Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

"William Rush's Model" by Thomas Eakins

This newly acquired painting was executed in 1908 by Eakins, who based his work almost entirely on the study of the nude form.

March 1, 1986 – May 30, 1986

American Art Museum

Playing Cards

Enjoy selections from more than 100 decks of cards from Western Europe, North America, and Asia that illustrate the variations in suits, the design of numbers and face cards, and the methods and materials used in making cards.

March 18, 1986 – May 25, 1986

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Rhythm and Blues: Black American Popular Music, 1945-1955

View some 50 photographs depicting Rhythm and Blues artists, along with a working 1946 jukebox with R&B records.

February 7, 1986 – May 18, 1986

American History Museum

Classics of Mathematics

See 25 rare books in conjunction with 1986 meeting of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

April 1, 1986 – May 15, 1986

American History Museum

Toys from the Nuremberg Spielzeug Museum

Delight in more than 75 toys from Nuremberg, an important German toy-manufacturing center since the 14th century. See dolls and doll carriages, doll-houses and their furnishings, blocks, pop-up books, a model railroad, games, mechanical, and optical toys.

March 4, 1986 – May 11, 1986

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

The Graphic Works of George Elbert Burr (1859-1939)

See 78 prints, drawings, and etchings by Burr, known as "the etcher of the American desert," selected from the 250 works in the NMAA collection.

December 3, 1985 – May 11, 1986

American Art Museum

Business of Black Beauty: Early Development of Afro-American Beauty Culture: 1900-1950

See advertisements, product containers, and information about the development of beauty colleges, cosmetics firms, and the rise of black businesswomen in the cosmetics and hair care industries.

February 19, 1986 – May 7, 1986

American History Museum

Beyond the City Lights: American Domestic Gas Lighting Systems

Examine the advent and development of gas lighting and gas-producing machines in the U.S. from the early 19th century to the early 20th century.

October 17, 1985 – May 4, 1986

American History Museum

Masterpieces of Time: Clocks by Wendell Castle

View 13 floor-standing clocks of exotic woods with inlays of sterling silver and mother-of-pearl. All are sculptural and decorative; several recall French art deco furniture of the 1920s and 30s, while others are more whimsical.

December 24, 1985 – May 4, 1986

Renwick Gallery

Learning Mathematics With Books

Included are a 19th-century "cipher book" and an arithmetic chart, two items that were common in the days when books were rare.

April 1, 1986 – April 30, 1986

American History Museum

Comet Quest: The Search for Halley's Comet

This small exhibition of 19th-century books, photographs, and illustrations complements the Planetarium program Comet Quest which looks at the lore and lure of comets from ancient times to the present -- including Halley's Comet, expected to be visible in 1985-86.

November 1, 1984 – April 30, 1986

Air and Space Museum

"Horse" by Deborah Butterfield

See Deborah Butterfield's sculpture Horse, a work in wire and steel.

December 1, 1985 – April 30, 1986

Hirshhorn Museum

Relief Sculpture from the Hirshhorn Museum Collection

A selective survey of 46 works by 36 American and European artists traces the evolution of this form of sculpture--the intermediary between 2- and 3-dimensional art--from early 19th-century portrait medallions to contemporary constructions and assemblages.

January 28, 1986 – April 13, 1986

Hirshhorn Museum

Private Lives of Public Figures: The 19th-Century Family Print

This exhibit provides a glimpse of the domestic moments of some of our nation's leaders, shown in "at home" settings.

September 6, 1985 – April 13, 1986

Portrait Gallery

Memphis/Milano

See examples of the work of the international consortium, Memphis: design and architectural drawings, furniture, glass, ceramics, lighting fixtures, textiles, graphics, and architectural models.

January 21, 1986 – April 13, 1986

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Soup to Nuts

Admire and purchase unique but functional table-top service pieces, including bowls, casseroles, platters, tureens, pitchers, goblets, and placemats, created in a variety of materials by some 25 craftspeople from all over the country.

February 10, 1986 – April 6, 1986

Renwick Gallery

President Harry S. Truman Centennial: The Berlin Airlift

View photographs and memorabilia from the Berlin airlift, highlighting the role of the Truman Administration.

May 8, 1984 – March 31, 1986

Air and Space Museum

The Fat and the Lean: American Wood Type of the 19th Century

View a pictorial history of the evolution of type from old style "lean" letters to a proliferation of "fat" and specialized letters known as "artistic printing."

June 17, 1983 – March 31, 1986

American History Museum

Allegories and Fantasies

See works on paper from the HMSG collections.

January 1, 1986 – March 31, 1986

Hirshhorn Museum

Fire and Ice (Comet Art)

Discover iconographic representations of comets through drawings, paintings, illuminated manuscripts, and sculptures, ranging from ancient Babylonian clay tablets to a 20th-century Lalique hood ornament.

October 24, 1985 – March 31, 1986

Air and Space Museum

Directions 1986

Eight Americans are represented by nearly 40 works in two broad thematic sections in this exhibition.

February 6, 1986 – March 30, 1986

Hirshhorn Museum

Aditi: The Monies of India

This exhibition, showing the broad sweep of Indian history as reflected in 300 of her numismatic objects, is drawn from the National Numismatic Collections at MAH.

October 25, 1985 – March 30, 1986

American History Museum