Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Baseball Immortals: Photographs of Charles Martin Conlan, 1905-1935

Visit 60 black-and-white portraits of the sluggers, pitchers, managers, fielders, and umpires of baseball's golden age, the work of one of the most remarkable baseball photographers of his time.

October 20, 1984 – May 27, 1985

Portrait Gallery

The Natural History Building: A Visual Memoir

Take a look back with 90 photographs commemorating the 75th anniversary of the opening of the museum to the public.

March 16, 1985 – May 27, 1985

Natural History Museum

Old Master Prints from the Wallerstein Collection

Enjoy 120 prints, including works by Durer, Rembrandt, and Schongauer, in an exhibition organized by 3 institutions that were beneficiaries of donations by Leo Wallerstein and his heirs.

March 5, 1985 – May 26, 1985

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Spanning Niagara: The International Bridges, 1848-1862

Included are over 73 photographs, engravings, and other graphic representations of the more than a dozen bridges that have spanned the Niagara River from 1848 to the present.

January 11, 1985 – May 14, 1985

American History Museum

The Four Continents

See works in pottery, porcelain, metal, glass, ivory, and horn as well as drawings and prints--all fanciful images of the continents--selected from the James Hazen Hyde collection in the Cooper-Hewitt and other museums.

February 19, 1985 – May 12, 1985

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Life: The Second Decade, 1946-1955

Recall the major historical events and famous figures of the era as well as the lives, fads, rituals, and costumes of ordinary people through 200 vintage photographic prints from LIFE magazine's photo archives.

February 15, 1985 – May 12, 1985

American Art Museum

Cut Paper

View more than 150 examples of cut and pin-pricked paper, dating from the 17th century to the present, drawn mainly from the Cooper-Hewitt collection in this international exhibition.

February 12, 1985 – May 12, 1985

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Anthropological Illustrations by George Robert Lewis

Take in a retrospective exhibition of illustrations by George Robert Lewis of the NMNH Dept. of Anthropology.

April 20, 1985 – May 10, 1985

Natural History Museum

Someone You Can Count On: Visiting Nurse Associations in America, 1885-1985

See about 30 objects highlighting the development of the visiting nurse profession over the past 100 years.

March 1, 1985 – May 6, 1985

American History Museum

Eleanor Roosevelt: First Person Singular

Commemorating the centennial of Eleanor Roosevelt's birth with more than 100 objects, including photographs, memorabilia, and radio and filmed interviews.

September 13, 1984 – May 5, 1985

American History Museum

N'Debele Beadwork

View articles--mostly aprons--incorporating the striking geometric designs created by women of southern African villages.

March 1, 1985 – April 30, 1985

African Art Museum

From the Hand of Mani: Iranian Paintings from the Freer

See 32 pages representing the Freer's finest Iranian manuscripts that show the development of an Iranian idiom in manuscript painting between the 14th and 16th centuries.

January 19, 1985 – April 28, 1985

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Fabled Cloth: Batik from Java's North Coast

See approximately 60 batiks dating from about 1850 through the 1940s that illustrate the international influences on this traditional Indonesian art form.

January 29, 1985 – April 28, 1985

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Jim Dine: Five Themes

View 5 sculptures (2 that have been especially constructed for HMSG show) and 63 paintings, drawings, and mixed-media works, in a mid- career retrospective.

February 20, 1985 – April 28, 1985

Hirshhorn Museum

Affordable Frills

Admire and purchase jewelry created by 20 contemporary American craftsmen -- necklaces, pins, and earrings made of silk, plastic, glass, titanium, ceramic, and silver.

January 10, 1985 – April 28, 1985

Renwick Gallery

Kyoto Ceramics

See 25 pieces of ceramic ware from Kyoto, characterized by witty design, refined workmanship, and colorful enamel decoration.

November 15, 1984 – April 21, 1985

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Chinese Gold and Silver from the Tang Dynasty

See more than 70 masterworks, selected from American collections, created between 618 and 907 A.D., a "Golden Age" marked by growth and prosperity and the opening of China's doors to the outside world.

February 5, 1985 – April 21, 1985

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Recent Acquisitions (1984-85)

View approximately 55 works of art--prints and drawings, sculpture and paintings--in a selection of portraits of influential Americans acquired for the permanent collection during the past year.

December 8, 1984 – April 21, 1985

Portrait Gallery

Peace and Friendship: Indian Peace Medals in the United States

View 86 medals that trace their use as essential instruments of U.S. policy and as a notable facet of American portraiture.

January 18, 1985 – April 21, 1985

Portrait Gallery

A Constellation of Black Sports Stars

See memorabilia and artifacts from prominent black athletes, along with baseball, football, and basketball cards.

January 1, 1985 – April 18, 1985

American History Museum

People and Places, Selections from the Collection

Visit a selection of 60 works from the permanent collection including lithographs, woodcuts, paintings on paper, drawings, and etchings.

November 16, 1984 – April 14, 1985

American Art Museum

Akan Funerary Commemorative Head

See a head, a figurative pottery piece made by the Akan peoples of southern Ghana, possibly used at the formal funeral of a member of royalty.

December 14, 1984 – April 14, 1985

African Art Museum

Edison Papers

View inventions, notebooks, and graphics marking publication of the first portion of the Edison papers on microfilm.

February 8, 1985 – April 8, 1985

American History Museum

Chicago Furniture: Art, Craft, and Industry, 1833-1983

See 165 pieces of furniture and smaller decorative objects that document the contributions made by Chicago furniture designers and manufacturers to the artistic and cultural development of the U.S.

October 12, 1984 – April 7, 1985

Renwick Gallery

Presentation Swords

See approximately 18 swords,dating from the early 19th century to World War II, many of which belonged to prominent military officers.

January 1, 1985 – April 7, 1985

American History Museum