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Archive: 2020 (53 Posts)

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Art Chosen by Artists: Library of Congress National Exhibition of Prints (1943-77) – a New Research Guide

Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson

The following is a guest post by Katherine Blood, Curator of Fine Prints, Prints & Photographs Division. As the Library of Congress marks its 220th year of serving the nation, the publication of a new guide tells two stories: how staff have for decades worked with art professionals to build the collections and how by …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

African Americans at the Turn of the 20th Century: A Graphic Visualization

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

Visitors to the 1900 Paris Exposition would have had the opportunity to view an extraordinary display of photographs, charts, publications and other items meant to demonstrate the progress and resilience of African Americans in the United States, only a few decades after the abolition of slavery. The materials were assembled by African American intellectuals Thomas J. …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Strolling Through a World of Flowers

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

Spring has arrived. While some of us may have an opportunity to carefully step outside and view blossoms in our own neighborhood, others may not. Wherever you are, you can take a virtual stroll among the shoots and blossoms planted among the collections of the Prints & Photographs Division. Many images of gardens can be …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Catching the Spirit of Baseball’s Opening Day

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

The following is a guest post by Hanna Soltys, Reference Librarian, Prints & Photographs Division. The post was written with the help of Sara W. Duke, Curator of Popular and Applied Graphic Art.   While professional baseball’s Opening Day will take place at a later date, the spirit and excitement of the day still live …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Celebrating Education during Deaf History Month

Posted by: Kristi Finefield

Just across town from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., stands Gallaudet University, an institute for higher learning for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the law that allowed the school to begin issuing college degrees, a milestone for deaf people seeking higher education. Edward M. Gallaudet (right) was the …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Cherry Blossoms Available in Print and Online

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

Every year Washingtonians are treated to a feast for the eyes as ornamental cherry trees bloom across the city, most prominently by the Tidal Basin. As cherry blossom season approaches, we would like to share information about two related resources that we hope will offer some inspiration for those near and far: a selected set …

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Frederick Douglass and the Power of Pictures

Posted by: Melissa Lindberg

Frederick Douglass was a firm believer in the power of pictures. In an 1861 lecture called “Pictures and Progress” by the press, Douglass wondered why photography pioneer Louis Daguerre was not more frequently compared with inventors of such vaunted technologies as the telegraph or the steamboat: “the great father of our modern pictures is seldom …