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Catch up on the latest programs and happenings at the Interior Museum |
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What's New
 In August 1935, planners creating the Interior Museum turned to the 92-year-old venerated photographer and artist William Henry Jackson (1843–1942) to execute a set of four paintings to memorialize each of the "Great Surveys" of the American West (1867–1879). William Henry Jackson: A Visual Exploration of the American West is a new companion display on view at the Interior Museum to complement our Thomas Moran & the "Big Picture" exhibition. Visitors will be able to see* Jackson's two large oil paintings depicting the Hayden and Powell Surveys and explore their fascinating backstories and connections to the U.S. Geological Survey.
*While the Interior Museum remains temporarily closed to public access due to COVID-19 precautions, we invite you to take an online sneak peek at one of the paintings. We'll be sure to post updates on the museum's reopening, just as soon as plans are finalized for resuming safe public access and operations. We look forward to having you experience these paintings in person!
New Blog Launched!
We're pleased to announce that we've launched a blog as a vehicle for expanding our storytelling. We have more to share than will "fit" into our social media posts or this e-newsletter, so here you'll find longer-format, image-rich articles on collections and historical topics related to the Interior Museum. For the moment, we've just been calling it "the blog," so we welcome your suggestions for a more creative title!
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, our first installment introduces you to an extraordinary pair of 1930s carved story poles from Hydaburg, Alaska. Read on…
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Recent Acquisitions
Through a collaboration with our colleagues at the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, we're excited to have recently added to our collection 11 works by contemporary Native artists. Keep an eye on our social media pages (@InteriorMuseum), where we'll be highlighting them throughout the month.
At right: Tribal Plains by Rowan Harrison (Pueblo of Isleta and Navajo), pen and ink on paper; OSAC 07346
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In Case You Missed It
Did you know that November 7 was National Bison Day? In addition to being our national mammal, the American bison has long been a symbol of the Department of the Interior and appears in artwork and architectural details throughout our main headquarters building in Washington, DC.
We took the opportunity to showcase the various bison in our halls and on our walls, and you can see them here.
At left: Detail from a mural by Stephen Mopope (Kiowa)
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Collections Spotlight
U.S. Bureau of Pensions pin badge
Sterling silver, circa 1920
U.S. Department of the Interior Museum, INTR 03241
Did you know that from 1849 to 1930, the Department of the Interior managed the Bureau of Pensions? Precursors were situated in the Treasury and War departments, but these duties moved once Interior was established. The first Interior-based offices for the Bureau of Pensions were located in the Patent Office Building, which you might recognize better today as the home of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery! As you can imagine, pension processing increased significantly during the American Civil War, and a new Pension Bureau Building was constructed to accommodate this growth. Today, that structure is the National Building Museum. In 1926, Interior moved the Pensions offices into its new headquarters—what is now the General Services Administration headquarters building. However, in 1930, the role of the Bureau of Pensions was transferred out of the Department of the Interior and merged into the newly established Veterans Administration.
Look for more Department of the Interior veterans-related history on our social media channels, including this thread about Interior secretaries who served.
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1849 C Street, NW, MS1251-MIB, Washington, DC 20240 |
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