Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Seminole Interpretations

On view are clothing, bead necklaces, and ceremonial objects that reveal how these objects are regarded by the Native Americans who made them and by an anthropologist who has studied them.

November 1, 1990 – April 30, 1992

Natural History Museum

Enjoy 51 works of children's art selected for the Fifth Annual Juried Native American Art & Essay Exhibition. The art works selected offer vivid interpretations of Native American cultures as depicted by New York school children ages 5 through 18.

February 19, 1992 – April 19, 1992

American Indian Museum New York

Old Growth Forests: Treasure in Transition

Examine the Pacific Northwest's oldest forests and the people who depend on their timber resources.

October 3, 1991 – April 19, 1992

Natural History Museum

Darkened Waters: Profile of an Oil Spill

This exhibition focuses on America's largest oil spill, the Exxon Valdez disaster off the coast of Alaska in 1989.

December 13, 1991 – April 19, 1992

Natural History Museum

Etiquette of the Undercaste

Visit an installation created by Antenna Theater to provide visitors with an abstract view of poverty in America.

February 14, 1992 – April 15, 1992

Arts and Industries Building

Sales Exhibition: Special Delivery: Craft America

View and shop for multi-media functional ware including jewelry, glass ornaments, vases, perfume bottles, and ceramics in the Museum Shop.

November 8, 1991 – April 14, 1992

Renwick Gallery

Robert Motherwell: Prints and Collages from the Collection

This homage includes 16 works, created between 1968 and 1974, by the celebrated founder of Abstract Expressionism (1915-1991).

November 14, 1991 – April 12, 1992

Hirshhorn Museum

Challenging the Past: The Paintings of Chang Dai-chien

Examine the paradox of Chang Dai-chien (1899-1983), in his dual role as the last of China's traditional painters and the great innovator who introduced a contemporary aesthetic of abstract expressionism in this collection of 87 paintings.

November 24, 1991 – April 5, 1992

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Albert Paley: Sculptural Adornment

Admire 52 unconventional pins, brooches, and neckpieces, many of which are complex in design as body ornaments, fabricated from gold, copper, silver, and gemstones.

November 22, 1991 – April 5, 1992

Renwick Gallery

African American Images in Postal Service Art

See a collection of 15 stamps honoring the contributions of African Americans in history.

February 5, 1992 – March 29, 1992

American History Museum

Alfredo Jaar Works

A serene museum ambience is juxtaposed with disturbing images of victims from the Persian Gulf War in this site-specific project by this Chilean-born artist.

November 7, 1991 – March 29, 1992

Hirshhorn Museum

Beadwork: Cornhusk Dolls and Cradleboards

View the craft, design, and technique of making cornhusk dolls and cradleboards, featuring outstanding work by Tammy Rahr.

November 13, 1991 – March 15, 1992

American Indian Museum New York

Gene Davis

See 9 paintings drawn from the 1990 bequest of Davis's widow, Florence Coulson Davis, to the NMAA, that represent several stages of the artist's prolific career as one of America's most innovative and accomplished 20th-century painters.

December 14, 1991 – March 1, 1992

American Art Museum

Homecoming: William H. Johnson and Afro-America, 1938-1946

Johnson's interpretations of Afro-American life in the rural south and in Harlem have been described as naive, primitive, and folk-inspired.

September 13, 1991 – March 1, 1992

American Art Museum

Affirmations: Assemblages by Schroeder Cherry

See an exhibition of 16 mixed-media works by artist and museum educator Schroeder Cherry

January 19, 1992 – February 29, 1992

Anacostia Community Museum

Bill of Rights

See one of the 13 original copies on loan from the state of Rhode Island.

December 18, 1991 – February 23, 1992

American History Museum

Winter Relief: A Selection of Relief Prints

See a selection of black-and-white and color prints depicting winter scenes.

January 15, 1992 – February 15, 1992

American History Museum

National Computer Contest Finalists

See 30 innovative computer-assisted devices designed to aid the disabled, chosen from entries from across the country.

February 1, 1992 – February 2, 1992

Ripley Center

Recent Acquisitions: Works on Paper

View 96 works by 67 artists including Romare Bearden, Werner Drewes, Man Ray, and Terry Winters.

October 4, 1991 – February 2, 1992

American Art Museum

Curators and Keepers: The Unseen Mammals at the National Zoo

View a collection of watercolor portraits by local artist Ina Schechter.

October 11, 1991 – January 31, 1992

National Zoo

Finding Your Way: A Historical and Hands-on Approach to Navigating

Find your way through land, sea, and space in this exhibition from The Exploratorium.

November 11, 1991 – January 31, 1992

Arts and Industries Building

Powers of Ten

Gain an increased understanding of astronomy, specifically the sizes of, locations of, and distances between celestial objects in the universe in this exhibition.

November 25, 1991 – January 24, 1992

Arts and Industries Building

Directions: Saint Clair Cemin

Recent sculptures by this Brazilian-born artist evoke several associations at once--applied art and furniture, past sculptural traditions, and expressions of popular culture such as toys and Victorian bric-a-brac.

October 17, 1991 – January 19, 1992

Hirshhorn Museum

Indian Paintings and Drawings from the Collection of Howard Hodgkin

See paintings and drawings from India's 3 major regional styles--Rajput, Deccani, and Mughal--on loan from the collection of an eminent contemporary English painter, organized into 5 common themes.

September 15, 1991 – January 12, 1992

Asian Art Museum, East Building

African Reflections: Art from Northeastern Zaire

See several hundred works made by artists from the Mangbetu, Azande, and other peoples of northeastern Zaire, including sculpture, pottery, musical instruments, basketry, jewelry, and furniture that are drawn from objects collected on an expedition by mammalogist and photographer Herbert Lang and ornithologist and artist James Chapin.

March 6, 1991 – January 12, 1992

African Art Museum