At the Smithsonian

Barbie has held more than 250 jobs since her debut in 1959.

ARTS & CULTURE

When Barbie Broke the Glass Ceiling

A vintage promotional photograph commissioned and approved by Redfeather around 1915 is now held in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

The Forgotten History of Tsianina Redfeather, the Beloved American Indian Opera Singer

Carol Burnett's charwoman costume from her award-winning variety show (above in 1973) is now held in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Carol Burnett Reveals How She Came to Create the Charwoman

At the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, the story of the Watergate whistleblower Martha Mitchell (detail, oil on canvas, Jan De Ruth, 1970) from Pine Bluff, Arkansas—who pundits dubbed the "Mouth of the South"—is revisited in a new exhibition, "Watergate: Portraiture and Intrigue."

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Martha Mitchell Was the Brash 'Mouth of the South' That Roared

They Shaped Culture

A self-portrait taken in New York by Vivian Maier in 1954

HISTORY

Meet Vivian Maier, the Reclusive Nanny Who Secretly Became One of the Best Street Photographers of the 20th Century

Aphra Behn's The Amorous Prince, or, The Curious Husband was staged this month for the first time in 350 years.

SMART NEWS

Aphra Behn, the First Englishwoman to Earn a Living With Her Writing, Is Finally Getting Her Due

“Titian made art into his late 80s and I’m now past that. I always wanted to paint like an old master, or rather an old mistress,” says the photorealist painter and sculptor Audrey Flack. “A radical contemporary old mistress.”

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

The Remarkable Legacy of Artist and Feminist Audrey Flack, Dead at 93

Edythe Eyde started writing under the pen name Lisa Ben after an editor rejected her first choice, Ima Spinster.

HISTORY

Who Was 'Lisa Ben,' the Woman Behind the U.S.'s First Lesbian Magazine?

Women in STEM

Illustration by Nina Goldman / Images via Smithsonian Folkways Records

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Celebrating 75 Years of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Rosalind Franklin's work was vital to the discovery of the structure of DNA, but her role went largely unrecognized at the time. 

SMART NEWS

New Musical Spotlights Rosalind Franklin's DNA Discoveries

Rosalind Franklin's work with X-ray imaging played an important part in the discovery of DNA's structure.

SMART NEWS

What We're Still Learning About Rosalind Franklin’s Unheralded Brilliance

The Space Launch System rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Wednesday morning, kicking off NASA's Artemis moon program.

SMART NEWS

NASA Launches Artemis 1 in Giant Leap Toward Returning to the Moon

Future of Women's History

Preet Chandi trains in Chamonix before starting her journey across Antarctica.

SMART NEWS

‘Polar Preet’ Sets Out to Become the First Woman to Cross Antarctica Solo and Unsupported

Between March 19 and April 17, 1964, Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock (above: at the start of her journey at Ohio's Port Columbus Airport) flew her single-engine Cessna 180, dubbed "Charlie," solo around the globe setting a world record.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Who Was the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World?

President Biden announced his pick to fill the US Supreme Court vacancy on Friday: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

SMART NEWS

What to Know About Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Historic Nomination to the Supreme Court