foot, live trees, December 16 through Wind chimes and gi lt fans will grace a by Lydia Bernstein on piano, Penelope days, is drawn from the basic value system January I, on the Museum of History and tree of Japan. A topiary tree trimmed with Fischer on flute, and David Perry on lute. of African people: unity, self­ Technology's second floor. Based on a apples, paper roses, and small communion determination, collective work and respon­ book of the same name by Edna Metcalfe, wafers will tell the story of Adam and Eve · Off the Mall sibi lit y, cooperative economics, purpose, the exhibit will offer American Christmas on the French Tree of Paradise. "To Celebrate the Moment, An Exhibi­ creativity, and faith. trees decorated in different period styles: a A wooden cepporather than a green tree tion in Honor of the Holiday Season" tidewater plantation tree, a pioneer tree, a will represent Italy. The pyramid-shaped opened at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum Williamsburg folk art tree, a Victorian tree, structure will have scenes on each of four November 23 and focuses on objects Greens and tinsel and a U.S. community tree with samples of shelves. specifically designed to enhance particular In July the Office of Horticulture began everyone's ethnic heritage. A leafless deciduous tree with paper holidays or events such as Thanksgiving, growing about 400 poinsettia plants for I nternational trees will include one from flowers, tropical birds, foil tassels, and Christmas, Chanukah, and New Year's as decorations and about 400 more wi ll be old Russia with 150 balls inset with silver stars will be the tree of Brazil. well as some inevitable occasions including supplied by nearby growers for decorating reproductions of paintings and trimmed Numerous volunteer groups throughout birth, birthdays, and death. Chanukah the buildings. Some of the decorations will with pearls, braid, and ribbon. The oval the area including the Smithsonian's Resi­ lamps, Christmas stockings, and seasonal be designed by horticulture staff members. ball s are reminiscent of the work of Carl dent Associates and visitors information shop decorations are among the items on Faberge. They were designed by Mrs. Har­ volunteers joined the Office of Horticulture exhibit in the ground floor design center. (See 'Holidays' page 2 ) ry Harris of Alexandria, Va., who spent five in preparing this exhibit. Page 2 THE SMITHSONIAN TORCH December 1977 A C~oper-He itt Sampler: From Plates to Mummy Masks

By Karen Ruckman corporate gift to Ivar Krueger. and a mold ror communion warers. Cooper-Hewitt's first major exhibition or "Construction and Techniques" as deter­ items rrom the permanent collection minents or design is the next category where opened on November 15 . "More Than is becomes clear that decoration a nd con­ Meets the Eye." a sampling or nearly 400 structi o n can be simultaneous. As examples items ex hibited in rour dirrerent categories. a needle lace collar and a wrought iron includes drawings, prints, textiles, wall­ overdoor are displayed. More often, papers. and decorative objects selected however. embelli shment is appli ed to the from severa l hundred thousand pos­ surrace by means of techniques such as in­ sibilities. tag li o. relier printing, carving. painting, em­ A visitor to "More Than Meets the Eye" bossi ng. silkscreen, stencil, and overlay. A is challenged to look beyond immediate ap­ beautirul exam ple of the latter is a pearance to the visible and hidden aspects mahogany table inl aid with diverse woods or the design process. Each section of the by Eugenio Quarti. show is devoted to one part or that process "Amusements," the last section, brings and suggests dirrerent ways to approach the together objects designed to give pleasure collections. a nd diversion. Included among these "pre­ Nature. literary themes, historical events, television" games and toys are 18th-century and revival styles are motifs in the first puppets. a utomated ror this exhibition; category. " Design Sources." magic lantern slides; a birdcage fishbowl ; An exuberance of flora and fauna cover and rantastic playing cards from the 18th samples rrom the nature motif, with styles a nd 19th centuries. ranging from precise to abstract. Rare 18th­ According to exhibition organizer century Chelsea plates with butterfly Dorothy Globus, "The pieces in the show designs are shown as well as imaginative art are arranged in unexpected juxtaposition. nouveau pieces. Most of them could go in anyone or the Ba ndboxes were the 19th-century four categori es. which is why this show has equivalent of shopping bags, and the ex­ been ve ry exciting to do." G lobus worked hibition includes a commemorative one for with other C-H starr members Elaine Dee, Clayton's balloon ascent and one for Gillian Moss. Christian Rohlfing, and General Zachary Taylor in the history Milton Sonday. The show wi ll continue category. through February 12, 1978 . Literary themes include a voluptuous "Eve" by Rembrandt, one of four different views of Adam and Eve dating from the Zoo Bus Delivers 16th to the 19th centuries. Literature also The Zoo has come to the rescue of inspired the wallpaper designs titled "Little District schoolchildren who lack transpor­ Boy Blue" and "The House that Jack tation to the Zoo. The "Zoo Express" is an Built." Army surplus 1965 General Motors bus, In the revival section, a visitor can com­ decorated with animal pictographs, red and pare original artifacts (Egyptian, Gothic, brown stripes, and the NZP symbol. Since and Rococo) with their reinterpretations in October, it has been used to transport Watercolor pattern for a woven fabric by Claude Serancourt (French 1677-1756) later periods. A mummy mask from about about 30 students a day to the Zoo. Ac­ the 7th century B.C. is positioned next to a cording to Tiger Talk, the transition of the . mummy case watch charm complete with bus from a near wreck to a real eye catcher Yule Gifts Popular In Shops pop-up mummy. took a commitment by FONZ who The requirements of clients and their in­ provided the money; the Zoo's transporta­ By Linda St. Thomas have been remodeled," said Griesel. fluence on design is examined in the next tion unit, which provided the mechanical Each shop carries merchandise that com­ category. "Patrons and Clients." Objects expertise; and the graphics office which The most popular gift is the engagement plements its museum. For example, include a ceramic stove from a bedroom in spent days working on the bus. The Express calendar and in dollars, the biggest item this astronaut-style luggage, kites, and frisbees the Palace at Versailles, a globe-shaped has been so popular that plans are un­ season is a $165 cloisonne bead necklace. are sold only at NASM; fossils and insect table clock which was commissioned as a derway for a "Zoo Express Number Two." These items are among the offerings to be photos only at MNH; and Victorian-style found in the 1977 Smithsonian Christmas doilies only in the A& I 1876 shop. catalog which topped the $1.5 million sale While their diversity is impressive, all mark less than two months after its publica­ museum shop gifts have one quality in tion. common-they relate to the museum col­ Business Manager Richard Griesel said Feasts lections. For example, a new reproduction increased catalog sales are due to the of Susan B. Anthony's rosewood and ster­ renewed popularity of mail-order shopping ling gavel for sale at M HT complements the It may be worth your while to leave across the country and to the good taste of political history division's collection on your brown bags at home this month hi s shop buyers. "This is only our third women's suffrage. and sample the holiday foods you'll Christmas catalog, and we've learned a lot When shop merchandise was reviewed a be able to buy in some SI restaurants. about marketing in that time," he said. few years ago, items were discontinued if Patent Pending at F A& PG is offer­ So expert have they become during the they failed to meet this criterion. The ing Buche de Noel, a French holiday Christmas season that a new catalog for profitable sale of yoyos (about 50,000 a classic made or moist yellow cake and spring will be introduced this January. The year) was stopped because no one could rich icings, shaped and decorated to six shop buyers, with Griesel and Virginia find a relationship between yoyos and the resemble a yule log. Fleishman of the mail-order department, Smithsonian collections. Ethnic bufrets in the MHT are still selecting items for the new catalog. careteria during Christmas week will One gift in the spring collection, which coincide with the display of "The took three years to develop, will be a ster­ Blues Series Draws Trees of Christmas." Along with the ling silver place setting based on John bufret, which is $3 per person, punch Quincy Adams' silverware in the Museum Enthusiastic Crowds and dessert tables will feature of History and Technology. The silver was seasonal treats at 75 cents per person. reproduced for the Smithsonian by the The Division of Performing Arts blues There will be a staff discount from Stieff Company. series, part of "Music at the Museum," these prices and employees are urged The Smithsonian operates eight museum opened with gusto on October 16 as Sonny to indulge. Swedish roods will be shops and the mail-order division that now Terry and Brownie McGhee filled the Baird served on December 26 and 27; sell about $7.5 million a year. From 1969 to Auditorium audience with unabashed French, December 28 and 29; 1971 , the shops operated at a loss, but by enthusiasm for their often ribald music. German, December 30 and 31; and 1974 they were solidly in the black. Although the harmonica-guitar duo has British on January I. "Our recent success can be attributed in been together since the 1950's, they do not part to new shops in NASM, MNH, A&I, sing together, each restricting his participa­ and others such as the ones in M HT which tion to instrumental accompaniment of the other's vocal. Many people think of the blues as a type of sad music, but the term actually refers to 'Holidays' (continued from page 1) a musical or poetic form, which now ac­ Decorations in Smithsonian buildings The Great H all or the Castle will be counts for about 40 percent of American will vary rrom trees to pine cone wreaths dominated by a 15- to 20-root tree J music, according to Martin Williams, direc­ and poinsettias. Two 10-foot spruce trees decorated by National Associate members tor of DPA jazz programs. wi ll be trimmed in the style of the Victorian during their "C hri stmas at the "The Blues" is one of II series offered period by volunteer docents to add a festive Smithsonian" weekend, December 9 to II. under "M usic at the Museum," a concert air to the Renwick Gallery's Grand Salon. Each member wi ll bring an ornament to selection that includes dance music, jazz, Cornucopias, angels, candles, small pre­ add to those collected in previous years. music of other countries, chamber music, sents, recycled Christmas cards, natural and The Arts and Industries Building foun­ military bands, and country music as well. painted evergreen seed pods and pine cones tain and rotunda will be brightened by The blues series continued with Mose Al­ will decorate the trees on view December wreaths, Christmas greens, and poinsettias. lison performing November 13 . Big Chief 13-31. In the SI and A&I buildings, pine cone Ellis and the Barrelhouse Rockers will close A poinsettia tree inside the Independence wreaths 3 to 4 feet in diameter will also add the year with Alabama piano blues on Sun­ Avenue entrance of NASM will be more to the holiday decorations. These wreaths, day, December 4, at 8 p.m. than 12 feet high with 120 poinsettia plants made by SI volunteers and garden clubs, Employees can purchase tickets at the arranged in six tiers. Wreaths of greens, a are part of the permanent collections and Resident Associate rate by calling ext. 5395. lighted evergreen tree, and more poinsettias are exhibited e,,:ery year. This year they will will add the finishing touch. be on view from December 9 to January 3. Cooper-Hewitt Cited Two large standing candelabra from the The Fine Arts and Portrait Gallery On Thursday, December 1, the New York White House marking the First Ladies' Building will have its 20-f00t decorated tree Society of Architects will present the Ha ll entrance in M HT will be decoarted outside in the - courtyard, and a IS-foot Cooper-Hewitt Museum with its Annual with miniature topiary trees draped with evergreen with tiny white lights wi ll add a MNH shop accommodates crowds of early Award of Honor for Excellence in Design for fruit garlands reminiscent of a White House holiday touch to the Hirshhorn Museum. Christmas shoppers. 1977. Christmas early in the 1970's. December 1977 THE SMITHSONIAN TORCH Page 3

Contributors Receive Smithson Society Medals Exhibit Tells Story James Smithson Society Medals were more, matching the original contribution of "Contributions are used to fund awarded to 18 contributors to the Smithso­ James Smithson," said Gardner. worthwhile projects which could not Of Boston Museum nian at a dinner held October 14 at the The medal bears a profile of James otherwise be funded such as fellowships, ac­ National Protrait Gallery. Ralph Rinzler, Smithson and reads "James Smithson quisitions, and exhibits. Secretary Ripley By Arlene Walsh director of the Smithsonian's F olklife Unit, Society" along with the donor's name and and the executive committee determine and his wife, Kate, received the medal for the year. The Castle is shown in relief on the which projects will be funded based on sug­ From an 1886 letter written by the their monetary contribution to film the reverse. gestions solicited by the assistant Museum's first president to a sketch of the Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife secretaries," Gardner said. currently proposed new wing, an exhibit as­ project. sembled by the Archives of American Art According to Arthur Gardner of the Of­ documents the 107-year history of Boston's fice of Membership and Development, the Museum of Fine Arts. The MFA's signifi­ Smithson medal has been presented on oc­ cant contributions, as well as its often casion in the past, but this has never been colorful personalities, are all described in done on a regular basis until the formation " ... The Second Greatest Show on Earth: of the Smithson Society in January 1977. The Making ofa Museum," now on display The James Smithson Society is the through January 15 at the Museum in highest order of the Smithsonian Associates Boston. and was organized to recognize major con­ The Archives of American Art has been tributions to SI. There are presently 115 affiliated with the Smithsonian since 1970. members, 18 of which are life members of Its original documents are preserved in the the Society and the Associates. Life Washington offices, located in the FA&PG members, those who contribute $25,000 or Building, and microfilm copies are kept in more in cash or the equivalent in items, regional branches. receive Smithsonian magazine and other The exhibit is the result of a project publications as well as additional benefits. begun five years ago by the Boston Area Those individuals contributing $1,000 to Director of the Archives Robert Brown and $24,999 in unrestricted cash are auto­ his associate Joyce Tyler, to organize, matically members of the Society for one catalog, and microfilm the archives of the year. MFA. "The most valuable of the various medals Since its establishment in 1870, the MFA of the Society is a solid gold oval presented has played an important role in the history to individuals who contribute $500,000 or of American art; however, its archives have not previously been available to historians and scholars. The first section of the exhibit was Gold Medal Awarded prepared entirely by Brown and Tyler and documents the founding and early Mr. and Mrs. Jack Leon of South philosophy of the fledgling Museum. Kent, Conn., received a gold James However, a letter written by the MFA's Smithson Medal from Secretary first president, Martin . Brimmer, to the Ripley on November 8 in a ceremony MFA's first director, General Charles acknowledging the Leons' out­ Greely Loring, has an oddly contemporary standing gift to the Institution of the theme. Brimmer commented on newspaper country's finest collection of English criticism questioning the Museum's ability yellow-glazed earthenware. to attract public interest. He wrote in 1886, The gold Smithson medal is A pitcher from the Leon collection of English yellow-glazed earthenware "I had seen the Herald's criticism. It is not awarded by the Institution to in­ offensive and has a spice of truth in it. In dividuals whose collections or con­ fact I think it would pay to put Barnum on tributions match or surpass the Sports the Board if he would agree to advertise us original grant of $500,000 which as the second greatest show on earth ... " J ames Smithson donated to the By Linda St. Thomas Photographs and paintings of the first American Government to establish Football MFA building in Boston's Copley Square the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian football team won its are on view as well as a record of the con­ last game 8-0 against the FAA team when lrovers surroundin the crction in 1909 of y am ue scorn pu er services score , the present building on Huntington a safety in the fourth quarter. The team is cycles, dumbbells, a leg press, sit-up Avenue. now I and 3. benches, and· a universal gym, as well as The second part of the exhibit was ar­ Visitor Figures Up The annual Turkey Bowl tournament showers for men and women. ranged with help from the MFA's was held Thursday, November 24, and If you want to use the exercise room, you curatorial departments, and significant ob­ 22 Percent Over '76 Saturday, November 26, at Anacostia Park must file a physician's statement with the jects from the collection are shown together near RFK Stadium. The Smithsonian, Smithsonian Medical Office, but there are with documents concerning the curators or HEW, HUD, NIH, and independent teams no requirements for using the showers. A donors responsible for their acquisition. Statistics for the first eight months of memo from the Office of Support Activities 1977 show an increase of more than 22 per­ played in this single elimination tourna­ Approximately 45 works of art and 75 ment. Scores will be published in the will give gym regulations and hours. cent in the number of people visiting archival documents are exhibited. Among January Torch. Men's and women's showers are also the interesting items on loan from the Smithsonian buildings compared to the located in the Museum of Natural History same period of 1976. Bowling Archives of American Art is a 1775 letter and are open to all employees who can find from John Singleton Copley explaining The Smithsonian figures tend to confirm The men's high average bowler is Robert them. The women's shower is on the reports that Americans are traveling more Bullock of MNH who scored 173, and the how to use varnish. ground floor of the Museum, near the Art archivist Robert Brown will present a this year than during the Bicentennial year. high women's average belongs to Inez Learning Center. The men's shower is on A recent feature in the New York Times, Buchanan of the SI Libraries. She scored gallery talk, " ... The Second Greatest the same floor and can be reached by enter­ Show on Earth," at II a.m., December 21. headed "Traveling by Americans Up in 159. ing through the east wing parking lot door Post-Bicentennial Surge," said: "Whether Facilities An illustrated catalog of the exhibit is and taking a right. The room is TG E-03 available from the Museum for $1. the publicity and expected crowds of the Beginning this month, employees will be (building manager's lingo for "toilet Nation's 200th birthday celebration able to shower and work out in the NASM ground floor east"). Both are open from A rlene Walsh works in the publications of frightened off potential