Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

This Land Is Your Land: Celebrating 75 Years of the National Park Service

See 30 panoramic photographs by Stan Jorstad, showcasing the diversity and natural beauty of America's National Parks.

July 18, 1991 – January 12, 1992

A Desert Storm : A Photographic Diary

An array of photographs taken by U.S. Army photographers with the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg and various photojournalists reveal the many facets of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

October 15, 1991 – January 12, 1992

American History Museum

Degenerate Art: The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Nazi Germany

View theme galleries that re-create the historical context of the art and artists condemned by the Nazis in the exhibition Entartete Kunst (degenerate art) that opened in Munich in 1937.

October 16, 1991 – January 12, 1992

Ripley Center

In Process...Black Mosaic—The Many Faces of Black Life in Washington, D.C.

A display of family photographs depicts Washington, D.C. residents of African descent who migrated from Central and South America and the Caribbean.

November 24, 1991 – January 10, 1992

Anacostia Community Museum

Ralph Earl: The Face of the Young Republic

Approximately 70 paintings, including several works by Earl's followers, offer a rare view of the last quarter of the 18th century and the early Federalist period.

November 1, 1991 – January 8, 1992

Portrait Gallery

Art of the Cosmic Age

Enjoy approximately 70 paintings, prints, and sculptures in a collaborative exhibition by Western and Soviet space artists.

May 15, 1991 – January 6, 1992

Air and Space Museum

300 Years of American Papermaking

Commemorate paper making from 1690-1990 by examining the many aspects of the trade, including paper making by hand, paper as fiber art, and paper as an industrial product.

December 19, 1990 – January 5, 1992

American History Museum

1991 Trees of Christmas

Ten spruce, fir, or pine trees are decorated with handcrafted ornaments illustrating a particular time period, ethnic tradition, or style.

December 14, 1991 – January 5, 1992

American History Museum

Feed Bags As Fashion

Investigate the promotion and use of printed feed sacks in the U.S. from the 1930s to the 1960s.

August 6, 1991 – January 5, 1992

American History Museum

Improvisation in African-American Quiltmaking

View 24 contemporary quilts and 4 African textiles in this exhibition of highly individual works with strong aesthetic ties to textiles of West Africa.

September 27, 1991 – January 5, 1992

Renwick Gallery

Recent Acquisitions: 1989-1991

View 78 works by 71 artists acquired since the last acquisitions exhibition, including paintings by Alfred Jensen, Robert Colescott, and others. Also see sculpture by such artists as Richard Artschwager and Erik Levine, and works on paper by Lucian Freud, Robert Moskowitz, and others.

October 8, 1991 – January 5, 1992

Hirshhorn Museum

A Gift from the Heart: Two Pomo Artists

Explore over 80 exquisite baskets as well as ethnographic models of traditional ceremonial objects created by California Pomo artists William and Mary Benson.

June 21, 1990 – December 31, 1991

American Indian Museum New York

Nusantara: Lands and Peoples of Indonesia

Books, prints, and selected objects reveal the European discovery of Indonesia's rich natural resources and ancient cultural heritage.

April 8, 1991 – December 31, 1991

American History Museum

Quilts: A Selection from the National Collection

See approximately 30 quilts created in America, representative of techniques, patterns, and materials used in America from the 18th through the early 20th century.

July 4, 1990 – December 31, 1991

American History Museum

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 1911-1991

Commemorating the speedway's 75th race, the exhibit includes 2 racing cars that compiled outstanding records during the speedway's 80-year history.

May 1, 1991 – December 31, 1991

American History Museum

Crushed Lapis and Burnished Gold: The Art of Illumination

View approximately 30 manuscripts, individual folios, and book covers from the Henri Vever Collection of Islamic arts of the Koran, along with examples of the illuminator's tools and materials.

June 9, 1991 – December 8, 1991

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Installation Frederick Brown, Selected Works

Contemplate 8 paintings by this expressionist contemporary artist that blend religious, African, and Native American symbols into complex and provocative metaphors.

September 13, 1991 – December 1, 1991

American Art Museum

Picasso Linocuts from the Museum's Collection

Some 25 linocuts from 1962-63, including nudes, heads, and still-lifes, show Picasso's use of the linoleum-block printmaking medium.

May 8, 1991 – November 11, 1991

Hirshhorn Museum

Lego Animals

See LEGO animal models produced by master model builders at LEGO Systems, Inc.

September 24, 1991 – November 10, 1991

Arts and Industries Building

Hand-Woven Baskets and Raven's Tail Robe Sampler

See examples of Tlingit traditional weaving methods in examples by Sitka weaver Teri Rofkar, who learned from her grandmother, Eliza York, a Tlingit Indian from the Pelican area in Alaska.

July 17, 1991 – November 10, 1991

American Indian Museum New York

Africa Illustrated: Fantasy and Reality Before 1900

See early history, ethnology, and travel books on Africa containing illustrations that reflected and shaped European perceptions of the continent between the 17th and 19th centuries.

June 5, 1991 – November 10, 1991

African Art Museum

A Separate Vision

See American Indian art of the 20th century by four young artists working in highly contemporary modes.

September 6, 1991 – November 6, 1991

Natural History Museum

Kaleidoscope: African American Photography in Washington

See an exhibition of the work of over 30 local black photographers, including Addison and Robert Scurlock, Robert McNeill, Sharon Farmer, and Matthew Lewis

June 22, 1991 – November 3, 1991

Anacostia Community Museum

The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly

Try a hands-on exhibit targeted toward children and adults who do not ordinarily go to zoos.

September 19, 1991 – November 3, 1991

Arts and Industries Building

Sales Exhibition: Vanity Fair

Admire jewelry boxes, ties, scarves, kimonos, and other personal apparel items for sale in the Museum Shop.

August 16, 1991 – November 3, 1991

Renwick Gallery