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Magician Harry Houdini / National Portrait Gallery, SI

Master magician Harry Houdini made a living wowing audiences and escaping from death-defying situations. But this day in 1926 the Great Houdini was unable to cheat death one more time and succumbed to peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix at age 52.

“Harry Houdini is famous for his incredible feats of magic,” says historian David C. Ward of the National Portrait Gallery, “all of which required meticulous planning and preparation.”

Born Erik Weisz to Jewish parents in Budapest, Hungary in 1874, Houdini’s family immigrated to Appleton, Wisconsin, when he was four years old. He adopted the “Harry Houdini” moniker in 1891 when he became a professional magician, in honor of French magician Jean Eugene Robert Houdin and American magician Harry Kellar.

Houdini started out with card tricks at small venues and progressed to escape acts on the vaudeville circuit, eventually earning the title of “The Handcuff King.” “For him,” illusionist David Blaine noted to The New York Times in October of last year, “sometimes the difficult thing was keeping the handcuffs on.”

As Houdini’s stature as a performer increased, he had to up the ante with new stunts to please spectators. “I knew, as everyone knows,” wrote Houdini, “that the easiest way to attract a crowd is to let it be known that at a given time and a given place someone is going to attempt something that in the event of failure will mean sudden death.”

Houdini performing the Chinese Water Torture Cell. Image courtesy Library of Congress

Houdini escaped from a wide variety of objects, including items suggested by his audience: straitjackets, boilers, wet sheets, milk jugs and supposedly even the belly of a preserved “1,600-pound sea monster” that had washed ashore in Boston.

His 1912 underwater box escape in New York’s East River was proclaimed by Scientific American magazine as “one of the most remarkable tricks ever performed.” And Houdini continued his string of legendary stunts, debuting his legendary Chinese Water Torture Cell later that year. In it he was suspended upside-down in a locked glass and steel cabinet overflowing with water.

“Amidst the sensation,” says Ward, “what is not as well known, however, is that Houdini also spent much of his career debunking and exposing charlatans and con-men who used aspects of magic, especially séances with the dead, to dupe a credulous public. Spiritualism had an upsurge after World War I as populations that had suffered horrendous loses sought ways of coping. But Houdini dismissed claims of the supernatural as so much quackery that cruelly played on the hopes of those who had lost loved ones.”

But how did he finally die? Houdini apparently had been suffering from appendicitis for weeks before his death on Halloween of 1926, but hadn’t sought out treatment. Things came to a head after an October 20 performance at the Princess Theater in Montreal. According to eyewitnesses, Houdini was laying on a couch having his portrait sketched by a student when Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead, a McGill University student, entered the room. Whitehead asked to test Houdini’s claim to be able to absorb any blow to the body above the waist without injury.

Upon Houdini’s supposed approval, Whitehead delivered multiple blows to Houdini’s stomach, reportedly hitting him three times before the magician was able to tighten his stomach muscles to protect himself sufficiently.

It’s likely Houdini’s appendix would have burst on its own without striking. Houdini still continued to travel while in severe pain, and arrived in Detroit on October 24, 1926 for what would be his final performance. He took the stage at Garrick Theater even with a fever of 104 and a diagnosis of acute appendicitis. When Houdini had surgery to remove his appendix later that afternoon, doctors discovered it had ruptured and that he was suffering from peritonitis. Houdini died of peritonitis seven days later October 31 at age 52.

“Houdini’s death was ironic and tragic in equal measure, ” says Ward. “His escape artistry required him to be in incredible physical condition, able to endure small spaces in a twisted pose and capable of wriggling free from straitjackets, chains and other ingenious restraints. His body was battered and bruised both by the acts themselves and all the training.”

More than 80 years later, Houdini still captures imaginations. “I am so amazed that even though Houdini died in 1926…the world is still baffled and mystified by him,” Dorothy Dietrich wrote on the Harry Houdini Museum website. Dietrich, who is a leading female magician and a board member for the museum says, “He instills a feeling of wonder to everyone just by mentioning Houdini’s name. Poof!”

Learn about destinations in Chile, such as Torres del Paine National Park. Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Monday, October 31 Spooky Storytelling

Come listen to some American Indian ghost stories on Halloween. Museum associate director Tim Johnson (Mohawk) will tell traditional stories from his home community, the Six Nations reserve, in Ontario. This family-friendly event will also be available online via webcast. Free. 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. American Indian Museum, imagiNations Activity Center, 3rd level.

