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.
An Exploration of Vanitas Snuff Box in the Shape of a Skull
The SCMA recently acquired an 18th-century snuff box in the shape of a skull; learn more about this curious object, its imagery, original function, and historic context for curatorial research assi
About That Narrative: Joanne Leonard
Leonard’s interest in questioning photographic “truths” might serve as a way to tell a more accurate version of her family’s story by fracturing the materials at hand.
Expanding the View
'South Pass Wind River Mountains, Wyoming' came into SCMA's collection nearly 70 years ago, and our view keeps changing.
About That Narrative: Jess Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre
For over five years, photographer Jess T. Dugan and social worker Vanessa Fabbre traveled around the United States photographing and interviewing older members of the transgender community.
From Home: An Interview with Lucy Xiaochuan Liu '21
"I think that sometimes the value of grief and suffering are that they capture a moment, and, by capturing it, create a sense of existence."
Asian Ceramics in American Paintings
Ceramic is a type of material that has been extensively traded and imitated around the globe.
Repairing an Ethiopian Triptych's Twine Hinges
Molly Hoisington, Assistant Preparator, describes the ups and downs of repairing this triptych's idiosyncratic twine hinges.
The historic art of political propaganda
Political propaganda is not as modern a concept as one might think.
From Home: An Interview with Matt Donovan
A conversation with Matt Donovan about The Map of Every Lilac Leaf: Poets Respond to the Smith College Museum of Art, a collaboration between the Boutelle-Day Poetry Center and the Smith College Museum of Art which was released earlier this week as a part of SCMA100, the Museum’s centennial celebration. We talked about how this project came together, what’s next for the Poetry Center, and whether he’s been writing in quarantine.
A Challenge to Practice Optimism
I offered a challenge to my friends and family in various backgrounds and colleges outside art history to engaged with two works of art from the 5 College Museum collection which reflect similar anxieties or sentiments we feel during the COVID-19 shutdowns. asked them to identify something positive in each image. I left the prompt open-ended as I wanted to encourage optimism to take a variety of forms.
The conservation process of Still Life with Fruit, Meat, Pipe, and Goblets
Still Life with Fruit, Meat, Pipe, and Goblets, a 17th-century still life painting by Dutch artist Maria van Oosterwyck has been selected to be included in the museum’s centennial exhibition SCMA Then\Now\Next. It has been recently conserved by Birgit Straehle at the Worcester Art Museum. These images taken during and after the treatment show how she brought this work back to life.
A self-portrait by Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665)
This self-portrait by Elisabetta Sirani joined the SCMA collection earlier this year.
A Year Being Art Detective
Have you ever visited a museum and wondered how the artworks came to the museum? For me, yes.
