James Hampton was a self-taught, visionary artist who spent 14 years creating his Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly. Removed from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) in late August for an intensive cleaning, the Throne was recently returned to the gallery for public viewing.

Hampton’s Throne is undoubtedly one of the jewels of the American Art collection. It was created from discarded materials and found objects, such as old furniture, cardboard cutouts and light bulbs scavenged from secondhand shops, the streets, or the federal office buildings where Hampton worked as a janitor. Each element in the Throne is covered with shimmering metallic foils and brilliant purple paper (now faded to tan) to evoke spiritual awe and splendor.

The SAAM is the rare major art museum to maintain a Folk and Self-Taught Art collection within the context of what is traditionally considered great art. The SAAM docent will discuss the Throne and other selected “visionary” pieces to celebrate the populist and uniquely American voice of untrained artists following their personal visions.

To join event, RSVP to: park21217@aol.com for Zoom meeting information.