Shifting Boundaries: Approaches to American Landscapes

Painting of a lush, green landscape. Blossom Time (detail), Willard Metcalf (1858–1925), United States, 1910, oil on canvas, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1915.27a-b

Composite image of a painting with the photos of 3 people beneath.

Speakers: Diana Greenwold, Lunder Curator of American Art, National Museum of Asian Art

Lauren Brandes, Landscape Architect, Smithsonian Gardens

Melinda Whicher, Supervisory Horticulturist, Smithsonian Gardens

American landscape paintings from the late 19^th and early 20^th century can be a catalyst to discuss 21^st century concerns such as climate change, the erasure of indigenous histories, and the impacts of land and water use. Join Smithsonian Gardens’ Lauren Brandes and Melinda Whicher in conversation with the National Museum of Asian Art’s (NMAA) Diana Greenwold as they discuss their recent collaboration on the new exhibition Shifting Boundaries: Approaches to American Landscapes now on view at the National Museum of Asian Art. This project is the first of its kind at NMAA, a fully collaborative endeavor that brought together experts in landscape and environment to answer the question, how do we find contemporary resonance in historic American landscape painting?