Art

The National Museum of American History is not an art museum. But works of art fill its collections and testify to the vital place of art in everyday American life. The ceramics collections hold hundreds of examples of American and European art glass and pottery. Fashion sketches, illustrations, and prints are part of the costume collections. Donations from ethnic and cultural communities include many homemade religious ornaments, paintings, and figures. The Harry T Peters "America on Stone" collection alone comprises some 1,700 color prints of scenes from the 1800s. The National Quilt Collection is art on fabric. And the tools of artists and artisans are part of the Museum's collections, too, in the form of printing plates, woodblock tools, photographic equipment, and potters' stamps, kilns, and wheels.

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1996
maker
Sanchez, Emilio
ID Number
2012.0031.07
accession number
2012.0031
catalog number
2012.0031.07
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1967
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa Bachelis
ID Number
1998.0139.081
accession number
1998.0139
catalog number
1998.0139.081
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1970
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa Bachelis
ID Number
1998.0139.180
accession number
1998.0139
catalog number
1998.0139.180
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
c.
c.1880-1893
associated dates
1993 12 28 / 1993 12 28
ID Number
1993.0592.02
catalog number
1993.0592.02
accession number
1993.0592
This bust of American jazz trumpeter, musician, bandleader, and composer Miles Dewey Davis III (1926 - 1991) was made by Ed Dwight in Denver, Colorado in 1990.
Description (Brief)

This bust of American jazz trumpeter, musician, bandleader, and composer Miles Dewey Davis III (1926 - 1991) was made by Ed Dwight in Denver, Colorado in 1990. Made of cast bronze, the sculpture depicts Davis’ torso, playing a trumpet, wearing a jacket and sunglasses, on a wood base.

Ed Dwight began his career as a graduate engineer, was a former United States Air Force test pilot who became the first African American to be trained as an astronaut in 1962. Following a career in real estate, computer systems engineering, and consulting, Dwight pursued art and received a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Denver in 1977. Dwight’s works include fine art sculpture, large-scale memorials and public art projects.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990
depicted
Davis, Miles
maker
Dwight, Ed
ID Number
1995.0368.01
catalog number
1995.0368.01
accession number
1995.0368
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1880 - 1900
date made
c. 1880 -1900
associated dates
1993 12 28 / 1993 12 28
ID Number
1993.0592.01
catalog number
1993.0592.01
accession number
1993.0592
This bust of American jazz clarinetist and bandleader Benjamin David "Benny" Goodman (1909 - 1986) was made by Ed Dwight in Denver, Colorado in 1990.
Description

This bust of American jazz clarinetist and bandleader Benjamin David "Benny" Goodman (1909 - 1986) was made by Ed Dwight in Denver, Colorado in 1990. Made of cast bronze, the sculpture depicts Goodman’s head and hands, playing a clarinet, on a swirl of bronze on a stone base.

Ed Dwight began his career as a graduate engineer, was a former United States Air Force test pilot who became the first African American to be trained as an astronaut in 1962. Following a career in real estate, computer systems engineering, and consulting, Dwight pursued art and received a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Denver in 1977. Dwight’s works include fine art sculpture, large-scale memorials and public art projects.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990
depicted
Goodman, Benny
maker
Dwight, Ed
ID Number
1994.0400.01
accession number
1994.0400
catalog number
1994.0400.01
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1967
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa Bachelis
ID Number
1998.0139.080
accession number
1998.0139
catalog number
1998.0139.080
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa Bachelis
ID Number
1998.0139.111
accession number
1998.0139
catalog number
1998.0139.111
This bust of American composer and saxophonist Charles "Charlie" Parker, Jr. (1920 - 1955) was made by Ed Dwight in Denver, Colorado in 1990.
Description (Brief)

This bust of American composer and saxophonist Charles "Charlie" Parker, Jr. (1920 - 1955) was made by Ed Dwight in Denver, Colorado in 1990. Made of cast bronze, the sculpture depicts Parker’s head, neck and hands, playing a saxophone, on a base of saxophones and a stylized keyboard.

