Smithsonian Snapshot CameraSmithsonian Snapshot

A peek into our collections, one object at a time
James Joyce
Smithsonian Snapshot

Remembering James Joyce on Bloomsday

James Joyce’s novel Ulysses follows the exploits of Dubliner Leopold Bloom during the course of a single day, June 16, 1904.
guaridan figures
Freer Gallery of Art

Guardians of More Than a Galaxy

These two large, wooden guardian figures once kept watch over the Buddha and his followers outside Ebaradera temple in Sakai, Japan.
watermelon seeds
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

It’s Watermelon Season!

This poster (detail), depicting a zoomed-in view of a watermelon, was designed by Stephen Frykholm for the Herman Miller Furniture Company.
red white and blue shield with white star
National Museum of American History

“Get This Man a Shield!”

Equipped with a shield composed primarily of vibranium from the African nation Wakanda, Captain America fought the forces of evil.
fire extinguisher
Smithsonian American Art Museum

Do Ho Suh’s Sheer Fabric Sculptures

Korean artist Do Ho Suh captures the objects of everyday life as dream-like sculptures.
Jackie Robinson
National Portrait Gallery

A Baseball First

This 1947 photograph by Harry Warnecke pictures Robinson at Ebbets Field during his first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Ginger in a yellow dress with violin
Smithsonian Snapshot

Ginger Smock Is the Trailblazing Jazz Violinist You Might Not Have Heard Of

Jazz violinist Emma “Ginger” Smock was born in Chicago in 1920, and she soon displayed precocious musical talent.
Dolores Huerta by Barbara Carrasco. Silkscreen 1999. National Portrait Gallery,
Smithsonian Snapshot

Dolores Huerta: A Latina Civil Rights Icon

A life spent advocating for workers and women’s rights.
pin without extinction is liberty
Smithsonian Snapshot

Alice Paul and Suffragists Were First to Picket the White House

In January 1917, Alice Paul and the National Woman’s Party (NWP) became the first people to ever picket the White House.
red cardigan
National Museum of American History

Hi, Neighbor!

“There’s no person in the world like you, and I like you just the way you are.”—Fred Rogers
colorful stripes
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Alma Thomas Became a Nationally Recognized Painter after 38 Years Teaching Public School

In her 80s, she was the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Chauncey in a crowd
National Air and Space Museum

Chauncey Spencer, Aviator

Chauncey Spencer after a successful parachute jump at a Chicago air show. Spencer became one of Chicago’s most well-known barnstorming pilots.
bracelet in case
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Perfect for Valentine’s Day: Cupids and Jewelry

The bracelet is believed to have been made by the eminent French jeweler, Honoré-Séverin Bourdoncle, who counted Napoleon III among his clients.
Bessie on airplane
Smithsonian Snapshot

Bessie Coleman, First African American Licensed Pilot

Coleman received the first pilot’s license issued to an African American, male or female, from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale.
shooting stars
Smithsonian Libraries

When You Wish Upon a Shooting Star

The verso of Galileo’s drawings of the Pleiades star cluster, makes an exceptional background for our shooting stars.
photograph of snowflake crystal
Smithsonian Institution Archives

Snowflake Study

Snowflake study through photomicrography, 1890.
Photo of three kings stauettes
National Museum of American History

Three Kings Day

Happy Three Kings Day!
Cantos de Las Posadas album cover
Smithsonian Folkways

Las Posadas

Las Posadas is a meaningful Christmas tradition in Spain and many Latin American countries.
Poster advertising play "Okay, Bye"
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Crazy Legs

This poster for the play Okay, Bye communicates a visual riddle.
Green silk costume from musical "Hamilton"
National Museum of American History

Hamilton Costume

Broadway’s Hamilton costume tells story of philanthropy.
Black and white photo of two owls
Smithsonian Institution Archives

Increase and Diffusion

Owls with a mission: Increase and Diffusion.
Animated drawings of pumpkins
Smithsonian Libraries

Pumpkin Palooza

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Halloween became a popular national holiday in the U.S., and crepe paper was commonly used for decorating.
Sketch of building on Plaza Hotel stationery
Freer Gallery of Art

A First Draft

Freer's ideas for a classical, well-proportioned building on a piece of hotel stationery.
Mummified cat sarcophagus
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Mummy Cat

Cats played an important role in ancient Egyptian culture.

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