SCMAinsider
SCMAinsider offers dynamic perspectives on the diverse collections and visions that shape the
Smith College Museum of Art.
We welcome contributions from all members of our community and seek to cultivate a range of
voices and experiences. If you want to contribute to the blog, please contact us at scmacuratorial@smith.edu.
Thinking Through Drawing: On View through September 7, 2025
Henriette Kets de Vries is the Associate Curator and Manager of the Cunningham Study Center for Prints, Drawings and Photographs.
“It was the Best of Times”: American Prints of the Great Depression
The decade of the Great Depression was seen not only as a time of immense strife and hardship, but also as a time for people to come together.
The Iconography of Constance Pott
The writer expressed what was abundantly clear: Constance Pott was a true master. But today, she is largely forgotten.
Collecting the Past: Kenojuak Ashevak
This pencil drawing on wove paper by Kenojuak Ashevak, one of the most well-known modern Inuit artists, represents two human figures encircled by animals and sea deities against a blank background.
Collecting the Past: Kannibalen Bioethicists
Enrique Chagoya is currently a professor of Art and Art History at Stanford University, but was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. It was here that he became more aware of ancient indigenous beliefs, imagination, and history.
Collecting the Past: Marilyn Bridges
In 1976, during a trip to Peru, Marilyn Bridges flew in a small plane for the first time over the Nazca lines. She had previously taken photographs for travel publications but had now discovered a type of photography that would define the rest of her career.
Collecting the Past: Sled and Seal
The sheer isolation of the Canadian Arctic allowed native Inuit populations to remain relatively uninfluenced by Anglos until the nineteen fifties, when a flurry of government service ventures pushed northward.
Gabrielle de Veaux Clements: Artist, Teacher and World Traveler
One intriguing aspect of The Gladys Engel Lang and Kurt Lang Collection is that half of the artists represented in it are women. Some, such as Gabrielle de Veaux Clements, left traces of their legacy in the public sphere and are widely renowned.
Spotlight on Jiha Moon
By using hanji paper, elements of contemporary Asian pop culture, and Western art techniques, Moon’s pieces become a blend of East and West, reflecting her own background.
Welcome, Colleen!
Hello! I’m Colleen McDermott, and starting this week I’m taking over as the new Brown Post-Baccalaureate Curatorial Fellow.
Teaching with Paper
Every afternoon for three weeks, sixteen enthusiastic 4th-6th graders come to the Museum to connect with art. Our students spend time in the galleries, investigate artists in the museum’s collection, and go behind-the-scenes with museum staff.
Introducing SCMA’s IFPDA Intern
We’re pleased to be joined this summer by Nicole Viglini, '04J, who will be working in the Cunningham Center this summer as the IFPDA Intern.
Orpheus Greeting the Moon
A tree ascended there. Oh pure transcendence! / Oh Orpheus sings! Oh tall tree in the ear!
