National Postal Museum Opens "American Stories, American Stamps" on November 20, Tracing U.S. Stories in Miniature
The Smithsonian's National Postal Museum will open "American Stories, American Stamps" on Friday, November 20, an exhibition exploring how postage stamps have reflected the people, events, achievements and cultural traditions that have shaped the nation, the museum announced on October 26. Presented in English and Spanish and on view through 2029, it draws on original artwork, preliminary sketches, and approved and rejected designs from the U.S. Postal Service's Postmaster General's Collection.
That collection began in the 1860s as an internal reference file of the U.S. Post Office Department, is maintained and expanded by the Postal Service, and is housed at the museum on long-term loan, documenting the evolution of American stamp design from subject selection to finished stamp.
Since the first U.S. postage stamps were issued in 1847, stamps have been one of the nation's most widely shared forms of visual storytelling. The exhibition is organized around 12 themes, science, sports, holidays, the arts, entertainment, social awareness, literature, kids, patriotism, nature, history and civic leaders, with artwork rotating periodically.
Highlights include the original artwork for the 2013 stamp marking the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, a bold typographic design by Gail Anderson and art director Antonio Alcalá; the 2017 total solar eclipse stamp, whose heat-sensitive ink reveals the moon when touched; original artwork by Kam Mak for the 2016 Year of the Monkey stamp, with peonies symbolizing wealth and honor; and Whitney Sherman's original watercolor for the nation's first semipostal stamp, the 1998 breast cancer research issue.
"Postage stamps have a unique ability to capture the people, events and experiences that have shaped this great nation, often through a single compelling image," said Toby Mensforth, the museum's acting director. Curator Alison Bazylinski said displaying original artwork alongside finished stamps shows visitors the creative choices behind familiar images. The exhibition is funded through the Smithsonian's "Our Shared Future: 250" initiative. The museum, at 2 Massachusetts Ave. N.E. in Washington, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Source: Smithsonian National Postal Museum)
Source: Smithsonian National Postal Museum
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：1998年发行的 Alexander Calder 邮票（32美分）特写，展品来自邮政总局收藏。史密森尼国家邮政博物馆图片。 / Photo: Close-up of the 32-cent Alexander Calder stamp issued in 1998, from the Postmaster General's Collection. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.
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