travelers, as many gym located in the basement near the guard 8:45 a.m. to 5: 15 p.m. weekdays. flee of CFA. travel professionals now believe; or whether economic and other factors proved decisive, travel at home and particularly abroad was Security Supervisors Gather for Seminar noticeably up this summer, according to reports from around the country." By Kathryn Lindeman At Wednesday's opening session, Paul Inspector John Gibson, a seminar partici­ This trend was certainly applicable to the Museum guards work under a different Perrot, assistant secretary for museum pant who has been with the Smithsonian 13 Smithsonian, which counted almost 18 mil­ set of rules from the average office worker. programs, discussed the guard's role in call­ years, said, "For this seminar, experts were lion visitors for the period January I If they are five minutes late, a museum ing attention to anything that is wrong. drawn from various fields to give us their through August 31 of this year. ThIS com­ won't open. A guard can't take five minutes M any areas were covered: The psy­ ideas. We had the opportunity to explain to pared with some 14 million visitors during off because of a headache. Guards undergo chology of conduct; new trends in security; top management our problems and, in turn, the same period of 1976. frequent inspection for personal hygiene, and principles of leadership, with Director to receive direction in these problems so we Based on figures compiled through clothes, and attitudes. They get regular of Support Activities Richard Ault. Michael may not be faced with them again." August of this year, total Smithsonian at­ training on how to stand and how to be League, assistant support activities director, Luis Palau, security manager at the tendance has been greater in each month helpful to the public. discussed the need for comprehensive plan­ Cooper-Hewitt Museum, felt that the except August than in the same month of Because of the importance of ning to support the budget cycle, such as seminar was of tremendous value. "It 1976. The National Air and Space knowledgeable and responsible supervisors determining how many guards will be provided an opportunity for me to meet Museum, for instance, had 1,406,035 in the total security operation, a seminar needed two years in the future. James security managers from different museums visitors in July 1977, compared to 1,180,899 was held by the Smithsonian's Office of Douglas, labor relations specialist with the and to find out that we all have a com­ in the same month last year. Protection Services November 9 and 10 in personnel office, briefed supervisors on monality of interests. We discussed a lot of In June, the National Collection of Fine the peaceful, rural setting of the Belmont labor management contracts. problems and solved some, not all," Palau A rts and National Portrait Gallery saw Conference Center in Elkridge, Md. Another segment of the seminar centered commented. 45,093 visitors compared to the June 1976 The seminar was the first of its kind, in­ on operation of security devices and the James Perry, assistant manager of tally of 33,739. Every month except the first volving all Smithsonian guard company present and future scope of the proprietary security at the Metropolitan Museum in two, during some of which it was closed, the captains and inspectors as well as guest system, with Robert Seabolt, program New York said, "With our museum's cur­ Anacostia Neighborhood Museum had representatives from a few other museums analyst, and Protection Systems Assistant rent expansion program we are looking into almost twice as many visitors as last year. such as the Metropolitan in New York and John Le~andoski, both of OPS. ideas of other museums across the country. A ttendance figures at the Museum of the Corcoran in Washington. Joseph Chapman, SI security consultant, There was a good exchange of ideas here, Natural History have also risen every "We have seen a continuing need for gave participants an insight into managing and I hope to incorporate some of them month except August, with the biggest training of senior security personnel, and investigations and presented case reports il­ into plans for the Met." jump coming this July, when 706,352 peo­ this is just the first in a series of training ses­ lustrating some intricate plans which have Chief of OPS' Protection Division Jay ple visited the Museum compared to sions being set up by the Smithsonian," said been devised in attempts to steal valuable Chambers felt the effects of this seminar will 626,581 in July 1976. Besides ANM, only OPS Director Robert Burke. "In February objects from other museums. be visible and that it will improve security the Freer Gallery had more visitors this or March, we hope to continue this Fire and Security Division Chief Edward in the Smithsonian as a whole. "Now that August than last, with Gallery attendance program with lieutenants, aimed at the level Sniechoski discussed "The Role of the we've seen what such a gathering can do, it increasing from 23,633 to 26,114 in August of assistant security managers and stressing Security Supervisor in Safety and Fire won't end with just this one," he com­ 1977. leadership. " Prevention. " mented. Page 4 THE SMITHSONIAN TORCH December 1977

Adela Gomez, special assistant to STRI NASM Director Michael Collins has Robert Organ, head of the Conservation Toledo Press. The 600-page volume is Director Ira Rubinoff, has been awarded the been inducted into the International Space Analytical Laboratory, delivered a talk at dedicated to Whipple and contains 74 con­ Secretary's Gold Medal for Exceptional Hall of Fame at Almogordo, N .M., in the Midwest Museums Conference on tributed papers. Service. Gomez was the second employee of recognition of his outstanding accomplish­ "What To Do Before the Emergency." The George Field, director of CF A, and seven STRI and has worked for everyone of its ments in NASA's space program and his meeting was held in Grand Rapids in other staff members presented talks in a directors. Recently she managed the execu­ continuing leadership as director of September. series of public astronomy lectures at the tion of STRI's contract with the Republic NASM . Barbara Coffee, museum specialist, Divi­ Boston Museum of Science this fall. Also of Panama and the registration procedure Janet Solinger and Michael Alin, director sion of Political History; Claudia Kidwell, speaking were Eric Chaisson, Giovanni prereq uisite for the signing of that agree­ and assistant director for programming of associate curator, Division of Costume and Fazio, William Forman, Peter Foukal, Wil­ ment. Gomez has administered STRI ac­ the Resident Associate Program, have been Furnishings: and Lois Vann, museum liam Liller, and Trevor Weekes. tivities in Panama, Columbia, India, West commissioned by the Department of specialist, Division of Textiles, attended the Fred Franklin and Wesley Traub of CFA Africa, Madagascar, and New Guinea. Health, Education, and Welfare to write a Costume Society of America's symposium served on the local organizing committee Secretary Ripley's letter to Gomez stated report on lifelong learning for cultural in­ on "Trade Costumes and Textiles from the for the October annual meeting of the in part, "This is in some small recognition stitutions. I n the form of a recommendation East," held in Boston in September. Planetary Sciences Division of the not only of your more than 30 years' ser­ to President Carter, the report will be Charles H art, staff assist an t to M N H American Astronomical Society in Boston. vice, but also of your enormous published in the Congressional Record in Director Kier, has assumed the editorship of Porter Kier presented the MNH Direc­ resourcefulness and diplomacy which have early 1978. the Proceedings of The Biological SocieTy oj tor's Plaque to the following Museum staff contributed to every phase of its growth as Lisa Taylor, director of the Cooper- WashingTon. members for outstanding service on special a center for advanced tropical studies. You projects: Paul Desautels, for acquisition of have been so effective in so many ways that the Victoria-Transvaal Diamond; Roy it is almost impossible to enumerate your Clarke, for his work with the Old Woman achievements. " SI Newsmakers Meteorite; Donald Duckworth, for his in­ On October 16, seven MNH scientists volvement with the museum support belonging to a group called Scientists for facility: Francis Hueber, for acting as scien­ Urban Wild Lands helped organize and Hewitt Museum, addressed the Mas­ David Haberstich, M HT Division of tific advisor to "Splendors in Nature," and lead a nature walk through a 10-mile ribbon sach usetts Chapter of the American Society Photographic History, present~d a lecture Douglas Ubelaker, for his work as chairman of Arlington reserved for the construction of Interior Designers on "Our National at the Fifth Annual Autumn Symposium of of the exhibits committee. of Interstate 66. Museum of Design" in November. the Victorian Society in America held in Kier also presented cash awards to Phil­ The group's coordinator, Chairman of Richard Ahlborn, chairman of M HT's October in Philadelphia. His lecture, lip Anderson and Calvin Price of the exhibits Mineral Sciences William Melson, told Department of Cultural History, presented "Printmaking Processes on Paper in the department and to Barbara Heffernan, reporters covering the event that the coali­ a talk on "Words and Things: Researching Nineteenth Century," will appear in a Department of Paleobiology, for out­ tion is deeply concerned about the destruc­ Material Culture in SMRC Land" at the future - issue of Nineteenth Century standing service. tion of urban wild lands in greater October Gran Quivira Conference on magazine. NPG Public Affairs Officer Carol Cutler Washington and other cities. Spanish-American History and Materials in Richard Hallion, associate curator in demonstrated recipes from her prize­ The Washington Star noted that mineral EI Paso. NASM's Department of Science and winning cookbook, "The Six-Minute Souf­ curator Thomas Simkin considers the cor­ "All You Need to Know about Technology, recently presented a paper on fle" to 500 members of the American Wine ridor to be the last big concentration of wild Evolutionary Biology, and Something philanthropy and flight at the annual Society. Cutler concentrated on dishes land left in north Arlington. Simkin said of about Sex," was the title of a reading by meeting of the Western History Association spirited with champagne, wine, and brandy. the walk, "It feels better to fight (1-66) than John Burns, M N H associate curator of en­ held at Portland, Ore. A program, "The Hermitage: Four to simply acquiesce." tomology, at the Harvard Museum of Com­ Robert Kaufmann, librarian at Cooper­ Perspectives on Soviet Museology," has Other MN H scientists on the walk were parative Zoology. The presentation was Hewitt, delivered a talk on color holdings in been presented twice by the M HT Associa­ Richard Thorington, Stanwyn Shetler, taken from Burns' book "Biograffiti: A the Museum collection for the November tion of Curators and the Association of Daniel Nicholson, and Terry Irwin. Natural Selection," which is a collection of meeting of the Color Marketing Group in Museum Specialists, Technicians, and Jon Eklund, a curator in MHT's Depart­ his offbeat, humorous poems about Washington, D.C. Aides. Participants were Cynthia Hoover ment of Science and Technology, recently biology. Karen Loveland and John Hiller, director and Scott Odell, Division of Musical Instru­ took a trip down the Mississippi in a project Susanne Roschwalb, chief of public infor­ and associate director of the Motion Pic­ ments; Jane Glaser, museum programs; to take hydrological measurements of mation for DPA, taped an interview with ture U nit, and Benjamin Lawless, assistant Eleanor McMillan and Robert Organ, America's most famous river. In order to Voice of America about the family research director of exhibits, MHT, in October gave Conservation Analytical Laboratory; clarify stream flow data collected in 1865, she conducted on a trip to Czechoslovakia. a presentation, "Animation in Warsaw," to Robert Tillotson, MHT assistant director of almost two score experienced rivermen Cynthia Hoover, curator of the Division the Washington Chapter of Information administration; and Philip Lundeberg, Divi­ from the University of Missouri, the Corps of Musical Instruments, and Martin Wil­ Producers of America. sion of Naval History. of Engineers, and the U.S. Geological liams, director of DPA's jazz program, Harry Lowe, assistant director of NCF A, The U.S. Philatelic Service used a color Survey took simultaneous measurements of recently delivered lectures on the cultural judged the 19th Annual Spring Art Show photograph by KjelJ Sandved, MN H flow velocity using all the major historic impact of the phonograph record at the held at the Army National Guard Armory biological motion picture producer, for its types of flow instruments. The work Brooklyn College I nstitute for Musical in Lancaster, S.c. poster publicizing a recently issued set of resulted from more than two years of Studies. The contributions of CF A physicist Fred four butterfly stamps. Researchers for the research including consultations with MHT Melvin Zisfein, deputy director of Whipple to the study of small bodies in the stamps examined butterfly specimens in the staff. The Smithsonian loaned its rare 36- NASM, spoke about the Museum at a re­ solar system will be honored by the publica­ MNH collection and studied Sandved's inch Price Current Meter, which may be the cent meeting of the National Capital Sec­ tion of a new book, "Comets, Asteroids, photo archives. only surviving one of its type, so that a tion of the America n Institute o f and Meteorites," edited by A. H. Delsem­ replica could be built for this effort. Aeronautics and Astronautics. me and published by the University of -J ohnnie Douthis Hampton 'Throne' Goes on Permanen.t Display at NCFA

By Susan Bliss in 1928, served in World War II, and When Washington photographer Ed Kel­ returned here to work as a janitor for the ly went out looking for studio space in General Services Administration. 1964, he could not have imagined what he Hartigan said that his Civil Service would find when his prospective landlord records were burned in a fire. Only some of opened the door to the shabby garage off a the questions about his life have been downtown alley. In front of him was one answered by the few people he knew-his man's vision of the Second Coming-a per­ sister in South Carolina, the garage owner, sonal interpretation of the Book of Revela­ and a woman who rode in his carpool. tions. To better understand the symbolism of The environment of 180 objects made of Hampton's "Throne," Hartigan studied cardboard, wood, light bulbs, and fundamentalist religion and read and reread aluminum and gold foil was the work of the Book of Revelations. The "Throne" is James Hampton, who had worked on the Hampton's literal interpretation of that sec­ construction from 1950 until he died of tion of the New Testament, she said. The cancer in 1964. Until after his death, few silver and gold wings and eyes which people knew of the construction, which dominate the construction come directly Hampton called "The Throne of the Third from biblical description. Even Hampton's Heaven of the Nations Millenium General prominent use of lightbulbs relate to the Assembly." idea of God as the light of the world. The Once the "Throne" came to the attention parallelism of the Old and New Testaments of the Washington art community, the has been carefully worked out as well, with National Collection of Fine Arts arranged structures Hampton had placed on the left to purchase it from Hampton's remaining referring to the New Testament, and on the relatives. The work was exhibited at NCF A right to their antecedents in the Old. in 1971 and 1974. After several showings The title of the work also was influenced around the United States, it came to rest by the Bible, with the idea of God's throne permanently in a third-floor gallery at the central to Revelations, and the third heaven Museum on November 18. representing the "abode of God" in the "N 0 matter how skeptical one may be heavenly hierarachy. "Nations Millenium about religion," said Lynda Hartigan, General Assembly" refers to the time when N CF A assistant curator for 20th-century God vanquishes the devil and creates his painting and sculpture, "the 'Throne' is an ultimate kingdom. example of one man's creativity and his The constructions are extremely fragile, ability to sustain that creativity in a long­ and NCF A's conservation lab has braced range celebration of a deeply rooted convic­ them in several places. tion." "All the brown paper is actually faded Hartigan first saw Hampton's construc­ purple construction paper-it must have 'Throne' as seen through the garage door in 1965 tion when she was an intern at NCF A. "I been quite a sight," said Hartigan. "We responded to it immediately," she said. "I considered restoring it to its original color, will never know how close he was to improvisation of the 'Throne,' Hampton's love sculpture, and I love folk art. I was for­ but the risks to the construction were too finishing the project, or how he planned to primary intention-to create a vehicle for tunate to have a chance to work on it. great. " use it when it was complete." religious renewal and teaching-may be "I have tried to be as imaginative as I Many of the mysteries about the Whether or not these questions ever are overlooked. Preserved and admired as a could in finding out about Hampton," Har­ "Throne" probably never will be answered. answered fully may not be important. In a work of art, however, it enjoys exposure tigan continued. One of four children, he '~'";"here are certain questions that still puz­ publication accompanying the traveling ex­ more far reaching than Hampton could was born in 1909 in Elloree, S.C., to Sara zle me," Hartigan said, "such as the mean­ hibition, Hartigan wrote, "As one con­ ever have hoped for. The 'Throne' stands as Johnson and James Hampton, a black Bap­ ing of Hampton's strange alphabet, and centrates on the radiance, symmetry, remarkable testimony to his devotion, tist minister. He first came to Washington some of the symbols he used. We probably decorative patterns, and eccentric patience, faith, and imagination." December 1977 THE SMITHSONIAN TORCH Page 5

'Atom Smashers' National Portrait Gallery Installs New Silhouette Exhibition

