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.

Circular dark bronze mirror with some green patina and eight wide and pointed petal shapes circling the edge. A small sitting frog protrudes from the center.

From Form to Symbol: An Aesthetic and Cultural Interpretation of a Tang Dynasty Mirror

November 7, 2025

Gengwei Guo (he/him) is a second-year M.A. student specializing in Chinese painting and calligraphy at UMass Amherst.

The Destruction of Lower Manhattan

Danny Lyon took to the streets with his large format camera to document the buildings in their final days.

exterior, cobblestone street with three to seven story city buildings empty of all cars and people

Picasso and the Minotaur

In this work, Greek mythology collides with Picasso’s own personal mythology of artistic creation.

minotaur in center with hand on shoulder of blond woman holding a bird, male at left leans on rocks at left and two figures in a small boat with sail at right

Observations From Deep Storage: The Art of Surprise

As I lifted the lid, my first thought was “WOW”, followed by “Oh my!”

playing card with spread arms and legs, ace covering where the legs are spread; red circle around the ace

TASS Window #850

In 1941 a group of Soviet writers and artists founded the TASS News Agency to create large-scale war-themed propaganda posters called “TASS Windows.”

bandaged figures, bleeding and black & blue with Russian text at bottom

Rembrandt's The Three Crosses

Rembrandt’s marvelous drypoint print The Three Crosses exists in five states.

crucifixion scene; Christ on the cross with crowd in front of him

Shared Inspiration: About the Collectors

Learn more about the collectors behind the exhibition "Shared Inspiration: The David R. and Muriel Kohn Pokross Collection."

bust portrait of man wearing navy blue suit and bow tie, woman wearing checkered blazer and white shirt; man has his arm around woman

Shared Inspiration

Comprised of paintings, drawings and prints by major artists of the post-World War II period, The Pokross Collection is a marvelous and exciting addition to SCMA’s collection.

art gallery with two artworks hung on the back wall and four artworks hung on the right wall

The Open Door

This photograph, "The Open Door," is the oldest in our collection.

open doorway of a barn with broom resting against a wall on the left, lantern hanging on a wall on the right

The Last Silent Movie

Language death like that of Ubykh is the focus of Susan Hiller’s "The Last Silent Movie."

jagged line with peaks and valleys, PLATE 21 printed over it and UBYKH / Shade, sea. printed below

At the Museum with Mary Cassatt

Degas’ dynamic portraits of Mary Cassatt at the Louvre express the admiration he felt for her.

Two women visiting a museum, seen from the back. woman on the right leans on her umbrella

Behind the Scenes with Debussy's Paris, Part II: Conservation

The "Debussy's Paris" exhibition was a great opportunity to have several nineteenth century posters conserved.

large poster laid across a white table; one woman sits on the table handling the poster, another woman stands toward the end of the table holding the poster down

Behind the Scenes with Debussy's Paris

It takes several years to plan and mount an exhibition, involving staff from Education, Membership and Marketing, and other Museum departments.

gallery with artworks displayed on the walls, orange ladder and blue cart in the middle of the gallery