The Smithsonian, Again
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W. Richard West Jr., the founding director of the Smithsonian Institutionâs National Museum of the American Indian, spent $48,500 in museum funds to commission a portrait of himself, The Washington Post reported. The painting, by Burton Silverman, a New York artist whose portraits have appeared on the cover of Time and in The New Yorker, hangs in the patronsâ lounge of the museum. Mr. West, 64, whose last day on the Smithsonian payroll was Monday, also spent more than $250,000 over four years on travel and hotels, the Smithsonian has confirmed. Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on the Finance Committee, and Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and chairwoman of the Rules Committee, have asked for independent investigations of the expenses. The Smithsonian said it did not comment on former employees. Similar questions about personal spending by the Smithsonianâs secretary, Lawrence M. Small, led to his resignation last March.
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It's not just cyclist Lance Armstrong, baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson and other heroes of sport the Smithsonian Institution is celebrating.
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Washington -- If the new National Museum of the American Indian confined itself to such displays as its impressive collections of Seminole, Shoshone and Hopi kachina dolls, or North American peace pipes and tomahawks, it would differ little from other
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On National Geographic News: Science & Technology
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The search for tiny treasures continues.
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And recent history repeats itself.
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if our cityâs status and the currency that backs it are more contested than they once were, that only makes the opening of the Museum of American Finance on Wall Street last month more urgently intriguing.
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The acting director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History is returning to the University of Oklahoma.
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By Dan Sorenson, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson  Sep. 15--There's something croaking at the International Wildlife Museum.
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From the wetlands out front to the undulating exterior, Washington, D.C.'s new National Museum of the American Indian is built on native ideas. Includes photo gallery.
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Many Native Americans believe exhibits at the soon-to-open Smithsonian museum in Washington are literally alive&#151;some masks are even fed cornmeal. Includes photo gallery.
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Anxious about dwindling crowds and shorter attention spans, museums and historical sites are turning to special effects to tell their stories
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A colorful Native Nations procession heralded the opening Tuesday of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of the American Indian, the newest addition to the historical treasure-trove dotting the National Mall.
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A fabled fossil goes on view for the first time in decades  -  and ignites a controversy
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Oscar the Grouch probably won't be happy about his next home: a cold, dark box that is far from "Sesame Street" and his beloved trash can. The puppet is among tens of thousands of exhibits and artifacts that will be carefully stored as the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History prepares for a massive, two-year renovation.
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History looks primed to repeat itself.
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Watching the returns from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.