Exhibition Opens A collection of silhouettes by Auguste ;". . . '.'1 . . // ./ . douart. one of the finest and most prolific , <.". ;..-'~ .... t \,... 1: • ~ Fifty tons of scientific research portraitists in this medium ever to work in machinery devised to study the nucleus of the United States, is now on view at the an atom has been moving into the Museum National Portrait Gallery in a room of History and Technology during the past designed to recall the elegant decorative year. Major laboratories have contributed mode of the 1840's and furnished as machines, and large crates have arrived Edouart's studio might have been. from allover the United States and the The silhouettes are taken from the most world. The Museum has prepared an 8,000- important surviving volume of Edouart's square-foot space for the exhibition "A tom work produced during the French artist's Smashers: Fifty Years," opening on stay in this country and owned by the artist December 2. himself. NPG has published the book Preparation for the opening was com- "A uguste Edouart's Silhouettes of Eminent plicated. Floor loading was checked and Americans, 1839-1844" which reproduces rechecked and the heaviest machines were the 348 silhouettes in Edouart's personal spaced and placed over major supporting album. Andrew Oliver, an NPG commis- beams. A small army of carpenters, sioner and distinguished iconographer of painters, exhibit technicians, and specialists the Adams family and John Marshall, has worked to complete the platforms, display f written biographical sketches of the cases, and curving partitions. The struc- silhouette subjects. tures house laboratory notebooks used by Although the profile portrait has been pioneering scientists, a couple of Nobel occasionally popular since the time of an- prizes, diplomas, and historic hardware cient Egypt, it was in Paris around the time from science's search for the fundamental of the revolution that one newspaper noted, building blocks of matter. "Our ladies are all drawing the portraits of Paul Forman, curator of modern physics, their friends on black paper, cutting them organized the exhibition. For the past two out, and even giving away their own and a half years, Forman has devoted all his portraits without this being ill thought of. time to planning, organizing, and com- This useful invention reproduces sweet pleting the project. He outlined the exhibit, faces everywhere." wrote a script, found a sponsor, created an At the same time, the controller general object list, and began to search for a wide of French finances, Etienne de Silhouette, selection of high energy particle ac- achieved notoriety for his policies of celerators. zealous reform . It's a mystery how his name The result is an exhibit which brings became connected with the portraits, but it together the cyclotron, synchrotrons, and did, and the nickname stuck. assorted accelerators, the devices which "The word 'silhouette' spread quickly have enabled scientists to measure and un- over the Continent but tardily into Britain, derstand the structure and forces inside the where such portraits had long been familiar nucleus of an atom. under the pretty name of 'shades,' " wrote Although not well known outside the A. Hyatt Mayor in his introduction to the scientific community, accelerators have NPG publication. "As late as 1806 an contributed to modern medical science, in- Englishman wrote: 'Whenever they send itially by the production of radioactive their silhouettes, or what do they call them, compounds used in cancer treatment and I chuck them out of the window.' Even in precise diagnostic tests, and more recently the 1830's Edouart found that the word for direct radiation therapy . New 'silhouette' still meant nothing in country technologies developed for particle ac- .. districts. celerators have had wide application and ~ Americans liked the profile portraits may in the future provide the key to con- ~ because they were inexpensive ways of com- trolled nuclear fusion. memorating the importance many in- The exhibit shows one of the earliest General Winfield Scott by Auguste Edouart dividuals felt they had achieved. But by cdenrtor.a-sk'etchh~b;yriR~o;i· H~======~===~=====;::::::::~======---iiii.~en EdoIJart arrived, the craze for Comings & Goings silhouettes was waning. He stayed in this country for 10 years working in New York, Baltimore, Washington, Saratoga, Troy, Dorothy Young, secretary in the Depart­ Roger Bilstine has joined NASM's Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, ment of the History of Technology at science and technology staff as a visiting Natchez, Louisville, and Lexington. MHT, has retired. Young came to the scholar. He will spend a year at the Seeing his market diminish, Edouart left Smithsonian in 1959 to work in what 'was Museum to conduct a survey of the socio­ New York by ship in 1849. "This flight then known as the Department of Arts and economic implications of American civil from failure brought on his crowning dis­ Manufactures. She then worked in the Divi­ and military aviation. aster," wrote Mayor, "for a December sion of Textiles and in late 1959, returned to Lynn Bondurant, former education officer storm wrecked the ship off Guernsey. arts and manufactures as secretary to the at NASM, has been named curriculum Edouart escaped with 10 albums of British head curator. In 1969 the name ;was director of the Coldwater Public Schools in silhouettes and six of American ones out of changed to Department of Industries, ' and Coldwater, Mich. a total of some 50-odd, plus a certain in 1977, it became the Department of Madison Smith has joined the staff of the number of frames. He gave all of this to the History of Technology. Office of Personnel Administration as per­ Lukis family, who cared for him with Bethune Gibson, supervisor of the conser­ sonnel management specialist. Smith has touching compassion, and went on his way vation lab of MNH's Department of held various positions at NASA and to France. He died at Quines, near Calais, Anthropology, recently retired. MNH Telenet Communications Corporation, in 1861." Director Porter Kier presented a cash where he became director of, human award to Gibson for her outstanding ser- resources. vice in that position. Lecture Season Opens

The 1977-78 Frank Nelson Doubleday A' lecture season will begin December 7 with Roger W. Sperry speaking on "Con­ This Van de Graaff accelerator has been in­ sciousness, Personal Identity, and the stalled in the 'Atom Smashers' exhibition. Divided Brain." Sperry, the Hixon Profes­ Wideroe in 1923, which proved to be a ..I ~ .' ) 'r- i4OJ1 sor of Psychobiology at the California In­ :::. <'/ (/' " ~ ' .:b ;?..D . forerunner of the modern accelerator. o ~ I' ' - A1'-, stitute of Technology, has pioneered in ~ \. t 0 '':.. , A 35-foot section from the largest ac­ rese'arch on the functions of brain celerator ever built, the four-mile ring at DR. L. vl~f'1W'/ ~ .- , (.,; hemispheres. Basing his talk on current Batavia, III ., is mounted in the exhibit. knowledge of brain physiology, he will dis­ Visitors will be able to walk through this cuss the human implications of this tunnel. ~ .jI4;TNS;:::;',A11~~ research. Working demonstrations will include an , /JI--tJ-tIit l: 4 ~ TAN V For the sixth year in a row, the Smithso­ operating cathode ray tube, allowing the nian and Doubleday will cooperate on this visitor to manipulate an electron beam, and r/S g4n~A' '«Vltt'fI~ series of lectures made possible by a grant a simulation of the inner workings of a from the publishing company. Three more cyclotron. The exhibit's operating spark lectures are planned for early 1978, all on chamber will reveal how cosmic rays are ~ ItA~H'N' T.N~ 0 ~ _ the subject of "The Human Mind." detected. I n a lighter vein, visitors will hear Since becoming affiliated with Cal Tech Arthur Roberts' Cyclotron songs of the U SA ~Q"~O in 1954, Sperry and his associates have thirties and forties piped over a focused projects around the growth of brain loudspeaker. A slide show with the exhibit circuits, consolidation of the memory trace, wjll explain how "atom smashing" is car­ and a variety of problems in cerebral ried on with these machines. organization, centered largely around Assisting Paul Forman were Michael "split-brain" procedures. Meo, technician in the Department of Science and Technology, and Claudine FOR THE BOTANIST WHO HAS EVERYTHING ..• Klose, exhibit specialist. Imagine the surprise of MNH Botanist Emeritus Lyman Smith when, clearing his in-box one SMITHSONIAN TORCH The exhibil was prepared as a collabora­ November day, he took out the correspondence pictured above. It was his name that appeared December 1977 tion between the Smithsonian Institution on the first-day cover of a beautiful bromeliad which Smith reclassified in 1939. He was un­ and the Department of Energy. aware that Brazil planned to issue the 1.30 cruzeiro stamp. The plant was originally identified Published for Smithsonian Institution Exhibit designer is John Schmid of and named by Beer in 1857, but Smith corrected the genus and renamed the plant Neoregelia personnel by the Office of Public Affairs: Reston, Va. Richard Virgo, chief of the carolinae. Although the Latin names of plants have appeared on stamps before, this is the first Carl W. Larsen. Director; Susan Bliss. Museum's design and production staff, time the scientists' names have been printed. Below the image are the stamp designer and Editor: Kathryn Lindeman. Assistant. served as the exhibit coordinator. engraving office. Page 8 THE SMITHSONIAN TORCH December 1977 RAP Announces Gillespie Landscapes, Self Portraits Exhibited Winter Schedule

By Heren Marvel By Sidney Lawrence How to trace your OWl) genealogical roots, the art of Henri Matisse, winter Nearly 70 paintings and mixed-media stargazing, and the brilliant Aztec civiliza­ pieces by Gregory Gillespie, whom Hirsh­ tion are some of the topics to be explored in horn Director Abram Lerner has called Resident Associate Program winter "unique among the younger generation of courses. Over 90 classes begin on January American painters," will be presented at the 21. Hirshhorn Museum from December 22 Participants in Resident Associate classes through February 12. Landscapes, stilllifes, will also learn to design their own homes genre scenes and self portraits (of varying with Emily M ali no; explore ethno­ sizes) reflect a style that is "mysterious and archoeology, the new "dirtless" arche­ enigmatic even when appearing to deal with ology of the living; examine the unique everyday reality," said Lerner, who selected stylistic characteristics of baroque chamber the exhibition and wrote the catalog essay. music; consider the high-minded, though "Few artists," he added, "have fought so inflexible idealism of our Nation's 28th zealously to recapture the drama of the sub­ President, Woodrow Wilson; and study the ject in art. Fewer still have been able to fall of Rome from the new perspective of pierce the facade of contemporary life and art. delineate its concurrent beauty and terror The Program celebrates Friday with two so profoundly." courses geared to weekend moods. A class With painstaking attention to detail, Gil­ on rock music traces the origins of this pop­ lespie has created dream-like scenarios of ular form and examines rock greats such as figures engaged in ambiguous, often dis­ Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and quieting confrontations, and miniature Elton John through lecture and night club "shrine" paintings invoking the