Tuesday, November 1 Explore Chile

Learn about the remarkable range of habitats and landscapes all within a nation that’s just about 100 miles wide. Chilean travel destinations include some of the world’s driest deserts, regions of legendary wine production, a volcano-studded Lake District and the mysterious Easter Island. In conjunction with the “Against All Odds: Rescue at the Chilean Mine” exhibition, travel expert Kristina Schreck will lead a virtual tour of these and many other locations in Chile. Tickets to this Resident Associates program are $30 for members, $27 for senior members, and $40 for the general public. 6:45 p.m. Ripley Center.

Wednesday, November 2 Behind the Scenes at the Lunder Conservation Center

At the Lunder Conservation Center, staff work tirelessly to examine, treat and preserve the priceless works of the American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. This behind-the-scenes tour is provides the perfect opportunity to see how museum conservators use science to care for the art in both collections. Free, register at Luce Foundation Center information desk, 3rd floor. Held most Wednesdays from 3 to 3:30 p.m. American Art Museum

Thursday, November 3 Sounds of the Dragon

This remarkable collaboration is a fusion of classical Western music and traditional Chinese instruments. The highly acclaimed Music from Copland House, based in New York’s Hudson River Valley, will premiere new pieces by clarinetist Derek Bermel. Joining them will be an ensemble led by Wang Guo-wei, featuring performers on erhu (fiddle), guzheng (zither), yang-chin (dulcimer), and pipa (lute). Free tickets can be reserved online, by phone or in person. 7:30 p.m. Freer Gallery, Meyer Auditorium

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.

Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison sparked the project. Brooklyn Museum, Promised gift of Michael Sloane ©2007 Timothy Greenfield-Sanders/NPG, SI

Toni Morrison’s gaze in a large-format portrait seems to stare knowingly at you when you enter the new multimedia exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Opening today, The Black List: Photographs by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders features 50 portraits of prominent African Americans from different fields ranging from entertainment to medicine to politics. For photographer Greenfield-Sanders, his collaborator, film critic and radio host Elvis Mitchell, and executive producer Tommy Walker, the term “blacklist” becomes a badge of honor.

“We were fortunate to be able to have a project that could deliver a message that pulled us away from stories and films that were about victimization [to ones that were] more about success,” said Walker.

It’s only fitting that Morrison’s portrait is the first viewers see, since her 2006 conversation with Greenfield-Sanders provided the initial creative spark for the project. And her participation in the project gave credibility to it as far as other celebrities’ participation. “It’s easier to make the call and say ‘We just interviewed Toni Morrison, would you like to be in this film,’” said Greenfield-Sanders.

The process began on a napkin. Greenfield-Sanders and Mitchell scrawled on it a veritable who’s who list of the African American world. Twenty-five subjects were selected for The Black List: Volume One; Greenfield-Sanders shot the portraits and directed the film while Mitchell interviewed the subjects. Eventually two more volumes were produced, and this exhibition is the first time that all 50 images from all three volumes are being shown together. “It’s a very special moment for me,” revealed Greenfield-Sanders.

The crisp, clean large format portraits are elegantly shot using one light source and a gray backdrop. The five-foot by four-foot prints are pasted into simple white frames with no matting, yet the large-format of the images gives them an element of grandeur and reflects the dignity and importance of the subjects.

In the video portion, subjects share bits of wisdom or anecdotes from life with Elvis Mitchell. Interviews can be lively or compelling, and the visual style is the same as Greenfield-Sanders’ portraits. “You always think when you look at Timothy’s pictures, ‘what are they thinking, what should they be saying,’ and this time they’re actually saying it,” noted Mitchell in HBO’s Making of The Black List documentary.

Greenfield-Sanders masterfully captures the character and style of his subjects in his portraits, whether it be the intensity in the expression of hip hop artist and mogul P. Diddy or the Asian elements reflected in the pose of hip hop producer RZA. “If you let people do what’s natural to them, I think that’s the best approach for a portrait,” said Greenfield-Sanders. “For me it always has been.”

View more photos from the exhibit.

The Black List: Photographs by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders will be at the National Portrait Gallery until April 22, 2012.

A Lakota painted drum. Photo by Ernest Amoroso, American Indian Museum

It is hard to imagine any animal so thoroughly changing a culture as the horse did for Natives across America. Just decades after it was introduced, the horse had become indispensable for tribes throughout the West. The Lakota used horses to chase buffalo herds across the Great Plains, while the Cheyenne harnessed horses to travois sleds so they could transport goods over long distances. Horses shifted the balance of power between warring tribes, adorned artistic creations and became central figures in religious ceremonies.

Then, as quickly as the horse had come, its significance declined. “The horse culture ends up thriving for really only about 125 years,” says Emil Her Many Horses, a Lakota native and curator of the American Indian Museum‘s new exhibition, “A Song for the Horse Nation.” “The decline of the horse is when Native peoples were forced onto reservations, there’s a whole history about some of the horse herds being destroyed.”

