Smithsonian American Women: Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection

by Smithsonian Institution (Herausgeber), Jill Lepore (Foreword), Victoria Pope (Editor)

An inspiring and surprising celebration of U.S. women's history told through Smithsonian artifacts illustrating women's participation in science, art, music, sports, fashion, business, religion, entertainment, military, politics, activism, and more.

This book offers a unique, panoramic look at women's history in the United States through the lens of ordinary objects from, by, and for extraordinary women. Featuring more than 280 artifacts from 16 Smithsonian museums and archives, and more than 135 essays from 95 Smithsonian authors, this book tells women's history as only the Smithsonian can.

Featured objects range from fine art to computer code, from First Ladies memorabilia to Black Lives Matter placards, and from Hopi pottery to a couch from the Oprah Winfrey show. There are familiar objects--such as the suffrage wagon used to advocate passage of the 19th Amendment and the Pussy Hat from the 2016 Women's March in DC--as well as lesser known pieces revealing untold stories. Portraits, photographs, paintings, political materials, signs, musical instruments, sports equipment, clothes, letters, ads, personal posessions, and other objects reveal the incredible stories of such amazing women as Phillis Wheatley, Julia Child, Sojourner Truth, Mary Cassatt, Madam C. J. Walker, Amelia Earhart, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mamie Till Mobley, Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta, Phyllis Diller, Celia Cruz, Sandra Day O'Connor, Billie Jean King, Sylvia Rivera, and so many more.

Together with illuminating text, these objects elevate the importance of American women in the home, workplace, government, and beyond. Published to commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote, Smithsonian American Women is a deeply satisfying read and a must-have reflection on how generations of women have defined what it means to be recognized in both the nation and the world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Museums, Feminism

247 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 29, 2019

Reviews

[Jan Polep · Rating 5 out of 5]

The older I get, the more I like Adult Non-fiction books that have lots of pictures. This one is a gem as it highlights 300 objects/stories of American women, generally in two page spreads. What a great peek at so many famous and sometimes overlooked lives and their items that are now at the Smithsonian.

[Marilyn Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, coffee table type book that I ordinarily would have flipped through but since I have lately had some time, I read every page and took in the details of each amazing photograph. This book is a compilation of women, their stories and their artifacts that are in the Smithsonian National Collection. The exhibit begins in 1600 and reaches to the present day. There were so many women there that we all know, from Amelia Earhardt to Mae Jamison, (just two from the field of air and space), but what really caught my imagination were the women I had never before encountered. These were the stories of so many women who had beaten race and gender stereotypes in order to accomplish what their talents demanded. These were not just the stories of famous women, though. For example, we meet Concha Nieves Sanchez (1874-1962), a poor immigrant from Mexico who used an electric corn grinding machine to start a tortilla making company to support her family. I also became reacquainted with women I had once known but forgotten, like Alice Neel, the portrait painter who challenged the idealized portrayal of the female nude, and Hedy Lamarr, the famous movie star who came up with "frequency hopping" to prevent interception or jamming of military radio communications during the second World War. Fascinating and illuminating, this book is such a treasure.

[Bettendorf Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love women’s history? Love the Smithsonian Institution museums in Washington D.C. but aren’t planning a visit there anytime soon? Check this out! Featured inside this book are beautiful photos and information about artifacts in the Smithsonian collection that depict the lives of American women, including NASA women as LEGO minifigurines (aka mini figs), portraiture of Sylvia Plath, gowns of First Ladies, Harriet Tubman’s shawl and more! Reading the book and looking at the wonderful phot0s are the next best thing to a visit to the museum!

-April

[Holly R W · Rating 5 out of 5]

"American Women" takes a wide angle lens to look at both well known and little known women who have contributed to our American history. The book contains three hundred fascinating and historic artifacts from these remarkable women along with their stories. The photography is superb.

These are women from all eras and walks of life. Many were trailblazers for their times. Some of my favorite snapshots include: Grandma Moses' artwork, Mae Reeves' hats, Julia Child's kitchen, Alice Neel's self portrait and Michelle Obama's iconic picture.

These treasures are housed in our national Smithsonian Museums. No visit to Washington D.C. is complete for me without spending time at these museums. I have been able to see some of the exhibits featured in this book in person. The book captures the Smithsonian experience well.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of interesting women of America with items associated with them. From Native Americans to the modern protest movements. While the book can't cover them all, it tries to give a good representation of groups and individuals who made or embodied history.
Chapters are: Tradition and Resistance in a Young Nation, 1600-1864; The Road to Reform, 1865-1920; The Rise of the Modern Woman, 1921-1948; Boycotts, Sit-Ins, and Civil Unrest, 1949-1967; Breakthroughs and Backlash, 1968-2019.
Included are: Pocahontas, Phillis Wheatley, suffragists, First Ladies, Georgia O'Keeffe, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosie the Riveter, Nichelle Nichols, Phyllis Diller, Sally Ride, Michelle Obama, and many many others. For an up-to-the-minute entry we have a poster of Black Lives Matter.
Many well known and completely unknown women who affected or were affected by our history.
Recommended for anyone interested in American history or women's history. It's nice to have an object to pin it all to.
I plan to reread this sometime in the future.

[TammyJo Eckhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm used to review copies of books being a bit rough but this review copy has missing text sections and the images are all grayscale; both impede me from truly reviewing the book as well as it deserved. I can say that I am impressed that 95 scholars were able to narrow down the Smithsonian's collection to just 280 objects to tell the story of women in the USA (pre nation as well). The objects are diverse and presented in a mostly logical flow of narrative with a few highlighted sections covering multiple decades. The information about the objects is contextual and honest while written in an accessible fashion for the non-historian.

I really wish the publishers had waited to send us reviewers the finished book so we could talk about it more completely. For now, I'll say it holds great promise as a book that women's groups and libraries should invest in owning; specialists in women's history or American history should also add the fully finished book to their collections.

[Cyndie Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saw both this book and The Smithsonian's History of America in 101 Objects at a museum bookstore and was very excited to read both. Of the two, I think I enjoyed this more, especially as I think the people, organizations, and facts of history covered in this book were, unfortunately, less likely to show up in the typical history books and courses that I was already exposed to. It is a powerful look into how women of all walks of life have played a vital role in shaping the history of our country.

[Andrea Engle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fabulous read for anyone interested in the women of America ... the title says it all: Smithsonian American Women: Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection ... if you are an American woman, you need to get on the next plane to Washington, D.C. and visit the Smithsonian Museums around the National Mall ... if you are home-bound due to the Pandemic, READ THIS BOOK!!!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book showcases objects from the Smithsonian's collections that relate to women. The text does a great job of explaining the objects and what they represent. The pictures are terrific and show off the objects in the best light. I may never get to the museum but I sure enjoyed these objects.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great coffee table book! I learned some new things. The pictures were so vivid, it was a pleasure to look at them. Was it a complete book? No, but a very good attempt at one. Saw this in new books before CoronaVirus but just now getting around to it.

[Joan Arbogast · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subtitle says it all: Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection. I'll definitely be adding this to my personal collection.

[Anne McGill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much about amazing women in our country who challenged boundaries and overcame insurmountable barriers.

[Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly good, some misleading

[Sophie Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Book with so many amazing artifacts, stories and attention to profiling American women across the diasporas. I really enjoyed learning and seeing what might seem like ordinary items but what are the simple items that we powerful women use. Extensions of our greatness - and I'm a history nerd so I had so much fun reading this as well