Smithsonian National Museum of African Art -Washington DC

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art -Washington DC

The National Museum of African Art is a museum that is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.. Located on the National Mall, the museum specializes in African art and culture. It was established as a private museum in 1964, and officially became a part of the Smithsonian Institution in August 1979.

The museum's main entrance is situated off the gardens in front of the Smithsonian Castle on Independence Avenue Southwest. The National Museum of African Art is an underground museum with subterranean connections with the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art.

Artwork in the museum comes from all parts of Africa, but most of it is from the region south of the Sahara. Represented countries include Mali, Cameroon,Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Ghana, and Morocco, among others. Most of the items in the collection are sculptures, masks, furniture, and musical instruments made from wood.

The roots of the museum date back to a chance purchase of a $15 carving of the Yoruba people by Warren M. Robbins in Hamburg,Germany in the early 1960s. Robbins purchased another 32 pieces of African art a year later, and brought his collection with him when he returned to the United States, putting them on display at his home in Washington, D.C. After a newspaper article was published about his collection, visitors started appearing at the door and were welcomed in to view the works.

In 1963, Robbins purchased half of a home at 316-18 A Street Northeast that had been the residence of abolitionist Frederick Douglassfrom 1871 to 1877. When it opened in May 1964, it was the first museum in the United States dedicated to African art exclusively. In succeeding years, Robbins raised money to acquire the remaining half of the Douglass house, naming it the Museum of African Art. As the collection grew, he purchased adjoining residences, with his museum ultimately including nine townhouses, 16 garages and two carriage houses.^[

In 1979, Congress agreed to have the Smithsonian Institution assume management of the collection. Robbins served as the museum's first director, remaining in the position until 1983 when he was named founding director emeritus and a Smithsonian senior scholar, and replaced as director by Sylvia H. Williams. The museum relocated from its Capitol Hill townhouse to the National Mall on September 1987, and was renamed the National Museum of African Art.

Current Exhibitions

Hours and admission
10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily except December 25; admission is free

Contacting us
National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution
P.O. Box 37012    MRC 708
Washington, DC 20013-7012
202.633.4600
202.357.4879 (fax)
nmafaweb@si.edu

Afro-Brazilian Museum - Salvador Brazil

Afro-Brazilian Museum - Salvador Brazil

Created in the 70s, from a cultural cooperation program between Brazil and African countriesand the development of thematic studies on the african-Brazilian, Afro-Brazilian Museum was inaugurated on January 7, 1982, in historic building, the old center of Salvador, built on the sitewhere he ran the Royal College of Jesuits of the sixteenth to the eighteenth century and later, in 1808, the first Medical School in Brazil.

The Museum is the result of an agreement between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Education and Culture, the State Government of Bahia, the City of Salvador and the Federal University of Bahia, an organ which is found on through the Center for African Studies East (CEAO). The latter was the executor of the program that gave rise to the Museum and is stillresponsible for its maintenance. Its creation corresponded to the wishes of the existence of an area of ​​collection, preservation and dissemination of collections relating to African cultures andafrican-Brazilian, with the aim of strengthening relations with Africa and understand the importance of this continent in promoting Brazilian culture, for Furthermore, contacts with the local community.

The original design of 1974, designed by anthropologist and photographer Pierre Verger, was developed by architect Oswald and Jacyra etnolinguista Yeda Pessoa de Castro, among other teachers and researchers at the Federal University of Bahia and external consultants. Between the years 1997 and 1999 MAFRA went through a process of renovation of its exposure.

In addition to its educational program, the Museum is also continuously required for official visitsof Heads of State and / or their representatives, as well as intellectuals and researchers relatedto African cultures and african-Brazilian. Through its collection, supports publications and alsothe production of television programs and movies.

Click Here for Exhibits

MAFRO Hours:

Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Weekends and holidays 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Address & Contact Information:

Address: Terreiro de Jesus / Former School of Medicine complex
Historic Downtown Salvador (Centro Histórico)
Salvador - BA
Phone: 55-71-3321-2013
Fax: 55-71-3321-2013
www.mafro.ceao.ufba.br

Admission :

Admission valid to MAFRO (ground floor) and the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (downstairs)
Adults: R$5
Kids 6-12: R$2,50
Students (with ID card): R$2,50

National Museum Accra Ghana

National Museum Accra Ghana

Objects  of archeology, ethnography as well as fine art find place in the National Museum  building.

Objects  at the archeology section range from the stone age period to the recent  historical past. Those on permanent exhibition at the ethnography gallery include chief’s regalia, indigenous Ghanian musical instruments, gold-weights,  beads, traditional textiles, stools and pottery.

 There are also objects from  other African countries acquired through exchange. Examples are Senfu masks from  La Cote D’ Ivoire, Zulu wooden figures and bead-ware from Southern Africa.

In  addition there are also ancient Ife bronze heads from Nigeria and Bushongo  carvings from the Congo. Exhibits at the small but impressive art gallery consist mainly of contemporary Ghanian paintings executed in oil, pasted,  acrylic, watercolour and collages.

Apart  from these there are sculpture pieces in different media

Temporary  exhibitions are held not only by the National Museum but also by individuals  and foreign embassies.

Guided  tours are provided and films on some aspects of Ghanian culture are shown

by the staff of the Education Section.

It is more than our wish that every guest, while enjoying his or her visit to  the National Museum, adds some more knowledge to what he or she might have already about Ghana’s material cultural heritage.

Telephone:	00233-021-221633
	00233-021-221635
E-mail:	gmmb-acc@africaonline.com.gh

Address:

National Museum Accra

Barnes Road

P.O. box GP 3343

Accra, Ghana

Visiting hours: Daily  from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Christmas day Fee: 6 Ghana Cedis

Buffalo Soldiers National Museum - Houston Texas

Buffalo Soldiers National Museum -Houston Texas

Exhibit Hours:
Monday – Friday
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Saturday
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

General Admission:
$5.00 per adult
$3.00 per student

Museum Bookings Allow the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum to assist you with planning your next meeting, social outing, or business networking event. For more information call
(713) 942-8920 or send us an e-mail at info@buffalosoldiermuseum.com

Brief History

The Beginning

African Americans have served proudly in every great American war. In 1866, through an act of Congress, legislation was adopted to create six all African American Army units. The units were identified as the 9th and 10th cavalry and the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st infantry regiments. The four infantry regiments were later reorganized to form the 24th and 25th infantry regiments.
These fighting men represented the first Black professional soldiers in a peacetime army. The recruits came from varied backgrounds including former slaves and veterans from service in the Civil War.

The Nickname

The nickname buffalo soldiers began with the Cheyenne warriors in 1867. The actual Cheyenne translation was Wild Buffalo. The nickname was given out of respect and the fierce fighting ability of the 10th cavalry. Overtime, Buffalo Soldiers became a generic term for all African American soldiers. 

 

Paris the Louvre ...Lunch with Nellie

The Louvre

When you think museums in Paris or (musee' as the french say) The first place that comes to mind is the Louvre home of Mona Lisa and  Venus de Milo among many other famous works of art. You need days to really see everything. On my first visit I was exhausted  my senses overloaded. I was trying to see every thing not knowing if I would ever be back. Disappointed- I  had just fought the crowds to get a glimpse of the Mona Lisa.... the painting was so small and you couldn't even get very close for the people and ropes,plus it was behind bullet proof glass. I wandered away up some stairs totally lost ..turned a corner and there she was my black Mona Lisa. The portrait d'une negresse she seem to be looking straight at me just hanging there on the wall unprotected...I could of reach out and touched her( don't worry they have guards posted every few yards ..so no sane person would dare)

I am having a hard time trying to write why I really liked this painting. I guess with art you just know what you like. The expression on her face ..I really can't make up my mind..Is she bored, sad, happy, mad, content. It seems to change.. maybe with my mood. I went to the Louvre bookstore and bought a print. Across for the bookstore is a post office right in the museum.  I bought a mailing tube and had the print shipped home. Nelli as I call her is now framed and hangs in my living room. I did research but except for the fact that some think she might have been a slave from the island of Martinique ..no one really know anything about her life.

I have been back many times.... to have .....as I call it lunch with Nelli . The Louver has a wonderful mall with a food court.  I go get something to eat ..visit shop called Fragonard Parfumeur  (a French perfume company) I buy a candle and some soap.  Then I go visit Nelli .... it has been a while since my last visit.  Nelli I hope I will be able to drop by and visit on my  way to Timbuktu for my 50th birthday.

If you plan on going to the Louvre here are some tips. 

1.Don't try to see everything at once. Get a guide book decide what you really must see. Stop and enjoy each piece of art on your list.

Crowds @ Mona Lisa

2 . Do eat at the food court. Food can  be very expensive  in Paris , but  you will find the food there reasonably priced.

3. Wear a comfortable pair of shoes.  Even though you can wear sweats and tennis shoes..why not dress it up a little..try and look chic. After all you are in Paris. Remember you are seeing history and making memory's..don't you want to look good in your pictures. You don't want to look like the frumpy  American tourist :-)

Venus de Milo 

3. Spend the money and hire a personal guide. The museum or hotel  concierge  can recommend one. You can let the guide know what art you must see.  They will work with you  to make sure you see it and show you  things that you didn't know you wanted to see. A good guide will actually save you time because don't waste time wandering around looking for an exhibit. Yes the museum will have group tours,but I would personally splurge on a private guide. They really are not that much more  especially if you split the cost with friends.

Portrait d'une négresse (1800) 

Hanging on one wall of the Musée du Louvre, in the company of the gargantuan machines by Jacques-Louis David, Eugène Delacroix, Théodore Géricault, and others, is an exquisitely crafted and modestly sized painting of a black woman. She is shown seated, half-draped, with her right breast bared to the viewer. She sports an intricately wrapped and crisply laundered headdress that appears similar in fabric to the garment she gathers closely against her body just below her breasts. She stares out at the viewer with an enigmatic expression. Although there are no background details that indicate precisely where the sitter is placed, certain details of her physical surroundings—namely, the ancien régime chair and luxurious cloth that drapes both it and her—suggest that she is in a well-to-do domestic space.

Portrait d'une négresse was painted in 1800 by Marie-Guilhelmine Benoist (born Marie-Guillemine Leroulx-Delaville) (1768-1826), a woman of aristocratic lineage who belonged to a small elite circle of professional women painters that included, among others, Anne Vallayer-Coster (1744-1818), Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842), Marguerite Gérard (1771-1837), Angélique Mongez (1775-1855), and Adélaide Labille-Guiard (1749-1803).1 As had been the case with most women artists working at the time, Benoist fit the middle and upper class ideal of "womanhood" in her conforming to the social expectations of women to marry, raise children, and forego a career.

Although we do not know whether or to what extent Benoist partook in the volatile debates on slavery and gender current during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in France, her painting may be seen as a voice of protest, however small, in the discourse over human bondage.-James Smalls

Here are some of the most famous paintings that are in the Louvre:

• Leonardo da Vinci, The Mona Lisa (as noted above)
• David, The Oath of the Horatii between the Hands of their Father
• Delacroix, Dante and Virgil; Death of Sardanapalus
• Gericault, Raft of the Medusa
• Greuze, Betrothal in the Village
• Gros, Bonaparte Visiting the Victims of the Plague
• Ingres, Oedipus and the Sphinx; Valpincon Bather
• Prud'hon, Empress Josephine
• Quarton, Pieta de Villeneuve d'Avignon
• Ribera, The Club-Footed Boy
• Rigaud, Portrait of Louix XIV
• Rubens, The Disembarkation of Maria de' Medici at the Port of Marseilles
• School of Fountainebleau, Diana the Huntress
• Titian, Pastoral Concert
• Watteau, Embarkation for Cythera