Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Photography of the Pearl Primus Residency

View photographs that document the 1992-1993 Howard University residency of renowned choreographer Pearl Primus.

May 16, 1993 – June 27, 1993

1993 Presidential Scholars

This exhibition consists of art by high school students selected as 1993 Presidential Scholars in the Visual Arts and passages written by 1993 Presidential Scholars in Writing.

June 14, 1993 – June 25, 1993

American Art Museum

Body & Soul: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

See costumes and prop designs by Romare Bearden and Randy Barcelo celebrating the 35th anniversary of famed dance theater.

March 28, 1993 – June 13, 1993

Anacostia Community Museum

Science in the Age of Columbus

Early printed books displaying contemporary knowledge of science at the time of Columbus are shown.

October 12, 1992 – June 8, 1993

American History Museum

Recent Acquisitions (1992-1993)

View portraits of notable Americans that have been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, including photographs of photographers Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Berenice Abbott, Robert Frank, and Edward Weston.

December 17, 1992 – June 6, 1993

Portrait Gallery

The Telling Image: Portrait Photographs from the Archives of American Art

See 56 photographic images of artists and photographers, chosen from the over 500,000 in the Archives of American Art collection, that span the history of photography.

January 22, 1993 – June 6, 1993

Portrait Gallery

"The Family 1976": Richard Avedon's Portraits for Rolling Stone

These 69 photographs from 1976 show some of the most powerful individuals during the bicentennial year.

January 22, 1993 – June 6, 1993

Portrait Gallery

Artistic Impressions of Ellington

This student art exhibition is part of the Duke Ellington Youth Project, an on-going partnership between the National Museum of American History's Program in African American Culture and the District of Columbia Public School System's Multicultural and Values Education Branch.

April 30, 1993 – May 31, 1993

American History Museum

Indians As Children See Them

Observe 43 works by New York City school children who share their understanding of Native American cultures in this 6th annual juried exhibition.

March 9, 1993 – May 30, 1993

American Indian Museum New York

Seeds of Change

Examine the exchange of plants and seeds between the Old and New Worlds following Columbus's discovery of America in 1492.

October 26, 1991 – May 23, 1993

Natural History Museum

19th-Century Photographs from Sri Lanka

See 22 photographs were taken by resident British photographers W. L. H. Skeen and Charles T. Scowen at the end of the 19th century when Sri Lanka was a British colony.

December 20, 1992 – May 9, 1993

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Susan Rothenberg: Paintings and Drawings

Visit a retrospective honoring this American (b. 1945) noted for her painterly fusion of recognizable and abstract forms--horses, figures and heads, for instance.

February 11, 1993 – May 9, 1993

Hirshhorn Museum

The American Wildlife Image and Charles Frace

View a collection of over 35 realistic paintings by this wildlife artist.

October 9, 1992 – May 2, 1993

Natural History Museum

Elmina: Art and Trade on the West African Coast

View unique gold objects, appliqued and embroidered cloths, and brass weights that reflect the many influences that shaped Elmina, a fortified trading post established in 1480 by the Portuguese.

October 14, 1992 – May 2, 1993

African Art Museum

From Background to Foreground: Looking at an 18th-Century Wallpaper

See an arabesque-patterned wallpaper printed by the renowned French manufacturer Jean-Baptiste Reveillon that shows the range of designs available during the 1780s and how the designs were derived from pattern books and other sources.

November 24, 1992 – April 6, 1993

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Revolution, Life, and Labor: Soviet Porcelains, 1918-1985

See 250 plates, vessels, and figures ornamented with communist political slogans, soviet heroes, and traditional Russian themes that document history from the Bolshevik Revolution (1917) to glasnost (1985).

November 24, 1992 – April 4, 1993

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Figure and Fantasy: The Miniature World of David Beck

Enjoy a fun and witty installation of animated musical objects created by this San Francisco artist.

February 19, 1993 – March 29, 1993

American Art Museum

Drawings by Craft Artists

View an exhibition of 12 drawings by 6 craft artists known to audiences primarily for their remarkable 3-dimensional works in clay, fiber, and glass.

June 26, 1992 – March 21, 1993

Renwick Gallery

Supplement to Richmond Barthe/Richard Hunt: Two Sculptors, Two Eras

See photographs depicting the Washington "presence" of Richmond Barthe and Richard Hunt.

December 20, 1992 – March 20, 1993

Anacostia Community Museum

Put the City Up: Chicago Architecture, 1800-1992

Trace the architectural style of skyscrapers in Chicago from 1800 to the present with examples from architects such as Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright.

November 20, 1992 – March 14, 1993

American History Museum

Directions: Jac Leirner

Accumulations of once-valued, now useless, objects characterize the work of Leirner.

December 17, 1992 – March 14, 1993

Hirshhorn Museum

The Power of Maps

Learn the process of mapping and take a look at maps as both records and symbols of changing perceptions of the world in this exhibition celebrating the Columbus Quincentenary.

October 6, 1992 – March 7, 1993

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Young Visions: A New Look at Our World Beyond Homelessness

See 25 photographs by 3 young, formerly homeless photographers known as "Dion and Friends" that depict both the hardships and the triumphs of their lives.

January 1, 1993 – March 1, 1993

Arts and Industries Building

Children's Banner Project for the 52nd Presidential Inauguration

See the 3 x 6 foot banners for the inauguration of President Clinton made by children from Washington, D.C. schools.

February 19, 1993 – March 1, 1993

Arts and Industries Building

The Kids Bridge

Visit a hands-on interactive exhibition from the Children's Museum of Boston which allows kids to explore issues about identity, ethnicity, race, and racism.

September 30, 1992 – March 1, 1993

Arts and Industries Building