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.

January at SCMA: Museums and Meditation at MacLeish

April 17, 2025

Anna Ziegler is a senior Art History major and works at the Cunningham Center at SCMA.

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

Janet Fish

The exhibition I have been working on is in honor of Janet Fish, one of Smith College’s most successful artist-alumnae.

tabletop with newspaper on it; on top of newspaper, various shells and boxes of shells laid out

Melancholia I

"Melancholia I" excites, in part, because Dürer presented a new perspective on melancholia that challenged the prevailing stereotype.

Seated angel leaning head on hand. Dog lying at her feet. Cherub seated on mill stone.

Will Barnet's The Golden Frame

It’s easy to see why drawing is so important to Will Barnet’s paintings.

oval frame with four figures inside, one at left holding sketchpad and pencil, one at right partially hidden by a painting

Käthe Kollwitz: Darkness and Light

Empathy suffuses Kollwitz’s work, as though art were a way of identifying faces among the masses, drawing them out of anonymity.

Pictures of the Floating World

The word Uikyo-e means “pictures of the floating world.”

Head and shoulder views of a man and a woman

Albrecht Dürer: Genius and Fame

Over the course of the semester, I had the wonderful opportunity to not only learn about the fascinating world of Renaissance printmaking, but also to apply my new knowledge to writing the labels for our exhibition at the Smith College Museum of Art entitled "Albrecht Dürer: Genius and Fame."