“A Song for the Horse Nation” tells this story in thorough and often beautiful detail, through a range of artifacts, oral histories and multimedia. First displayed at the museum’s Heye Center, in New York City, the show has been expanded for its Washington D.C. location, incorporating new artifacts such as the Lakota tepee that serves as a centerpiece. Objects such as saddles, clothing, weapons and ornamental objects represent 38 different tribal communities.

Native Americans’ relationship with the horse began when Spanish conquistadors arrived, bringing the animal. (Ironically, a precursor of the European horse had evolved in North America, but had since gone extinct.) By capturing strays, raiding from Europeans and trading, Native communities acquired their own herds.

Different groups encountered the horse at different times, based on their geographic location and level of interaction with Europeans. “When dealing with Native histories, it’s hard to pin a specific date,” Her Many Horses says. “But as soon as they got the horse, it revolutionized everything.”

The Lakota tipi at the center of the exhibition. Photo by Wayne Smith, American Indian Museum

Horses were most deeply incorporated into life on the Great Plains, “On the plains, with the wide open spaces, you have an area to feed and water the horse,” says Her Many Horses. “You have available space to raise the animal, which was needed.” Tribes such as the Lakota and Crow bred large herds, which they used to travel wide distances, often following wild food sources such as buffalo. Horses soon dramatically altered the state of war, with warriors adopting the animals as a vehicle for sudden attacks and raids.

The use of horses in daily life declined over the course of the 20th century, as Native groups were forced onto reservations, and the automobile became the main mode of transportation. But the exhibition emphasizes how horses retain cultural significance in the communities.

One of the ways is through names. Among other background stories explaining horse-related family names is a display that touches on the personal background of the curator, Emil Her Many Horses. The horse plays a prominent role in his own family history:

“Tasunka Ota Win (Many Horses Woman) was the name of my great-great-grandmother, ” a placard reads. “She received her name because of the number of horses she owned. When the first census or enrollment was made on the Oglala Lakota reservation in South Dakota, her name became our family’s last name–but the census-takers mistranslated Tasunka Ota Win into English as Her Many Horses.”

Recent years have seen a resurgence in the actual use of horses on many reservations. “Although we no longer depend on horses for hunting and traveling, there are still some cultures—Crow, Nez Perce, Blackfeet, Lakota—that have strong horse herds,” Her Many Horses says. The exhibition details the Oomaka Tokatakiya (Future Generations Ride), a modern Lakota event on horseback which fosters leadership in youth, and includes a film on contemporary horse breeding on reservations.

The exhibition’s opening ceremonies will be held tomorrow, with a day of activities outside the museum. At 3 p.m., Crow equestrian Kennard Real Bird will bring the horse full circle, as he arrives in D.C. to officially open the exhibit by presenting the Crow Nation colors on horseback.

“A Song for the Horse Nation” is on display at the National Museum of the American Indian through January 7, 2013.

Join the opening festivities of the newly opened "A Song for the Horse Nation" exhibition. Photo by Ernest Amoroso, NMAI

Friday, October 28 Human Origins

As part of the HOT (Human Origins Today) Topics series, graduate students Jibril Hirbo and Felicia Gomez from the University of Pennsylvania will lead an informal discussion on the science behind human variation and its role in our species’ evolution. The talk will address disease, race and natural selection, and will be followed by a Q&A session with the experts. Free. 3 to 4 p.m. Natural History Museum, within the “Let’s Talk About RACE” exhibition, 1st floor.

Saturday, October 29 Air and Scare

Bring the whole family to go trick-or-treating in a Smithsonian museum. Arrive in costume ready to make crafts, see spooky science experiments and participate in other interactive Halloween activities. The Tot Zone is perfect for small children to play dress up and hear a story. Free, with $15 for parking. 2 to 8 p.m. Air and Space Museum, Udvar-Hazy Center, near Dulles International Airport.

Sunday, October 30 “A Song for the Horse Nation” Opening Festivities

The American Indian Museum celebrates the arrival of its newest exhibition, “A Song for the Horse Nation,” which examines the dynamic relationship between Native Americans and the horse. As part of the celebration, events will be held at both the museum and the Washington International Horse Show, outside the Verizon Center, with free shuttles running between the two locations. Activities start at 10 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, and will include war-pony painting demonstrations, storytelling, exhibition tours, pony rides, art lessons and more. The opening ceremony, at 3 p.m. on the 29th, will feature Crow equestrian Kennard Real Bird, as well as the D.C. Mounted Police. All activities are free. American Indian Museum‘s outdoor plaza and Verizon Center.

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Online Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.