Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Golden Lion Tamarin Project

See photographs, text, and objects used by field biologists who are captive rearing this endangered species and re-introducing it to Brazil's tropical rain forests.

September 1, 1984 – November 30, 1984

National Zoo

Aerial Aircraft Carriers

See photographs and a film telling the story of aircraft (mother-ships) that carry other aircraft (parasites)--for example, the Space Shuttle traveling cross-country perched atop a 747.

November 23, 1981 – November 18, 1984

Air and Space Museum

Women in the Navy

Several articles of military dress, accompanied by photographs, portray the evolution of the role of women in the Navy.

September 14, 1984 – November 15, 1984

American History Museum

Korean Influences in Japanese Ceramics

Visit some 25 objects from the Freer's ceramics collection that examine the enduring appeal in Japan of Punch'ong ware--Korean ceramics introduced in the 16th century.

February 17, 1984 – November 11, 1984

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Traditional Architecture of Saudi Arabia

See 22 graphite drawings by Syrian architectural historian/artist Professor Wahbi Al-Hariri-Rifai that document diversity of architectural styles, building materials, and geographic regions in Saudi Arabia today.

October 10, 1984 – November 7, 1984

Smithsonian Castle

The Americanization of California Missions: George Sims Collection

Some 15 objects and illustrations tracing the California Missions from their origins as Christian missions and colonial posts to modern symbols of history and romance.

September 14, 1984 – November 6, 1984

American History Museum

Thirty Years of Scientific Illustrations Drawn in the Museum of Natural History

Visit a selection of 80 works created by Carolyn Bartlett Gast, an illustrator in the NMNH Dept. of Invertebrate Zoology.

September 7, 1984 – November 4, 1984

Natural History Museum

American Politics and the Presidency

Admire and purchase mostly one-of-a-kind objects, conveying some 20 artists' conceptions of past, present, and future politics, as well as presidents both real and imagined.

September 7, 1984 – November 4, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Damask

View a selection of historic and contemporary silk, linen, and wool fabrics in damask weave.

August 14, 1984 – November 4, 1984

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

The Tibetan Yak in Art and Craft

See 29 objects associated with the yak, a long-haired bovine that occupies an important position in Tibetan life. Included are items used in the preparation of yak-butter tea, a Tibetan staple, as well as an 18th-century painting of a yak by British artist George Stubbs.

June 23, 1984 – November 4, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Faris and Yamna Naff Family Arab-American Collection

Some 40 objects and 30 photographs and documents in this recent acquisition illustrate the Arab-American experience.

July 13, 1984 – October 31, 1984

American History Museum

Energy Awareness Week

See some 20 mini-exhibits from government agencies and private entities on various aspects of energy.

October 19, 1984 – October 28, 1984

Air and Space Museum

Design in the Service of Tea

Appreciate more than 200 examples of tea-related designs--teapots, hot water urns, sugar bowls, caddies, spoons, infusers, and cream jugs--as well as furniture and graphics, that provide a chronological and thematic overview of the impact of tea drinking on design.

August 8, 1984 – October 28, 1984

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Japanese Fans

See 19 Japanese fans from the Freer collection in an exhibition planned to complement one of European fans at the Renwick Gallery.

April 6, 1984 – October 12, 1984

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Exposed and Developed: Photography Sponsored by the NEA

Visit 126 works by 64 photographers, selected from the 1300 transferred to NMAA by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1981.

May 18, 1984 – October 8, 1984

American Art Museum

Advancing American Art: Politics and Aesthetics in the U.S. State Department

See 73 oils and watercolors in a partial reconstruction of an exhibition organized by the State Department as the cultural arm of postwar reconstruction programs abroad.

June 1, 1984 – October 8, 1984

American Art Museum

Recent Acquisitions (1984)

See approximately 40 works of art, mostly prints and photographs, acquired during the past year.

July 11, 1984 – October 7, 1984

Portrait Gallery

African Mankala

See 27 sculptured gameboards and 11 related objects that depict the vital visual forms of Africa's popular game, mankala.

June 20, 1984 – October 7, 1984

African Art Museum

Adventurous Pursuits: Americans and the Old China Trade, 1784-1844

This exhibition includes portraits of merchants, mariners, and others by American, English, and Chinese artists, complemented by objects brought from Asia--porcelain, silk, lacquerware, carved ivory, silver, and landscape paintings.

March 16, 1984 – September 30, 1984

Portrait Gallery

Treasures from the Smithsonian

These photo panels are an adaptation of an exhibition of Smithsonian artifacts on view at the Edinburgh Festival, Scotland.

August 1, 1984 – September 30, 1984

Smithsonian Castle

One Hundred Years of Animal Health

Mark the centennial of the 1884 founding of the USDA Bureau of Animal Industry.

July 17, 1984 – September 30, 1984

American History Museum

Yesterday's Tomorrows: Past Visions of the American Future

See more than 300 objects--toys, models, posters, photographs, costumes, advertisements, drawings--created by artists, engineers, inventors, film makers, and other visionaries of the last 100 years.

August 7, 1984 – September 30, 1984

American History Museum

Manhattan Skyline: New York Skyscrapers Between the Wars

Celebrate the development and design of skyscrapers in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s through drawings, vintage photographs, models, and some examples of architectural ornament.

June 12, 1984 – September 23, 1984

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Devil Dance Masks of Sri Lanka

See approximately 30 masks used in the Devil Dance of Sri Lanka (Ceylon), including three exceptionally large masks.

November 3, 1982 – September 20, 1984

Natural History Museum

Every Four Years (Summer Olympics)

View memorabilia from several Olympic Games, including Bobby Morrow's 1956 Gold Medal for track (Melbourne); books, cards, and tickets from the first Summer Olympics held in the U.S. (St. Louis, 1904); and the only other Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles (1932).

August 1, 1984 – September 17, 1984

American History Museum