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.
Summer Curatorial Research Intern: Olivia White ’20 (UMass MA ’25)
As a master’s student in the History of Art & Architecture Department at the University of
Staff Picks: Wood Gaylor's "Posters"
Jessica Nicoll, Director and Louise Ines Doyle ’34 Chief Curator, shares the history and present-day activity of a painting by Wood Gaylor.
Poems and Prints: Meditations on the Sea
Indigo Casais ’23 writes about the theme of the ocean in works by poet Lucille Clifton and artist Goto Hidehiko.
Happy Birthday, Artemisia Gentileschi!
This blog celebrates Artemisia Gentileschi on her 458th birthday as a trailblazer for women artists who followed.
Staff Picks: Milton Avery's "Gulls and Sea"
Assistant Preparator Matt Cummings reflects on a work in SCMA's collection by Milton Avery.
Printmaker Barry Moser on Bringing Frankenstein to Life
"When you see an image that I’ve done and you see it in a way that I hadn’t, that’s what makes it alive."
Staff Picks: Anita Otilia Rodriguez's "Homenaje a Selena"
Henriette Kets de Vries highlights one of her personal favorites from SCMA's collection, Anita Rodriguez's "Homenaje a Selena."
Poems and Prints: On What the Ear Carries
Indigo Casais ’23 discusses embodied memory in Lesley Dill’s print "The Poetic Body: Poem Ears" and Mosab Abu Toha’s poem “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear.”
Curate This: Student Stories at the SCMA
Ejona Gjata ’21 shares her reflections on her Museum Studies senior capstone design project, "Curate This: Student Stories at the SCMA."
The Tryon Prizes for Writing and Art, 2021
Congratulations to all of the 2021 recipients of the Tryon Prizes for Writing and Art!
Liz Chalfin on Spirituality, Creation, and Alternative Printmaking
"Even though I’m not a very religious person, I do feel that religion has been one way that people explore the ineffable and the mysteries of life."
From the archives: Claire Leighton and A Connection to the Land
In this blogpost from 2016, Renee Klann ‘19 wrote about how, rather than focusing on the picturesque qualities of the landscape, Claire Leighton chose to portray the people who worked the land.
A Memory of Emma Amos (1937–2020) and the acquisition of One Who Watches
In 2001, the Smith College Black Students Alliance gave a painting, One Who Watches, by Emma Amos to SCMA. Alona C. Wilson, former Curatorial Assistant and Manager of the Cunningham Study Center, recounts her memories of this collaborative acquisition process.
