Smithsonian

We remember multidisciplinary artist David Hockney, who embraced emerging technologies throughout his seven-decade career. From Polaroid cameras and office photocopiers to computer programs and iPads, Hockney explored new mediums to share his bold and colorful artworks.
Born in England, Hockney moved to Los Angeles in 1964. Some of his most famous works were inspired by the backyard swimming pools he saw upon his arrival. To Hockney, pools represented a world of leisure and a private space for gay men to enjoy domestic life. He was particularly interested in the technical challenges of painting water, experimenting with ways to harness light, color, and movement.
Always evolving, Hockney explored painting, photography, drawing, and even stage design.
In 1984, the artist sat down for an oral history interview with our , where he considered how future generations might define art.
“You have, in a museum, a few photographs on display. Outside in the city, there’s millions of photographs taken daily....A future generation would look at the time quite differently and realize that some of the things we thought weren’t art were art and so on. I mean, that’s the failure in our age, where it’s self-conscious. We think that is art and that is not art. But it’s not quite as easy to define as that.”
Hockney’s work is well represented across the Smithsonian, including in the collections of our , , , and .

📷 :

Andre Emmerich. David Hockney, 1982 April. André Emmerich Gallery Records and André Emmerich Papers, circa 1929-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Screenshot from video oral history interview with David Hockney, 1984 September 3. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
David Hockney, “Snails Space with Vari-Lites, ‘Painting as Performance,’” 1995-1996, oil on two canvases, acrylic on canvas-covered masonite, wood dowels, overall: 84 x 260 x 135 in. (213.4x 660.4 x 342.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum

“I used to worry about being different. Now I realize my differences are my strengths.” —Carla Barboza 🫶

In her series “Latina Lesbians,” Chicana photographer Laura Aguilar collaborated with women from Los Angeles to visualize their journeys of self-discovery and empowerment. Below their black-and-white portraits are handwritten statements that personalize the evolution of their realized identities.

From how they chose to pose to the stories they shared, each of the sitters pictured here—Carla Barboza, Laura V, Rita, Veronica, and Geneva—is unique. Yet there’s a consistent message throughout each of their statements: self-acceptance is powerful.

Aguilar is celebrated for her photographs that challenge perceptions of disability, expressions of gender, and standards of beauty.

📷:

Laura Aguilar, “Carla Barboza, from the series Latina Lesbians,” 1987, gelatin silver print, sheet, Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery

Laura Aguilar, “Laura V, from the series Latina Lesbians,” 1987, gelatin silver print, sheet, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Laura Aguilar, “Rita, from the series Latina Lesbians,” 1988, gelatin silver print, sheet, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Laura Aguilar, “Veronica, from the series Latina Lesbians,” 1989, gelatin silver print, sheet, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Laura Aguilar, “Geneva, from the series Latina Lesbians,” 1987, gelatin silver print, sheet, Smithsonian American Art Museum

This year, Smithsonian museums are celebrating summer solstice with extra hours and activities all weekend long!

For a full list of special events and programming, check out our website: si.edu/solstice

📅 June 19 –21, 2026

📍 Washington, D.C.

🗺️ This summer, pedestrian and vehicle access along and across the National Mall may be limited. Please allow extra time to travel between museums.

Upon returning from serving his country on the front lines in Europe during World War II, Frank Kameny faced discrimination in the workplace. Just months into his role as an astronomer for the government’s Army Map Service, Kameny was fired in 1957 when federal investigators discovered he was gay.

The incident fueled his fight for gay and le***an Americans.

From leading picket lines at the White House to challenging discrimination in the courts, Kameny devoted his life to furthering civil rights for LGBTQ+ people. He founded the Washington, D.C. chapter of the gay rights organization the Mattachine Society, led the first-ever protest for LGBTQ+ rights outside of the White House, and worked alongside psychiatrists to successfully remove “homos*xuality” from the national list of mental illnesses. Kameny was also the one to coin the phrase “Gay is Good,” inspired by the popular slogan “Black is Beautiful,” in the 1960s.

In 2006, the long-time civil rights leader donated a collection of rare protest picket signs and buttons to our
National Museum of American History. The sign on slide two one of 250 objects on view in the museum’s latest exhibition “In Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness.”