mood of visits. A n exploration of the marvelous and religious allegories. His meticulously mundane world of animation documents rendered interiors and still lifes, generally the work of the great studios of Walt larger in size, are imbued with a disturbing Disney, Max Fleischer, and Paul Terry. metaphysical presence. Participants in one Saturday morning class "My art is based on contradictions," he will visit Washington museums for on-site told Lerner in a rare interview. "There's introductions to art. nothing simple in it. It's always multiple." Among the Program's studio art classes, Born in Roselle Park, N.J., the 41-year­ students will learn the art of calligraphy; the old Gillespie studied art at New York's techniques of furniture repair and re­ Cooper Union and at the San Francisco Art finishing; methods for indoor gardening; Institute. In 1962 he was awarded the first hand-binding for old books; and the of two Fulbright-Hays Grants to study the production of mini-video documentaries. early Renaissance painter Masaccio in ita­ Young people ages four to 18 will study Iy . A fter two years in Florence, and with the manned flight from balloons to rockets; support of three consecutive Chester Dale film, direct, and star in their own television Fellowships, he moved to Rome where he shows: trace the evolution of reptiles from continued to work for six more years. ------~~ dinosaurs to lizards; and explore por­ Gillespie absorbed the work of Masaccio Gregory Gillespie, "Self Portrait (Bald)," 1971-72 traiture in Young Associate classes. and several other I tali an, German, and photo-collage and working increasingly stantial," he said. "From 10 feet it looks The December Smithsonian Associate Flemish masters. His work, entirely con­ . from life in a studio setting, he focused on solid and three-dimensional, from five feet newsletter describing winter courses in temporary in practice, frequently incor­ still lifes, studies of landscape and vegeta- you begin to doubt it, and up close you get detail m'ay be obtained at the offices of the porated collage as well as plaster, tion, and a series of self portraits. Gillespie lost in the beauty of another illusion com- Resident Associate Program, A&I Room photography, polyester, and other mixed is now painting larger scale works marked pletely that refers to the microscope and, 1271 . Registration will continue from De­ media. It was, in the artist's own words, by extreme realism and compulsive clarity perhaps, somehow the spirituaL" cember 1 through the first week of classes. "soaked with the textures of Italy-the feel­ of detail. The visionary quality of his work "Gillespie's work is perhaps too personal Employees can enroll as Resident As­ ings, the colors." has not abated. and eccentric to create a school or effect a sociates at the following reduced costs: $15, He left Italy in 1970 and settled in "For me, the painting is not a success un­ shift in taste," said Lerner, "but it has the si ngle; $18, double; $23, family. Amherst, Mass. Eventually abandoning less (it is) something reall y solid and sub- persistent power of revelati on." · · I •• d t'l A&I Jubilee Medals HIstorIC Landmark Plaques nsta •• e to r C as .e, Available at SI

The Smithsonian Institution Building, While making your Christmas gift list, designed by James Renwick and known af- Jkeep in mind a sterling silver medal con- fectionately as "the Castle" is a revered ceived to celebrate the 25th anniversary of historic landmark on the National Mall. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's accession But it has not always been so, historians to the British throne. From a design per- say. sonally approved by Her Majesty and In 1900, the 100th anniversary of the created by British artist Arnold Machin, the Capital's move to Washington inspired the medal is produced by the Smithsonian in American Institute of Architects to urge a association with the Pilgrims and the new look at the city plan. Senator James English-Speaking Union of the United McMillan, chairman of the Senate commit- States. tee on the District of Columbia, set up a One side of the medal shows the Queen's commission to study the area's planning profile in relief and the legend on the and development. reverse reads "In Commemoration, Queen The Smithsonian Building was not in- ~ Elizabeth II, Silver Jubilee 1977, Amicitiae eluded in the McMillan Commission plan . ~ Virtutisque Foedus (an alliance of both because it projected too far into the {,:x: friendship and virtue), Washington, D.C." Mall and because its Victorian style was no 1: accompanied by the hallmarks of London longer in vogue. ~ and the Jubilee year, symbolizing the uni- In the exhibition catalog, "Federal City: Ci2 que bonds linking the United States and Plans and Realities," author Frederick Great Britain. Gutheim wrote, "Although hearings in Joseph Forrest (left) and Eldrey Bell of the Craft Services Division affix the National Historic The limited edition of 1,000 medals is 1904 envisaged the removal-not the Landmark plaque to the A& I Building at the west entrance. earmarked for sale exclusively in the United destruction-of the Smithsonian Institution Building received the historic preservation A wards Given For States; the medals were struck in Bir- Building behind the line sought to be First Award in 1976 from the Washington mingham, England, by fattorlni & Co. cleared, it is difficult to determine whether Metropolitan Chapter of the American In- P rogra m Support Delivered in a royal blue leatherette case, this proposal was serious or merely a sop stitute of Architects. It recognized the the medal is approximately two and a half thrown to the proto-preservationists of the building restoration including the installa- Certificates of Achievement were inches in diameter, weighs 93 grams, and day. For even as late as 1931, the National tion of wood-paneled doors in arched presented by the Office of Equal Oppor- costs $125, with $50 tax deductible as a con- Capital Park and Planning Commission, frames and period trim and the application tunity to individuals and groups who con- tribution to the Smithsonian. then principal planning agency for the of original paint colors and decorative sten- tributed to the growth and development of Profits from the sale of the medals will District, reaffirmed its support for the even- cil work to the walls. the Smithsonian's Women's Program. fund fellowships for young American stu- tual removal of the Smithsonian Building in Construction began in 1879 on the Arts Receiving awards were James Buckler dents to study in Great Britain and for an accordance with the Senate Park Com mis- and Industries Building. Designed by and staff, horticulture; George Field, SAO; equal number of British scholars to study in sion plan." Adolph Cluss, it was first used in 1881 for John Harris, supply services; Maureen Hea- the United States. Fellowship candidates Such proposals to alter the Smithsonian the inaugural ball of President James Gar- Iy, exhibits central; Chang Su Houchins, will be chosen from recommendations Building probably will not be made again field. National Anthropological Archives; Louise made by representatives of the sponsoring for a long time, if ever, since it has been of- Hutchinson, Anacostia Museum; Thomas organizations with the advice of the Queen ficially recognized as a prominent architec- Lawton, Freer; Dorothy Merchant, Mt. Elizabeth II Jubilee Committee which in- tural accomplishment with an impressive Hopkins Observatory; James Harithas and c1udes Silvio Bedini, Museum of History history of academic events, a fire, several staff, Museum of Contemporary Art, and Technology deputy director; Cooper- renovations, and visits from millions of Calendar Chicago, III.; Carol Parsons, HMSG; Paul Hewitt Director Lisa Taylor; Paul Perrot, people. Perrot, museum programs; Benjamin assistant secretary for museum programs; In October, the National Park Service Starting with this issue of Torch, Franklin, Silver Hill facility; Dennis Gould and National Portrait Gallery Director unveiled plaques designating the Castle the Smithsonian Calendar of Events and staff, SITES; Marcial Schiff, Polaroid Marvin Sadik, as well as six former U.S. and the Arts and Industries Building as will no longer be included in the Foundation, Inc.; Peter Powers, general Ambassadors to the Court of St. James, National Historic Landmarks. It was the centerfold. Instead, each employee counsel; Science Intern Program, SAO; and others. first time the Castle had been so honored will receive a copy of the Calendar Clara Simmons, anthropology; Janet Strat- To order medals, make check payable to although the initial completion of its con- under separate cover. ton, performing arts; Howard Toy, person- Smithsonian Institution Jubilee Medal and struction took place in 1855. nel; Dianne Walker, computer services; send to Silver Jubilee Medals, A&I-2467, In addition, the Arts and Industries Joanne Tondryk Whitman, SAO. along with your name and address. December 1977 THE SMITHSONIAN TORCH

Mrs. Strickler Dies; Embassy Staffs Go Chief of Travel Floods Cut Off Mt. Hopkins Behind the Scenes

