smithsonian

The Next Best Thing To Flying In The Spirit Of St. Louis

Filed under: Wings

You can't fly in the original Spirit of St. Louis but if you've ever looked up at it in the Smithsonian and dreamed, you might want to bid on the next best thing. The Lindbergh Foundation is auctioning off rides in a replica of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis with up to 12 possible winners. The Experimental Aircraft Association's Spirit of St. Louis replica will be part of the Lindbergh Foundation's 2009 Lindbergh Award Celebration on May 15, 16, and 17 at the EAA AirVenture Pioneer Airport. This Spirit of St. Louis replicas is the only one in the world that can take a passenger. This plane is configured so that the EAA pilot commands the aircraft from up front meaning that the passenger can experience flight in the aircraft from the actual "Lindbergh seat" position and there is a set of fully functioning dual flight controls.

The 12 flights will be awarded to the highest bidders and each bidder can buy up to four rides at his winning bid price. Each flight will last 15-20 minutes. The official start of the bidding process will be announced at a press conference on April 22 at Sun 'n Fun. Bids will start at $250.

[via General Aviation News]

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Tags: lindbergh foundation, LindberghFoundation, smithsonian, spirit of st louis, SpiritOfStLouis

Smithsonian Museum Unveils Graffiti In Abraham Lincoln's Pocket Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Do you remember 1861? I know I do, and that little event at Fort Sumter that started a 'bit of a clash' here inside the United States. Well watchmaker Jonathon Dillon felt pretty strongly about it at the time living in Washington DC at the outset of the Civil war. On April 13th he happened to be in possession of President Lincoln's gold pocket watch (likely for servicing). It was a common practice for watchmakers to engrave markings inside of watch cases to memorialize that they are serviced the watch and when - similar to a graffiti tag. On this occasion however, knowing the owner of the watch and the ramifications of the Fort Sumter attack, Mr. Dillon was influenced to be prolific and felt it necessary to record the actions on the watch. "Fort Sumter was attacked by the rebels [the South] on the above date [April 13, 1861]...Thank god we have a government."

No one, not even President Lincoln himself had seen this inscription until just recently when the Smithsonian Museum opened up Lincoln's pocket watch on rumors of a "secret message," communicated by a descendant of watchmaker Dillon - who was not actually the person who made the pocket watch itself. The watch was purchased over a decade earlier in the 1850's while Abraham Lincoln was a successful attorney in Illinois. Other markings where included on the watch movement face by other watchmakers, but nothing quite like Dillon's words. Lincoln's pocket watch was originally given to the Smithsonian in 1958 by a descendant of Lincoln, who decided the timepiece was important enough to be included in America's greatest historical collection.

Via the National Museum of American History.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: abraham lincoln, AbrahamLincoln, civil war, CivilWar, engraving, jonathon dillon, JonathonDillon, pocket, pocketwatch, secret message, SecretMessage, smithsonian, watch

Smithsonian Journeys Offer Educational Travel Itinerary

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Smithsonian is usually known in relation to its museum but it also offers 'The Best in Educational Travel'. Pairing behind the scenes adventures with experts and comfortable accommodations, Smithsonian Journeys are one of the up-and-coming ways to see the world...especially if you have a larger budget. Choose from such itineraries as 'In the Footsteps of Galileo' or 'Historic Cities of the Sea' and you'll treat yourself to an mind expanding vacation with top-quality offerings. In the world of the wealthy it is no longer a week at the beach that suits their needs but a deeper desire to pair unknown destinations with self-enrichment and quality dinner conversations with fellow travelers. Peruse the gallery to get a hint of the incredible destinations that await you.

[via Wall Street Journal]

Gallery: Smithsonian Journeys

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Tags: education travel, EducationTravel, smithsonian, smithsonian journeys, SmithsonianJourneys

April Gornik's Blue Moonlight Offered By The Smithsonian

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

The Smithsonian Associates has announced their latest commission, a limited-edition lithograph from April Gornik titled "Blue Moonlight." The Art Collectors Program offers Smithsonian members and non-members the chance to purchase Smithsonian-commissioned contemporary fine art prints and posters by acclaimed American artists. The limited-edition prints are numbered and signed and come with a Certificate of Authenticity from the Smithsonian. The collection also includes Studio Editions of glass art by Dale Chihuly.

Blue Moonlight is a quiet landscape with double reflection of the moon. Gornik is a prominent landscape painter whose paintings and prints are in major private and museum collections, including the National Gallery of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Museum of American Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The seven-color lithograph is a signed and numbered edition of 100, printed on Rives BFK paper and sold unframed. The price is $1200 for nonmembers and $950 for Smithsonian Associate Members.

[via Art Daily]

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Tags: april gornik, AprilGornik, art, lithograph, smithsonian

Former Smithsonian Director Faces New Controversy Over Old Spending

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

We first heard of W. Richard West Jr.'s spendy habits last December. The founding director of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian was in trouble then for money spend on first-class transportation and luxury hotels. Now the Washington Post, which was on the story last time reports that according to the Smithsonian inspector general's report, West submitted $17,621 in expenses without providing sufficient explanation or evidence for the spending. The report found that while West's spending was "lavish" and "extravagant" most of his expenses followed Smithsonian rules. It seems West liked to eat well, he billed $17,331 for 82 meal vouchers submitted from 2003 to 2007 (which averages out to over $200 a meal). The museum also spend $17,293 on a dinner party to unveil a $48,500 oil portrait West, who retired last year but West's old law firm, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP paid $15,000 of the expense for the dinner party. There's no denying West's significant contributions to the museum as its founding director, and likely given his previous occupation he simply wasn't accustomed to being held accountable for every last dollar spent. Luxury spending has been seen as part of the cost of doing business when it comes to some museums but those days may be at an end.

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Tags: museuems, richard west, RichardWest, smithsonian

A Museum Director's Jet Set Life Causes Trouble For the Smithsonian

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

A luxury lifestyle has come back to haunt the former director of the National Museum of the American Indian. W. Richard West Jr. spent more than $250,000 in Smithsonian money on first-class transportation and luxury hotels in just four years according to records obtained by The Washington Post. During those four years he was away from Washington for 576 days on trips that included speaking engagements, fundraising and work for other nonprofit groups. He zipped around the globe hitting Paris, Singapore, New Zealand, Greece and Indonesia.

West, who recently retired from the director's post says his trips were approved by supervisors and were part of his job, representing the museum around the world. He has a defender in Jacqueline Johnson, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, who praised his record of service. The Smithsonian has been facing a lot of heat lately with allegations of spending abuses by former Secretary Lawrence Small, who resigned. While West was making his travels,top Smithsonian officials were allowed unlimited leave with pay.

It is said that West traveled more than other Smithsonian museum directors. I wonder if he would have faced the same scrutiny if he flew coach. It can be hard to pin down which hotels qualify as luxury versus simply convenient or available but first class plane flights, like flying by private jet, is easily identifiable as being perhaps, a bit decadent.

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Tags: museum, smithsonian, spending, w richard west, WRichardWest

The Smithsonian Is In the Furniture Business

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

The Smithsonian has become the latest museum to license its brand name to a furniture collection. The Smithsonian Collection by Bernhardt, is as you might suspect, a rather classic collection that includes dining and bedroom sets, chandeliers, sinks and fireplace accessories all based on designs in the Smithsonian Institution's museums, libraries and archives. The furniture is made by Bernhardt Furniture, the same company that makes Martha Stewart's line. The Smithsonian Collection by Bernhardt includes two furniture lines: the National Heritage Collection which is based on 19th-century Regency and Empire designs and the American Archive Collection which is based on Southern, "low country" designs in cherry wood. Prices range from about $250 to $2,400. Some purists and historians have raised questions about this and other museum licensing deals but for the museums it is a chance to earn money without having to court donors. As I mentioned previously when talking about museums which are offering their names and collections to new institutions around the world, the power of a brand is emerging as one of a museum's most powerful assets.

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Tags: furniture, museum, smithsonian

Tiffany Diamond Goes On Display

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

The huge diamond shown here is the Tiffany Diamond, the largest diamond currently on display in the U.S. It recently made its debut at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington. The 128.54 carat cushion-cut stone is on loan from Tiffany & Co. until Sept. 23. On top of hte stone is a gem-encrusted bird which was designed in the early 1960's by Jean Schlumberger. It is gold and platinum with white and yellow diamonds and a ruby eye. The priceless yellow diamond has only been worn twice, once by a Rhode Island socialite and once by actress Audrey Hepburn in a promotion for the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's." The rough stone was discovered in South Africa in 1877 and was 287 carats before cutting.

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Tags: diamoond, exhibit, gemstone, museum, smithsonian, tiffany

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