Washington, D.C. has a delightful new reason to visit the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum: on November 20 the museum opens “American Stories, American Stamps,” an exhibition that explores how postage stamps have reflected the people, events, achievements and cultural traditions that have shaped the nation. Opening as the United States marks its 250th anniversary, it invites visitors to discover how artists and designers transform American stories into miniature works of art.
Presented in English and Spanish and on view through October 2029, the exhibition goes behind the scenes of stamp design with original artwork, preliminary sketches, approved and rejected designs and other treasures from the U.S. Postal Service’s Postmaster General’s Collection, begun in the 1860s and housed at the museum. The show is organized around 12 themes — science, sports, holidays, the arts, entertainment, social awareness, literature, kids, patriotism, nature, history and civic leaders — with artwork and stamps rotating periodically, so repeat visits bring new discoveries.
Highlights include the bold original artwork for the 2013 Emancipation Proclamation stamp, the playful 2017 total solar eclipse stamp whose heat-sensitive ink reveals the moon when touched, Kam Mak’s peonies for the 2016 Lunar New Year stamp, and Whitney Sherman’s watercolor for the nation’s first semipostal stamp, issued in 1998 for breast cancer research. Visitors can also follow how the public itself suggests future stamp subjects through the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee.
The National Postal Museum is located at 2 Massachusetts Avenue N.E., across from Union Station, and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It is a joyful, colorful stop for art lovers, history fans and curious families alike.
Photo: Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum
