Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Russia, the Land, the People: Russian Painting 1850-1910

View 62 paintings with landscapes, genre and religious scenes, and portraits with predominant topics and themes, on loan from the USSR.

October 17, 1986 – January 5, 1987

Renwick Gallery

Christmas Tree Decorated by Associates in 1986

See holiday decorations in the Great Hall including the Christmas tree decorated with handcrafted ornaments made locally, and collected from the U.S. and abroad.

December 7, 1986 – January 5, 1987

Smithsonian Castle

Toys for All Ages

Admire and purchase a variety of toys for children and adults, including dolls, wooden puzzles, and kaleidoscopes.

October 9, 1986 – January 4, 1987

Renwick Gallery

Milestones: 50 Years of Goods and Services

Investigate 50 important categories of consumer products and services introduced during the past half century, selected to indicate their impact on society.

September 23, 1986 – January 4, 1987

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

For Love of Nature: Brazilian Flora and Fauna (Demonte Watercolors)

See watercolors of the flora and fauna of Brazil by the Demonte family of Rio de Janeiro.

November 14, 1986 – January 4, 1987

Natural History Museum

Voyager Encounters Uranus

Monitor live-TV images of the black-ringed planet Uranus and its 5 moons as seen by the robot spacecraft Voyager 2 on its fly-by during January and February.

January 17, 1986 – January 1, 1987

Air and Space Museum

Recent Acquisition

See Opalescent Red Crown by Harvey Littleton.

December 1, 1986 – December 31, 1986

American Art Museum

Beginning with the hand-painted silk gown of Martha Washington, the inaugural ball gowns of the First Ladies -- wives, daughters, or official hostesses of the United States -- are shown in period settings, enhanced by Presidential and White House furniture and accessories.

January 1, 1964 – December 31, 1986

American History Museum

Nota Bene (Annotated Books for the Dibner Library 10th Anniversary)

This exhibition takes it's name from the annotator's practice of writing "NB" or "nota bene" (Latin for "note well") in the margins of books.

October 1, 1986 – December 31, 1986

American History Museum

The Renaissance: Black Arts of the Twenties

Between World War I and the Great Depression, a renaissance of African American creativity in literature, music, visual arts, and performing arts flourished.

September 15, 1985 – December 29, 1986

Anacostia Community Museum

1986: A Year for Space Science: Comet Halley

Visit these small installations that include a videotape of Comet Halley.

January 1, 1986 – December 18, 1986

Air and Space Museum

Women on Time

See original art for some 20 Time magazine cover portraits in an exhibition that includes women as disparate as comedian Lily Tomlin and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

August 17, 1985 – December 14, 1986

Portrait Gallery

Still Lifes by Henry Lee McFee

See approximately 28 paintings and one drawing by Henry Lee McFee (1886-1953)

September 5, 1986 – December 7, 1986

American Art Museum

Recent Acquisition

Admire Morning Glory, a sculpture by Joel Tanner Hart.

November 2, 1986 – November 30, 1986

American Art Museum

Antarctic Summer: Watercolors by Lucia de Leiris

View 38 watercolors by Lucia de Leiris, who recently spent four months at the continent's Palmer Scientific Station in order to illustrate a book on the natural history of the Antarctic peninsula.

August 8, 1986 – November 30, 1986

Natural History Museum

Through Light and Shadow: Photographs by Clara Sipprell

Visit 33 portraits by American photographer Clara Sipprell, who relied upon the effects of natural light to produce her characteristic soft-focus images.

May 23, 1986 – November 30, 1986

Portrait Gallery

Unknown Territory: Photography by Ray Metzker

View 190 photographs in a retrospective exhibition that chronicles Metzker's art over the past 25 years.

September 12, 1986 – November 23, 1986

American Art Museum

Invention and Enterprise

This exhibition consists of 10 objects from the museum's collections which illustrate the development process of an invention--from its inception to its success as a commercial product.

June 20, 1986 – November 16, 1986

American History Museum

Selections from the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Bequest

See some 80 paintings and sculptures of the most important works selected from the approximately 5,300 works bequeathed in 1981 by the museum's founding donor.

August 7, 1986 – November 16, 1986

Hirshhorn Museum

Islamic Metalwork from the Freer Collection

Admire 37 intricately crafted examples of vessels, plates, ewers, weapons, and other objects in brass, silver, bronze, and gold that explore the technical and aesthetic development of metalwork in the Islamic world from the 7th-8th through the 17th centuries.

September 27, 1985 – November 9, 1986

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Magnificent Voyagers: The U.S. Exploring Expedition 1838-1842 (Wilkes Expedition)

See fossils, minerals, plants, maps, masks, carved wooden figures, baskets, paintings, drawings, and vividly colored scientific illustrations, all from the daring, four-year voyage to South America, Pacific Islands, Antarctica, Australia.

November 14, 1985 – November 9, 1986

Natural History Museum

Lunda Hoyle Gill: Oil Paintings of the People of China

See 50 portraits and sketches of ethnic minorities in the People's Republic of China, by the California-born artist.

September 19, 1986 – November 9, 1986

Natural History Museum

Second Great International Paper Airplane Contest Winners

See the 40 winning entries in the Second Great International Paper Airplane Contest sponsored by NASM, Science 85 and Seattle's Museum of Flight, along with the paper airplane flown by Senator Jake Garn on a recent space shuttle mission.

July 24, 1985 – November 4, 1986

Air and Space Museum

Garden Potteries and Offical Kilns: Clan-sponsored Ceramics in the Edo Period

Observe 38 pieces of ceramics made under the direct sponsorship of feudal lords, a little-known aspect of Japan's ceramic production during the Edo period (1615-1868)

January 17, 1986 – November 2, 1986

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Recent Acquisition

See Panorama, 11/26/84, a photograph by Lucas Samaras.

October 1, 1986 – November 2, 1986

American Art Museum