Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Our Nation's Heritage

The 1983 recipients of National Heritage Fellowships include 9 musicians and 7 master craftspeople.

June 23, 1983 – September 5, 1983

Charles Hawthorne: The Late Watercolors

Verging on the abstract, these 64 watercolors represent an almost unknown aspect of the work of Hawthorne (1872-1930), a portraitist and a landscapist closely associated with the Provincetown (Mass.) artists' colony.

April 15, 1983 – September 5, 1983

American Art Museum

The Artist and the Space Shuttle

Witness the artist's take on the development of the Space Shuttle since early tests in 1977 to the first launch in 1981.

December 1, 1982 – September 5, 1983

Air and Space Museum

March on Washington

Commerate the twentieth anniversary of the March on Washington, August 28, 1963, through the artifacts in this exhibit.

August 20, 1983 – September 5, 1983

American History Museum

Urban Documents: 20th-Century American Prints

See 75 architectural prints by 35 artists that represent a range of perception and scope.

May 10, 1983 – September 4, 1983

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

The Woodworker

See 27 tools loaned by members of the Early American Industries Association.

July 9, 1983 – September 1, 1983

American History Museum

The Past in Your Future: Changing Perspectives on the 18th Century

This 9-minute narrated video program explains Americans' changing perspectives on the presentation of history, and specifically explains changes to the "Hall of Everyday Life in the American Past."

January 1, 1983 – August 31, 1983

American History Museum

Trade Literature

See catalogs from the clothing business and allied industries, the focal point of an exhibition on preservation and conservation of trade literature.

May 7, 1982 – August 29, 1983

American History Museum

The Art of Louis Paul Jonas

View 75 wildlife miniatures by Jonas (1894-1971), who was one of the nation's foremost animal sculptors and taxidermists.

July 2, 1983 – August 28, 1983

Natural History Museum

Portraits in Black: Outstanding Americans of Negro Origin

In the 1940s, the Harmon Foundation commissioned portraits of eminent Black Americans to recognize their accomplishments as well as to refute racism.

April 17, 1983 – August 21, 1983

Anacostia Community Museum

Portraits from the New Deal

See portraits of prominent personalities involved in Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal that focus on the years 1933 to 1936.

March 4, 1983 – August 21, 1983

Portrait Gallery

Friedel Dzubas

The first complete Dzubas retrospective comprises 45 works, including his early "calligraphic" work of 1949; all-black canvases; and bold monumental color abstractions of recent years.

June 16, 1983 – August 14, 1983

Hirshhorn Museum

Americans in Brittany and Normandy: 1860-1910

Understand the "plein air" style of painting the beaches and countryside through 118 paintings that focus on Americans who were attracted to the art colonies at Pont Aven and Giverny.

June 10, 1983 – August 14, 1983

American Art Museum

The Courtyard of El Haram, the Great Mosque of Mecca

Walk through an audiovisual unit representing the courtyard of the Great Mosque, with animated figures and recorded narration that demonstrate and explain Muslim religious practices from dawn to dusk.

June 2, 1983 – August 9, 1983

Natural History Museum

Designed for Theater

Visit a theatre exhibition featuring stage designs, costumes, and theater architecture and decoration.

January 24, 1983 – August 7, 1983

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

E.C. Segar's Popeye: American Culture Hero

Examine Popeye in relation to other American popular culture heroes, including popular images of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

March 1, 1983 – July 31, 1983

American History Museum

Portraits

View works on paper from the HMSG collection.

February 1, 1983 – July 31, 1983

Hirshhorn Museum

Royal Gifts from the Kingdom of Thailand

View 15 exquisitely crafted gifts from Thai monarchs to the United States and to U.S. presidents from 1856 to the present.

November 1, 1982 – July 31, 1983

Natural History Museum

The Italians and the Creation of America

Investigate 79 old books, maps, and supplementary materials from the late 13th through the early 19th century on Columbus and other Italian explorers.

October 12, 1982 – July 31, 1983

American History Museum

Canes and Walking Sticks

See some 200 canes and sticks that survey the range of design and materials used in fashioning these accessories.

May 3, 1983 – July 24, 1983

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Joseph Stella: The HMSG Collection

Trace the full range of Stella's stylistic evolution through 34 works, from his early realistic manner through the colorful dynamic Futurism for which he is best known to his late symbolism.

May 12, 1983 – July 17, 1983

Hirshhorn Museum

Faberge: Jeweler to Royalty

See more than 200 works by Peter Carl Faberge, Russian master jeweler, including hardstone carvings of animals; flower studies in gold, enamel, and rock crystal; table top accessories ranging from letter openers to miniature picture frames; and Easter eggs exchanged among members of the Russian royal family.

April 15, 1983 – July 10, 1983

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Celebration: A World of Art and Ritual

View a 2-part exhibition with some 600 objects used in celebrations among 62 cultural groups around the world. The exhibition draws from the collections of nine Smithsonian museums.

March 17, 1982 – July 10, 1983

Renwick Gallery

The Washington Bowl

Admire and purchase bowls created of glass, clay, and turned wood by 10 artists from the Washington metropolitan area.

April 7, 1983 – July 4, 1983

Renwick Gallery

Japanese and Chinese Lacquer

View approximately 60 examples of lacquer containers, utensils, and furniture from China and Japan, incorporating such techniques as monochrome, carved and colored lacquer, and Japanese decoration in silver and gold.

October 1, 1982 – June 30, 1983

Asian Art Museum, West Building