Ed Dwight began his career as a graduate engineer, was a former United States Air Force test pilot who became the first African American to be trained as an astronaut in 1962. Following a career in real estate, computer systems engineering, and consulting, Dwight pursued art and received a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Denver in 1977. Dwight’s works include fine art sculpture, large-scale memorials and public art projects.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990
depicted
Parker, Charlie
maker
Dwight, Ed
ID Number
1993.0032.02
catalog number
1993.0032.02
accession number
1993.0032
A contemporary artist, Laura Weaver Huff works out of the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA and is a member of the Washington Area Printmakers. This image is of the local park of Great Falls, VA.
Description
A contemporary artist, Laura Weaver Huff works out of the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA and is a member of the Washington Area Printmakers. This image is of the local park of Great Falls, VA. Huff uses bright colors and often includes nature in her work.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1990
artist
Huff, Laura Weaver
ID Number
1991.0095.01
catalog number
1991.0095.01
accession number
1991.0095
Printed in 1988, the etching was included in the Washington Area Printmaker's 1992 Original Print Calendar.Currently not on view
Description
Printed in 1988, the etching was included in the Washington Area Printmaker's 1992 Original Print Calendar.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1988
1992
ID Number
1991.0783.15
catalog number
1991.0783.15
accession number
1991.0783
catalog number
1991.783.15
This bust of American jazz trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong (1901 - 1971) was made by Ed Dwight in Denver, Colorado in 1990.
Description (Brief)

This bust of American jazz trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong (1901 - 1971) was made by Ed Dwight in Denver, Colorado in 1990. Made of cast bronze, the sculpture depicts Armstrong’s torso and hands, playing a trumpet with handkerchief in left hand, on a stone base.

Ed Dwight began his career as a graduate engineer, was a former United States Air Force test pilot who became the first African American to be trained as an astronaut in 1962. Following a career in real estate, computer systems engineering, and consulting, Dwight pursued art and received a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Denver in 1977. Dwight’s works include fine art sculpture, large-scale memorials and public art projects.

Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990
depicted
Armstrong, Louis
maker
Dwight, Ed
ID Number
1994.0400.02
catalog number
1994.0400.02
accession number
1994.0400
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1994
advertiser
Homer Laughlin China Co.
maker
Homer Laughlin China Co.
ID Number
1994.0234.01
catalog number
1994.0234.01
accession number
1994.0234
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1998
maker
Szesko, Judith Jaidinger
ID Number
2015.0272.01
accession number
2015.0272
catalog number
2015.0272.01
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1998
maker
Szesko, Judith Jaidinger
ID Number
2015.0272.11
accession number
2015.0272
catalog number
2015.0272.11
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1999
maker
Szesko, Judith Jaidinger
ID Number
2015.0272.02
accession number
2015.0272
catalog number
2015.0272.02
This poster advertised an outdoor art show in Armonk, New York, in 1992. Held annually since 1961, the volunteer-run art show raises funds for the Friends of the North Castle Library, a volunteer group supporting the town library.
Description
This poster advertised an outdoor art show in Armonk, New York, in 1992. Held annually since 1961, the volunteer-run art show raises funds for the Friends of the North Castle Library, a volunteer group supporting the town library. The library has branches in Armonk and North White Plains, two sections of the town of North Castle.
Over time, the art show has grown in professionalism and reputation as a result of the skills, connections, and resources members of the community have brought to it. In its early years, it largely featured local artists. More recently, the show has attracted artists from around the United States and some from abroad, and it has gained a national reputation. A paid executive director has helped to manage the show since the late 2010s. The art show is an example of fundraising and volunteering in an affluent community with ample resources to support the professionalization and publicization of an annual fundraiser.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1992
associated date
1992-10-03
maker
Golub, Bill
ID Number
2018.0027.02
accession number
2018.0027
catalog number
2018.0027.02
This poster advertised an outdoor art show in Armonk, New York, in 1990. Held annually since 1961, the volunteer-run art show raises funds for the Friends of the North Castle Library, a volunteer group supporting the town library.
Description
This poster advertised an outdoor art show in Armonk, New York, in 1990. Held annually since 1961, the volunteer-run art show raises funds for the Friends of the North Castle Library, a volunteer group supporting the town library. The library has branches in Armonk and North White Plains, two sections of the town of North Castle.
Over time, the art show has grown in professionalism and reputation as a result of the skills, connections, and resources members of the community have brought to it. In its early years, it largely featured local artists. More recently, the show has attracted artists from around the United States and some from abroad, and it has gained a national reputation. A paid executive director has helped to manage the show since the late 2010s. The art show is an example of fundraising and volunteering in an affluent community with ample resources to support the professionalization and publicization of an annual fundraiser.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1990
associated date
1990-10-13 through 1990-10-14
maker
Golub, Bill
ID Number
2018.0027.01
catalog number
2018.0027.01
accession number
2018.0027
This poster advertised an outdoor art show in Armonk, New York, in 1996. Held annually since 1961, the volunteer-run art show raises funds for the Friends of the North Castle Library, a volunteer group supporting the town library.
Description
This poster advertised an outdoor art show in Armonk, New York, in 1996. Held annually since 1961, the volunteer-run art show raises funds for the Friends of the North Castle Library, a volunteer group supporting the town library. The library has branches in Armonk and North White Plains, two sections of the town of North Castle.
Over time, the art show has grown in professionalism and reputation as a result of the skills, connections, and resources members of the community have brought to it. In its early years, it largely featured local artists. More recently, the show has attracted artists from around the United States and some from abroad, and it has gained a national reputation. A paid executive director has helped to manage the show since the late 2010s. The art show is an example of fundraising and volunteering in an affluent community with ample resources to support the professionalization and publicization of an annual fundraiser.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1996-10-05
associated date
1996-10-05
maker
Golub, Bill
ID Number
2018.0027.03
accession number
2018.0027
catalog number
2018.0027.03
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1969
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa Bachelis
ID Number
1998.0139.092
catalog number
1998.0139.092
accession number
1998.0139
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1972
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa Bachelis
ID Number
1998.0139.190
accession number
1998.0139
catalog number
1998.0139.190
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa Bachelis
ID Number
1998.0139.193
accession number
1998.0139
catalog number
1998.0139.193
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture.
Description
With her camera, Lisa Law documented history in the heart of the counterculture revolution of the 1960s as she lived it, as a participant, an agent of change and a member of the broader culture. She recorded this unconventional time of Anti-War demonstrations in California, communes, Love-Ins, peace marches and concerts, as well as her family life as she became a wife and mother. The photographs were collected by William Yeingst and Shannon Perich in a cross-unit collecting collaboration. Together they selected over two hundred photographs relevant to photographic history, cultural history, domestic life and social history.
Law’s portraiture and concert photographs include Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Lovin Spoonful and Peter, Paul and Mary. She also took several of Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company, including the photograph used to create the poster included in the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum’s exhibition 1001 Days and Nights in American Art. Law and other members of the Hog Farm were involved in the logistics of setting up the well-known musical extravaganza, Woodstock. Her photographs include the teepee poles going into the hold of the plane, a few concert scenes and amenities like the kitchen and medical tent. Other photographs include peace rallies and concerts in Haight-Ashbury, Coretta Scott King speaking at an Anti-War protest and portraits of Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary. From her life in New Mexico the photographs include yoga sessions with Yogi Bhajan, bus races, parades and other public events. From life on the New Buffalo Commune, there are many pictures of her family and friends taken during meal preparation and eating, farming, building, playing, giving birth and caring for children.
Ms. Law did not realize how important her photographs were while she was taking them. It was not until after she divorced her husband, left the farm for Santa Fe and began a career as a photographer that she realized the depth of history she recorded. Today, she spends her time writing books, showing her photographs in museums all over the United States and making documentaries. In 1990, her video documentary, “Flashing on the Sixties,” won several awards.
A selection of photographs was featured in the exhibition A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law, 1964–1971, at the National Museum of American History October 1998-April 1999.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1968
date printed
1998
maker
Law, Lisa
ID Number
1998.0139.117
catalog number
1998.0139.117
accession number
1998.0139

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