Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Recent Acquisition: Young Moravian Girl (by John Valentine Haidt)

Haidt (1700-1780) immigrated to America in 1754 to serve as both lay preacher and painter for the Moravian community in Bethehem, Pennsylvania. Austere and contemplative, his subjects differed from the prosperous colonists who sat for Copley, Benjamin West, and Charles Willson Peale.

September 1, 1987 – September 30, 1987

American Art Museum

Smithsonian Institution Libraries Book Conservation Laboratory: A Tenth Anniversary Exhibition

This exhibition focuses on the restoration and conservation treatments required to preserve and maintain the rare and valuable items in the Smithsonian Institution Libraries' Special Collections.

July 1, 1987 – September 30, 1987

American History Museum

Isaac Newton and the Principia: Three Hundred Years

Commemorate the publication in 1687 of Newton's Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), in which Newton proposed three laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation, allowing him to create a mathematical structure of the universe to explain the Earth's shape and motions of the moon, planets, and comets.

March 23, 1987 – September 30, 1987

American History Museum

Arnold Newman Photographs Artists

See 31 photographs of some of this century's best-known American and European artists in their studios or at work, taken by Newman between 1940 and 1961.

July 1, 1987 – September 27, 1987

Hirshhorn Museum

Sales Exhibition: Crafts from West Virginia

Admire and purchase crafts from West Virginia , including quilts, pottery, baskets, and other craft objects.

September 1, 1987 – September 27, 1987

Renwick Gallery

Robert Adam and Kedleston:The Making of a Neo-Classical Masterpiece

Study some 80 architectural drawings by Robert Adam, Michael Henry Spang, William Collins, and others.

June 30, 1987 – September 20, 1987

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Portraits from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters

Come visit 24 selected portraits and related memorabilia from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in New York City.

May 30, 1987 – September 20, 1987

Portrait Gallery

Motorcycles and Motorcyclists, 1900-1940

See six historic motorcycles, 30 photos and documents, and tools and gear commemorating a century of the motorcycle's service to society.

July 1, 1986 – September 7, 1987

American History Museum

1987 Discover Graphics

View framed prints--including etchings and lithographs--by promising young art students from public high schools in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

May 30, 1987 – September 7, 1987

American History Museum

Like and Unlike: Caricature Portraits by Henry Major and Herman Perlman

Delight in caricature portraits by Major including Rube Goldberg and George Arliss, and Perlman portraits including Will Rogers and George Burns with Gracie Allen.

January 24, 1987 – September 7, 1987

Portrait Gallery

Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Cavemen: The Art of Charles Knight

View more than 100 works by the artist, spanning the entire prehistoric world, from ancient marine life to early reptiles, dinosaurs, Ice Age mammals, and early man.

June 4, 1987 – August 31, 1987

Natural History Museum

New and Different: Home Interiors in 18th-Century America

See some 60 objects including tables, chairs, desks, and other pieces of furniture, silver, ceramics, textiles, wallpaper, and other examples of decorative arts.

August 19, 1986 – August 31, 1987

American History Museum

Dinosaurs, Past and Present

Enjoy 150 paintings, sculptures, and models by past and contemporary artists, the most comprehensive exhibition of dinosaur art ever assembled.

June 4, 1987 – August 31, 1987

Natural History Museum

Portrait of Kahlil Gibran: Recent Acquisition

On view is a graphite and watercolor on paper of Kahlil Gibran, the noted Lebanese writer and artist, by Rose O'Neill, an illustrator and close friend.

August 1, 1987 – August 31, 1987

American Art Museum

The Federal City: Plans & Realities

Explore the planning history of the City of Washington in photographs, prints, paintings and 3-dimensional models.

February 1, 1976 – August 30, 1987

Smithsonian Castle

American Violin Makers Before 1930: The Inspiration of Stradivari

This exhibition shows how the craft of violin-making developed in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries through a combination of European immigration and skill and American ingenuity and spirit.

June 1, 1987 – August 23, 1987

American History Museum

The Consumer Movement in America: Citizen Action in the Marketplace

This exhibit focuses on consumer protests and the development of consumer unions.

September 5, 1986 – August 16, 1987

American History Museum

Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection

See approximately 95 of the 174 paintings, sculptures, and drawings given to the NMAA in 1984 by the late Sara Roby of Nantucket, Mass. The collection surveys contemporary figurative and expressionist art.

January 30, 1987 – August 16, 1987

American Art Museum

Geo-Metro-Deco

See Art Deco-influenced objects by contemporary American craftspeople, and include vases, perfume bottles, jewelry, and furniture.

May 21, 1987 – August 16, 1987

Renwick Gallery

Girl Scouts of the USA, 1912-1987

The exhibition focuses on the evolution of the Girl Scout organization, which began with 18 members and, over its 75-year history, has grown into the world's largest voluntary organization for girls.

March 12, 1987 – August 15, 1987

American History Museum

100th Anniversary of Count Gianni Caproni

Commemorate the birth of this leader in Italian aviation, who designed Italy's 1st successful aircraft, and see his 1911 wood-and-fabric monoplane, the Caproni CA-9, used in Italy for passenger and military transport.

September 12, 1986 – August 10, 1987

Air and Space Museum

Which Side Are You On?: Organized Labor History in America

View artifacts highlighting the history of the labor movement in America, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).

October 24, 1986 – August 10, 1987

American History Museum

Recent Acquisitions (1987)

Visit aselection of paintings, sculptures, prints, and photographs acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1985-1986, including Steichen's portrait of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

February 1, 1987 – August 9, 1987

Portrait Gallery

Lite Eagle: Project Daedalus Prototype Plane

Marvel at a prototype plane for Project Daedalus, in which the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) plans the flight of a human-powered aircraft from the island of Crete to the mainland of Greece.

April 20, 1987 – August 7, 1987

Air and Space Museum

The Art of Henry Inman

Featured are more than 100 works--portraits, miniatures, lithographs, and illustrations--by the artist, considered one of portraiture's preeminent figures in the first half of the 19th century.

April 2, 1987 – August 2, 1987

Portrait Gallery