Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Bruce Nauman

This comprehensive overview features some 60 sculptural and mixed-media installations by this experimental American artist.

November 3, 1994 – January 29, 1995

Hirshhorn Museum

Storm at Sea: A Fishing Community Speaks

This showcase features a 6x9 quilt incorporating 6 dye-transfer photos of fishing communities. This quilt was made by the Island Fishermen's Wives (IFW) of Deer Isle, Maine.

October 25, 1994 – January 29, 1995

American History Museum

The Boy and His Press

Toy printing presses, documents, newspapers, and ads of the 1870s tell the story of children's working toys and the amateur journalists they spawned.

February 28, 1992 – January 29, 1995

American History Museum

Wenceslaus Hollar: 17th-century Prints from the Museum Boymans-van Beunigen, Rotterdam

See some 150 engravings, including portraits, still lifes, and landscapes by Czechoslovakian artist and humanist Hollar (1607-1677) that present a reliable record of the land and people during this period.

November 23, 1994 – January 23, 1995

Ripley Center

A Royal Gift: The 1826 Porcelain Jewel Cabinet

Study the process of design through the 1826 Sevres cabinet, an example of fine French craftsmanship.

May 17, 1994 – January 22, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Images of Steel

This photography exhibit shows images of the physical plants, steel mill workers, color prints of mills, and contemporary photographs of steel mill ruins.

October 14, 1994 – January 18, 1995

American History Museum

In Search of Common Ground: Senior Citizens and Community Life at Potomac Gardens

Residents of a large public housing development find common ground in the shared experience of moving from the rural south to Washington, DC in the early twentieth century.

December 4, 1994 – January 15, 1995

Anacostia Community Museum

Earth Angels: Migrant Children in America

Some 50 photographs by Nancy Buirski depict the lives of migrant farm worker children.

October 6, 1994 – January 9, 1995

American History Museum

1994 Christmas Trees

See 4 Christmas trees are decorated with ornaments from the Trees of Christmas Collection curated by the Horticultural Services Division.

December 6, 1994 – January 9, 1995

Arts and Industries Building

Works by Jesse Trevino: New York, Vietnam, San Antonio

This exhibition features 9 paintings and drawings by this photorealistic painter.

September 16, 1994 – January 8, 1995

American Art Museum

From Crystal Gardens

See approximately 22 specimens that illustrate how crystals "grow" and how their environment affects the way they form.

December 19, 1990 – January 3, 1995

Natural History Museum

Hooker Starburst Diamonds

Marvel at a spectacular yellow diamond necklace, earrings and ring designed by Cartier.

November 1, 1994 – January 3, 1995

Natural History Museum

Spiders!

Through state-of-the-art technology, this exhibition shows how spiders live, reproduce, and capture prey.

June 11, 1994 – January 2, 1995

Natural History Museum

Man on Fire: Luis Jimenez

View 41 sculptures and graphics that highlight the themes this Mexican-American artist has captured in his work.

September 16, 1994 – January 2, 1995

American Art Museum

Images Against AIDS

View 36 posters by artists from around the world that pertain to the psychological, emotional, and social aspects of the AIDS epidemic.

November 29, 1994 – December 11, 1994

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Art and the Camera, 1900-1940: Pictorial Photographs from the National Portrait Gallery

A selection of photos traces pictorialism from the turn of the century through the 1930s.

June 10, 1994 – December 11, 1994

Portrait Gallery

Recent Acquisitions (1994)

On view are paintings, drawings, prints, and photos recently acquired for the permanent collection.

May 6, 1994 – December 4, 1994

Portrait Gallery

A Mughal Hunt

Learn how the process of determining the authorship of a painting is based on a comparison of stylistic elements in this exhibition of 17 Indian paintings by Payag.

March 13, 1994 – November 27, 1994

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Sculptures from the Flames: Ceramics by Gustav and Ulla Kraitz

View 28 sculptures by Swedish artists Ulla and Gustav Kraitz created using traditional Chinese techniques of glazing and firing.

August 26, 1994 – November 27, 1994

Ripley Center

Sculptures from the Flames: Ceramics by Gustav and Ulla Kraitz

View 28 sculptures by Swedish artists Ulla and Gustav Kraitz created using traditional Chinese techniques.

August 26, 1994 – November 27, 1994

Smithsonian Gardens

Afro-Caribe: The Art of Dennis Mario Rivera

See an exhibit of Puerto Rican artist Dennis Mario Rivera's works that focus on his homeland, the Caribbean, black heritage, and the magical realism that permeates Latin American art.

September 18, 1994 – November 13, 1994

Anacostia Community Museum

Directions: Jeanne Dunning

This first solo exhibition by this Chicago-based artist features some 25 color photos, mostly new work from the 1990s.

July 21, 1994 – November 2, 1994

Hirshhorn Museum

Cullinan Blue Diamond Necklace

The Edwardian necklace features a 2.6 carat oval called the Cullinan Blue Diamond.

May 10, 1994 – November 1, 1994

Natural History Museum

Segesser Hide Paintings: Early Images of Cultural Conflict in North America

This exhibit includes two large buffalo-hide paintings dating from the early 1700's and objects representative of the period, such as a sword, shield, stirrup, and a broadsword.

July 19, 1994 – October 30, 1994

American History Museum

Angles of Repose: A Garden Exhibition of Central Park Bench

Follow the evolving style of Central Park on the occasion of the reintroduction of the Central Park settee, the first mass-produced bench used in Central Park.

June 14, 1994 – October 24, 1994

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum