Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Directions: Susana Solano

View sculptures made of handworked iron and other industrial materials by this Barcelona sculptor.

November 16, 1989 – February 11, 1990

Hirshhorn Museum

The Patricia and Phillip Frost Collection: American Abstraction 1930-1945

See approximately 75 paintings, drawings, collages, and sculpture by members of the American Abstract Artists group.

September 8, 1989 – February 11, 1990

American Art Museum

Training the Hand and Eye: American Drawings from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum

View 75 drawings, watercolors, and oil sketches feature such artists as Winslow Homer, Frederic Edwin Church, Thomas Hart Benton, Elihu Vedder, and William Merritt Chase.

December 3, 1989 – February 11, 1990

American Art Museum

Sounding the Body: A History of Diagnostic Ultrasound ("Case of the Month")

This exhibition focuses on some of the pioneers of ultrasound technology as well as early clinical applications and current uses of ultrasound in medicine.

October 14, 1988 – February 1, 1990

American History Museum

Recent Acquisition: Sun (by Arthur Dove)

On view are 2 preparatory studies and a finished oil by Arthur Dove.

January 1, 1990 – January 31, 1990

American Art Museum

Jerry Elliot: Rural Free Delivery Carrier

Featured is a profile of African American Jerry Elliot, probably the first Rural Free Delivery mail carrier in the U.S.

February 1, 1988 – January 31, 1990

American History Museum

The African Desert, 1975-1977: Photographs by Bernard Plossu

View color and black-and-white photographs that reveal the vitality of the Saharan peoples and their harmony with their vast surroundings.

November 8, 1989 – January 28, 1990

African Art Museum

Examine portraits of 25 major sports figures who appeared on the covers of Time magazine, including Althea Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Pete Rose, Joe Namath, Roger Staubach, Bob Mathias and Oscar Robertson.

July 30, 1988 – January 28, 1990

Portrait Gallery

History as Seen from the National Museum of American History: 25 Years on the Mall

Celebrate the 25th anniversary of American History Museum through photographs.

October 17, 1989 – January 16, 1990

American History Museum

Portraits of the American Law

Enjoy a selection of portraits of prominent members of the legal profession from the early years of our history to the present.

October 13, 1989 – January 15, 1990

Portrait Gallery

Robert Rauschenberg Lithographs: Selections from the "Stoned Moon" Series

Commemorate the lunar landing of 1969 through these 16 prints.

October 1, 1989 – January 14, 1990

Hirshhorn Museum

Science and the French Revolutionaries

Focus on scientists who played a significant political role in the French Revolution.

October 16, 1989 – January 14, 1990

American History Museum

Jewelry: A Selection from the Cooper-Hewitt Collection

See over 100 examples of the jeweler's art from 19th-century England, Italy, France, and the East, including Pio Fortunado, Castillani, and Carlos Guiliano.

August 22, 1989 – January 7, 1990

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Francis Bacon

Take in a survey of 60 of the Irish-born artist's works from 1945 to the present.

October 12, 1989 – January 7, 1990

Hirshhorn Museum

The Essential Gourd

See approximately 100 gourds from Northern Nigeria that illustrate both traditional and modern motifs, as well as different decorative techniques.

June 20, 1989 – January 4, 1990

African Art Museum

1989 Trees of Christmas

See a half-dozen trees decorated with handcrafted ornaments illustrating a particular craft, tradition, or style.

December 15, 1989 – January 2, 1990

American History Museum

Recent Acquisitions: Japanese Art

See 2 recent acquisitions of Japanese art made by the Sackler Gallery: a gold-and-black lacquer ceremonial palanquin, and a pair of 17th-century 6-panel folding screens.

October 8, 1988 – January 1, 1990

Asian Art Museum, East Building

First Ladies' Gowns

On view are gowns worn by First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Lady Bird Johnson, Patricia Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, and Nancy Reagan.

September 1, 1987 – January 1, 1990

American History Museum

Slave Quilts from the Ante-bellum South

View approximately 30 quilts made before 1865 and 5 related pieces of furniture by African Americans of the Old South.

October 6, 1989 – January 1, 1990

Renwick Gallery

Words in Remembrance

View Asian poetry, written between the 1st and 12th centuries on the themes of life, death, and friends who have died, illustrated by Asian calligraphers in the Washington, D.C. area.

December 1, 1989 – December 31, 1989

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Recent Acquisition: Still Life With Grapes

Edwin Deakin's trompe l'oeil painting is on view.

December 1, 1989 – December 31, 1989

American Art Museum

Aids Memorial Quilt Panels

View 10 AIDS Memorial Quilt panels that will join the Name Project Quilt, in an observance of A Day Without Art: A National Day of Action and Mourning in Response to the AIDS Crisis.

December 1, 1989 – December 3, 1989

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Recent Installation: Marvin Beerbohm's Automotive Industry

Glorifying both Detroit's workmen and its thundering assembly lines, Marvin Beerbohm's mural depicts men wielding and riveting against a background of overhead pulleys, conveyor belts, and stamping presses.

June 1, 1989 – November 30, 1989

American Art Museum

Recent Acquisition: Bright Surround

A print by Washington artist Jacob Kainen reflects his feeling for the grand moods of nature he witnesses from his rural Maryland studio.

November 1, 1989 – November 30, 1989

American Art Museum

1989 Friends of the National Zoo Photography Contest

See amateur photographs taken at the National Zoo.

October 16, 1989 – November 26, 1989

National Zoo