Its galleries are quiet and calm, and most visitors don't see much activity there, but on November first, 45 cultural attaches from Washington em bassies learned that behind the scenes there's a lot going on at the Freer Gallery of Art. The visit to the Freer was the first item on an all-day agenda organized by Cynthia Helms of the Office of Public Affairs. Martin Amt, special assistant at the Freer, organized the Gallery tour as he and staff members Ann Y onemura and Craig Korr led the guests through storage rooms, the oriental restoration lab, and a technical lab. Although the stored collections are acces­ sible to the public by special arrangement, Betty Strickler diplomats expressed delight at being e to examine many rare and ancient ob­ Smithsonian staff member Betty Strickler jects at close hand. died October 26 of a heart attack while vacationing in North Carolina. The tour was a chance for them to see the Mrs. Strickler, who was 59 years old, had processes involved in acquiring and main­ been chief of the Travel Services Office taining a first-rate collection. Tom Chase of since it was established in September 1966. the teohnical lab demonstrated the techni­ She resided at 4509 Highland Avenue, ques by which artifacts are X-rayed to Bethesda, Md. ascertain their composition and place and Born in Escanaba, Mich., she graduated date of origin. in 1936 from Central High School in The most unusual part of the tour was a Washington, D.C., and in 1940 from visit to the oriental restoration laboratory Wilson Teachers College in the District. where Kumi Kinoshita uses Japanese Mrs. Strickler was well known and ex­ methods to clean, restore, and mount for tremely popular among her coworkers. Her exhibition paintings, prints, and screens. office walls were covered with postcards Most of the floor space in the lab is covered from SI staff all over the world for whom with mats, and visitors who wish to leave she had made travel arrangements. On the the bare floor area are asked to remove day of her death, the Office of Public Af­ their shoes. fairs received many calls asking that she be remembered in a Torch obituary. After leaving the Freer, the diplomats Before coming to the Smithsonian, Mrs. met Porter Kier, director of the Museum of Strickler had worked in a number of Natural History, for a visit to the Insect Government agencies including the Depart­ Zoo and the new exhibit, "Splendors in ment of Commerce, the Office of Educa­ Nature." After lunch at the Museum of tion, the National Science Foundation, and In early October, southern Arizona's worst flood in a quarter of a century washed away History and Technology, Division of the Small Business Administration. At the homes, livestock, and bridges including the one at Amado on the access road to the Political History Curator Herbert Collins time of her death, she had accrued nearly 37 Smithsonian's Mt. Hopkins Observatory. Several SI astronomers were trapped on the conducted a tour of the political collection. years of Federal service. east side of the Santa Cruz River for two days by the rapidly flowing waters. Later, a For a number of years, Mrs. Strickler makeshift boatswain chair, fashioned from ropes, pulleys, and an old auto tire, was Ending the day at the National Air and served as a Sunday school teacher at the strung between the banks, and the stranded scientists could return to civilization. Above, Space Museum, the guests talked informal­ C Chase Presbyterian Church. She also Director was a reminisced about his experiences as an and the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. astronaut. She was a former president of the Chevy Chase Junior Women's Club. Survivors include her husband, Benton; a 81 in the Media sister, Janet Inches of Chevy Chase, Md.; and a brother, Myron Verville, of Fairfax, By Johnnie Douthis thing close to violence in the way she Edward Ayensu, MN H botanist, were in­ Va. handled paint." "A dazzling triumph ofa book," read the cluded in a Washington Post article on ex­ Another Post article on the Stallknecht headline of a Washington Star feature on perts in various fields of research. show stated that the artist "achieved a fu­ MHT Group Founded "The Smithsonian Experience." In addition A New York Times article on STRI to an in-depth description of the book, the sion of mystical and biblical lore with the described research techniques in the study salt-of-the-earth quality New England's in­ A new professional organization has been article gave details of the history of the of malaria. A. Stanley Rand, assistant habitants are known for." established at MHT. The Association of Publishing Task Force and the remarkable director of the Ipstitute, and his coworkers Lincoln Johnson, art critic for the Museum Specialists, Technicians, and Aides success of the direct mail distribution of the are studying iguanas that are unharmed by Baltimore Sun wrote that the Noland show met recently for the first time and elected the book. the disease. following officers: Barbara Coffee, presi­ at HMSG intensified his respect for an ar­ Washington Star reporter Thomas Cros­ dent; Michael Harris, vice president; Sheila Art tist whose work often seems so simple it by wrote an article about a precocious Alexander, recording secretary; Carlene The murals in the Alice Stallknecht show becomes difficult. Johnson felt that the female ring-tailed mongoose at NZP. The Stephens, corresponding secretary. at NPG were described as "unusual in every works displayed at HMSG "seem as com­ rare beast will soon be put on exhibit in the The group has organized to promote high respect" by Washington Star art critic Ben­ fortable as if they had grown on the walls Small Mammal House. professional standards among its members, jamin Forgey. on which they appear." Crosby also noted the success of a sup­ to provide a forum for discussion and study of Paul Richard of the Washington Post A rt News described the Palladio exhibi­ plementary education program for D.C. common concerns, and as an instrument for wrote that artist Stallknecht was not a tion at Cooper-Hewitt as a large and un­ schoolchildren to teach them about certain expression of opinions on such matters. "goody-goody" and that "there is some- commonly illuminating show of the archi­ groups of animals-reptiles, birds, mam­ tect's works. The reviewer felt that the show mals, and monkeys. came as close as any architecture show can The "CBS Evening News" with Walter to revealing the essence of its subject. Cronkite and a UPI story told how the Har­ Berger Retires After 42 Years of Service A review in What's Up in A rt on the vard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Soyer exhibition at NCF A reported, "The For Tillie Berger, who retired recently When Mrs. Berger began her SI career, will make the final identification of an ob­ drawings and watercolors show is quiet, after 42 years of service, coming to the the herbarium was on the Castle's third ject sighted between Saturn and Uranus, flowing, full of humanity and love of the Smithsonian in 1935 to work as a plant floor and was not moved to its present loca­ possibly another planet. human form." preparator was part of a family tradition. tion in MN H's west wing until the 1960's. Other Smithsonian Mentions Three of her sisters were already working at A New York Times article on best places Mrs. Berger soon became supervisor of Phenomena the SI herbarium. the herbarium preparatory staff, many of to eat around the Mall gave excellent whom in the early days worked at home on The "Splendors in Nature" hall at MNH ratings to Smithsonian facilities. The Patent It was not surprising that members of her a contract basis, receiving six cents for each is described by the I Washington Post as a Pending restaurant at FA& PG was family had sought employment at SI; the plant they mounted for preservation or dis­ "stunning exhibit." described as "the uncontested jewel, both house where they had grown up was near play. Because plants vary in shape and size, A feature in the Washington Star on the for atmosphere and cuisine . . ." The writer the Smithsonian on Linworth Place, S. W., a securing them firmly to sheets of heavy rag "Splendors in Nature" hall commented on noted that the courtyard at HMSG residential street that was later destroyed to paper by means of stitching and glued tape the selection process for items included in provided sheer splendor, unsurpassed, for make room for the south Agriculture requires creativity and artistry. In an the hall and the designers' plans for max­ picnicking between the Henry Mt)ores and building. average year at least 35,000 newly mounted imum audience appreciation of the more the Alexander Calders. The article also gave Mrs. Berger's early memories of that plants are added to the herbarium-all than 250 objects in the exhibit. a high rating for the buffet in MNH for As­ now-vanished neighborhood are among the prepared according to strict quality stan­ A Washington Star editorial on the sociates. The glass-walled dining room at many she has of a Washington vastly dif­ dards. "Instrument of the Lord" show at NPG NASM and the Automat exhibit at MHT ferent from today's. As a girl when she "I've always wanted what I've worked on said, "Something of the flavor of Harriet were mentioned as interesting additions. walked from Linworth Place to her father's to have lasting value," Mrs. Berger said. Beecher Stowe's life and impact comes A n article in the A lexandrian noted, restaurant near 10th and Pennsylvania Among her accomplishments, Mrs. Berger through in the small but appealing exhibit. .." "One of D.C.'s best kept secrets is its Avenue, she crossed the Smithsonian is proud of her role as a teacher. She has "Sit back, put on your plastic goggles, National Collection of Fine Arts ... This grounds, in those days a forested park. Not taught her personally developed tech­ and prepare to be sucked into the primor­ stately white marble building holds until the early thirties was the area land­ niques of plant mounting-to thousands of dial mist," was the advice given by a treasures of American artists whose work is scaped into the Mall. Constitution Avenue visiting botanists and herbarium workers. Washington Post reporter to people viewing presented in- a milieu of total beauty was then B Street, and there were rows of Upon retirement, Mrs. Berger left the SI "Astral Perceptions," the light show at dignity, and exceptional 'good taste,' which open air food markets opposite the plant preparation in the capable hands of NASM. is delightfully awesome. A grandeur is af­ Museum of Natural History, where the four women that she has trained: Irene Science forded all pieces because they are given Justice Department and other Federal Smith, Mary Skinner, Grace Lewis, and Joy George Watson, MNH ornithologist; special attention, allowing the utterance of Triangle Buildings stand today. Wilson. Saul Riesenberg, MNH ethnologist; and the