📷: The Library of Congress

🪧: National Museum of American History

August Wilson was one of the most prolific American playwrights. In his 10-play series, “The Pittsburgh Cycle”, also known as “American Century Cycle,” Wilson explores each decade of the 20th century through the lens of African American families, nine of whom live in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.

Written in 1984, the second installment of this cycle, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” is currently playing on Broadway and is nominated for five awards at this Sunday’s Tony Awards.

Despite being nominated for Best Play nine times, Wilson’s sole win was in 1987 for “Fences.” That Tony Award is in the collection of our Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Many of the plays in this “cycle” have not only seen success on the stage, but in film. These films include “Fences” (2016), “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (2020), and “The Piano Lesson” (2024).

Fun Fact: Did you know there is a theater named after Wilson in New York City?

📷: “August Wilson” by Susan Johann, 1992. In the collection of our National Portrait Gallery USA.

🏆: Tony Award for Best Play, “Fences.” 1987. In the collection of our National Museum of African American History and Culture.

✉️: August Wilson Stamp, released on January 28, 2021. ©USPS; all rights reserved. In the collection of Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

Each little sihek chick brings hope for this rare bird species. This spring, four Guam kingfisher chicks hatched at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute's conservation science campus in Front Royal, Virginia. ❤️🐥

Also known as the Guam kingfisher, the species was wiped out by the invasive brown tree snake, introduced to the island after World War II.

With only 125 siheks in the world, every chick is special. Since all four hatchlings were born to first-time parents, they'll provide genetic diversity among the species.

Our zookeepers have been raising the hatchlings to increase their chance of survival. They currently feed the chicks seven times per day.

Smithsonian scientists have joined a project to release human-raised sihek on Palmyra Atoll, a protected Pacific region a few thousand miles away from the their native Guam.

Nigerian-born artist Tyna Adebowale explores expansive meanings of motherhood in this 13-feet tall painting. “Lineage of Glory Too” is part of the artist’s series, a tribute to the maternal figures—both biological relatives and community leaders—in the Uneme community in Nigeria who raised her.

Adebowale often gives visibility to women, especially q***r women, in her work. She’s exhibited artwork around the world, including her native Nigeria, where same-s*x marriage and civil unions are illegal.

This artwork is in the collections of our National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution and featured in the companion book for the exhibition “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art,” which explores how LGBTQ+ artists from Africa and its diaspora are part of a larger, joyful story of African art history.

🎨 : “Lineage Of Glory Too series.,” 2024, Tyna Adebowale, Acrylic on canvas, 152 x 81 in., Courtesy of the artist and Ellen de Bruijne Projects, Collection of the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Museum purchase

One hundred years ago today, Norma Jeane Mortenson was born in Los Angeles, California. Not familiar with Norma Jeane’s work? You’ll probably know her by the name Marilyn Monroe.

Monroe was one of the brightest stars of the 1950s, appearing in films such as “The Seven Year Itch” (1955) and “Some Like It Hot” (1959). Determined to excel in her craft, Monroe was a dedicated student of famed “method acting” teacher Lee Strasberg at the Actor’s Studio.

She was also a successful singer. She recorded songs for various films, such as “A Little Girl from Little Rock” from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1953). And in 1954 she went on a USO tour in South Korea, performing for over 100,000 servicemembers.

Though Monroe died at age 36 in 1962, her legacy supersedes her own filmography. Monroe’s life story has been memorialized in 50 years of films and television shows, first by Misty Rowe in 1976 film “Goodbye Norma Jean” and most recently by Ana De Armas in the 2022 film “Blonde.”

Photographs, memorabilia, and artistic renderings of Monroe are represented throughout the Smithsonian’s museums. To commemorate her 100th birthday, we are sharing just a few:

📷: Photograph of Marilyn Monroe by Milton H. Greene © Joshua Greene (National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution).

🎼: Sheet Music for the song “A Little Girl from Little Rock” from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. In the collection of our National Museum of American History.

🎙️: Two photographs of Marilyn Monroe by Daniel D. Geary on her 1954 USO tour of South Korea. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of David D. Geary. National Portrait Gallery USA

✉️: 32c Marilyn Monroe stamp, released on June 1, 1995. In the collection of our Smithsonian National Postal Museum. ©USPS; all rights reserved.