artists' message." Page 8 THE SMITHSONIAN TORCH December 1977 Steinem Comes to WWICS common populist demand of "equal pay for By Linda St. Thomas Q&A eq ual work ." Economic studies show that Gloria Steinem sees her one-year career fulfillment of this demand alone would With holiday parties on our minds, Torch as a Woodrow Wilson fellow, beginning result in a dramatic redistribution of wealth got in touch with the Smithsonian's party­ December I, as a n opportunity to produce in both public and private sectors. givers for all seasons in the Office of Special a theoretical study of feminism a nd its im­ "The feminist premise has profound Events. OSE staff handles the arrangements pact on current systems ari d values such as implications for nationalism," Steinem for several hundred events every year or nationali sm, economics, community, and said. She asked what happens when the provides support for offices planning their religion. basic feminist requirement of reproductive own exhibit openings, luncheons, and other "Scholarly work in this area is scarce. freedom-that is, the right to decide events. Although one person is assigned One of the first things I' ll do is evaluate the whether or not to bear a child- collides responsibility for an event, everyone helps out few theorists whose insights are part of a with the nationalistic assumption that pop­ when necessary. Marilyn Hughes is a speical feminist world view, such as Mahatma ulation growth or decline may be regulated events assistant in her fifth year with the Gandhi and Simone de Beauvoir," she said. by the government. Smithsonian. She was interviewed by Torch Steinem, founder and editor of Ms. Another aspect of her study will be an ex­ staff writer Kathryn Lindeman. magazine and a leader among feminists, is amination of the changes in values and the 15th woman to be invited to WWICS. behavior patterns w hen feminism is How do you plan for an event? The Center, which was established in 1968, adopted . For example, many political

Preparing for a major event such as a I has awarded 236 fellowships since 1970. philosophers based their theories on building opening is like setting the stage-I The program accommodates up to 40 fel­ traditionally male behavior traits such as feel like the props mistress! For all except lows from a wide range of professions to aggression. What happens to these theories A ROYAL EMERALD ... Museum of the most routine events, we hold a meeting stu dy fundamental political, social, when the model is an adult female or a Natural History Director Porter Kier (right) and walk-through in the area of the event philosophical, and intellectual issues. This person with the full spectrum of human and Curator of Minerals Paul Desautels ad­ with the building manager, guard captain, year, 2 1 new scholars were selected from potential? mire a 75-carat emerald which was presented electrician, caterer, or anyone else who may more than 300 applicants. All project Feminist theorists from India, France, to the Smithsonian by Mrs. Stewart Hooker be. involved. We aid the sponsoring office proposals are reviewed by at least 12 people Botswana, Great Britai n, Israel, and other of New York. Hooker is the sister of Walter by drafting invitations, offering guidance in at the Center, including a panel of countries wi ll critique Steinem's work, ad­ Annenberg, former U.S. Ambassador to making up guest lists, and suggesting specialists and the board of trustees selec­ ding insights about feminism in their own Great Britain. The emerald, which was menus, flowers, and music or other enter­ tion committee. countries. purchased by her from a New York jeweler tainment. Steinem's work wi ll examine some of the Steinem has spent the past seven years 15 years ago, is believed to have once adorned What if something goes wrong at the last changes that must occur as feminism is helping to popularize the feminist move­ the belt buckle of Abdul Hamid II (1876- minute? adopted by current economic, political, and ment through lectures, Ms. magazine and 1909), one of the last sultans of the Ottoman The main thing is to be level-headed and social systems. She cited an example in the other articles. Empire. use your common sense. Once in a while the caterer forgets the corkscrews, linens, or droptables, and we end up running across the Mall to get them from our office in Program Helps Start Native American Museum A& I. When an expected guest does not ar­ By Johnnie Douthis rive, we have to arrange an alternate seating plan at the last minute. Sometimes I' ll m Robert Smith is director of the Onieda Longhouse Museum in Onieda, Wis., scheduled to open next spring. Smith was the first intern to participate in a program recently established by the Office of Museum Programs to train native Americans in museology. Under the direction of James Hanson, the Native American Program has grown out of an internship which has thrived since 1973 in the National Anthropologial Archives under its director, Herman Viola. Because of the Smithsonian's commitment to preserve tribal culture, and motivated by many direct requests from n ative Americans, the new program was proposed to include the study o f .co nservatio n, research, and exhibition. Assi s tant Secretary for Mu seum / Programs Paul Perrot said, "The program provides native Americans with a bridge of technical competence between Dr. Viola's archival program a nd the preservation and Marilyn Hughes interpretation of their own cultural heritage Robert Smith and exhibits specialist Marguerite Mondor a quick phone call to the guest's home, but in museums." Much of the new Museum's collection artifacts. All were reproduced and wi ll be it can be awkward if the person who The Onieda Museum will be unusual, ac­ has come from people on the reservation. included in the collection. answers is the guest we're expecting. I cording to Smith, because its collections During hi s two weeks in Washington, One of Smith's most exciting experiences haven't had too many last-minute crises will consist primarily of Iroquois objects though because all the details are carefully which trace the history of the tribe, one of Smith's activities included studying exhibi- during his stay was the discovery of a 1906 the Iroquois confederation of Six Nations. checked out before an event. We phone tion design techniques and researching photograph of his own grandfather, Joseph The Oniedas came to Wisconsin from New photo files. He found photographs of life Smith. Neither the younger Smith nor his everyone the day before to reconfirm. York in 18 20. on the reservation and pictures of Onied father ever had seen pictures of the elder as What was your most embarrassing ex­ a young man.He had been one of the few perience? native American entrepreneurs on the reser­ Last summer when Queen Elizabeth was vation. where he owned a sawmill and a scheduled to visit the Castle, I was to alert Georgia O'Keeffe Visits H M SG cheese factory. His land was sometimes the musicians stationed on top of the used for carnivals that came to the reserva­ entrance portico when to start the music. tion. With a large crowd of dignitaries, Smithso­ Program Director Hanson has identified nian staff, and tourists waiting at the more than 80 tribal groups from all over the entrance, the Queen approached in her car United States with museums already built and I yelled, "Tell the Queen to start the or in the planning stage. Since the program music!" I still get reminded about that one. began in April, eig ht nati ve Americans have Which event was the most exciting? received training, and Hanson has fur­ . The May 10 opening of the A&I Building nished technical assistance to more than 30 during the Bicentennial. I was assigned ma­ tribes. All participating museums have paid jor responsibility, but there were so many travel and li ving expenses for their details to organize that everyone in special representative's stay in Washington. events and other offices helped. We "We hope the program will have two researched foods, wines, music, and dress. I significant results, " Hanson said. "First, a arranged for horses and mapped out a route professional museum should become an im­ for them to draw the carriages around the portant economic asset for the tribe. Metro construction. It was hard work but a Tourism will lead to jobs for museum staffs, lot of fun to bring together. support personnel, craftworkers, and ar­ You must meet all kinds of people. tists, and sti mulate business. Yes, and I get a lot of perspective on "Second, a good museum can improve them. I've met Gerald Ford, Patricia Nix­ reserv ation life by serving as a source of on, Lady Bird Johnson, and other promi­ cultural pride and self understanding. It can nent personalities and found them to be just be a superb avenue of communication with as friendly as most. I really enjoy conversa­ non-Indian people as well," he concluded. tions with people in various occupations, The Office of Museum Programs is seek­ too. We depend heavily on buildings ing further support from foundations and management and the guard force and individuals to implement the program. without their cooperation, the whole event would fall apart. I like to coordinate the Free Jazz necessary details with different offices. Catch the Navy Commodores in free noon Is your training in special events valuable to jazz concerts in MHT's Carmichael you in other ways? Auditorium. On Monday, December 5, This year I helped a close friend arrange Contemporary painter Georgia O'Keeffe visited the Hirshhorn on Friday, November Woody Herman will solo with the band, and her wedding and got a real kick out of it! I II, four days before her 90th birthday. She saw her own works among the Museum col­ on Friday, December 9, woodwind virtuoso like to entertain and I think my job has lection, and took time to sit with Rene Magritte's bronze, "Delusions of Grandeur," Tim Eyerman will appear. WETA-FM jazz given me the experience to feel comfortable 1967. programmer Yale Lewis will emcee on the doing so. ninth.