Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Our Changing Land

In this exhibition, a life-size, primeval forest gives way to an Indian corn field; and then to an abandoned tobacco farm; and finally to roads, bridges, and parkland surrounding a modern capital city.

November 4, 1975 – September 30, 1980

Natural History Museum

Newer Than New Glass, Part 2

Admire and purchase glass pieces created by American craftsmen whose work is included in the current New Glass exhibition, featuring William Dexter, John D. Gilmor, Paul Neuman, Steven I. Weinberg, and Howard Ben Tre.

August 8, 1980 – September 26, 1980

Renwick Gallery

The Farallon Islands: A Conservation Success Story

See photographs that document the recovery of most of the indigenous species after the rocky California islets became a National Wildlife Refuge.

July 26, 1980 – September 21, 1980

Natural History Museum

The Fifties: Aspects of Painting in New York

Included in an exhibition that reassesses a critical decade in American art are 67 works by 33 artists. Works are arranged chronologically, rather than stylistically, to re-create a sense of the overlapping developments occurring at that time.

May 22, 1980 – September 21, 1980

Hirshhorn Museum

Puppets from West Africa: Mali, Nigeria, Guinea

Included in the 27 puppets on view is Mali's answer to "Big Bird"--Kono Don, a 5-1/2-ft. costumed figure--as well as green-haired maidens with movable torsos and arms; horse and rider puppets; and elaborately decorated antelope-head puppets.

June 6, 1980 – September 21, 1980

African Art Museum

Chinese Puppets

This Research in Natural History case complements the performance by Fujian Puppets of the People's Republic of China, presented by the Division of Performing Arts.

September 5, 1980 – September 15, 1980

Natural History Museum

Old Woman Meteorite

See the second largest meteorite ever found in the United States, discovered in 1975 in the Old Woman Mountains in San Bernardino County, southern California.

September 1, 1980 – September 15, 1980

Natural History Museum

Violet Oakley: Art and Decoration

Selected from a 1979 retrospective, these 43 works on paper and 6 paintings are by the only American woman to achieve notable success in the mural movement of the early 20th century.

June 27, 1980 – September 14, 1980

American Art Museum

Theorems in Color

View 32 paintings by Crockett Johnson based on mathematical theorems.

June 20, 1980 – September 12, 1980

American History Museum

Clyfford Still: In Memoriam

View 4 large oils on canvas by the American abstract expressionist who died June 23 of this year.

August 1, 1980 – September 5, 1980

Hirshhorn Museum

Puppets & Things on Strings

Exhibited are 20 puppets--from the Civil War Era to present day--many from MAH permanent collections.

June 8, 1980 – September 2, 1980

American History Museum

Flight Attendants

Enjoy an exhibit of 41 photographs (primarily black and white) and airline timetables showing commercial flight attendants at work, and changes in flight service over the years.

May 15, 1980 – September 1, 1980

Air and Space Museum

Across the Nation: Fine Art for Federal Buildings, 1972-79

Explore 97 maquettes, preliminary paintings, and drawings that represent artists' conceptions of sculpture, tapestries, murals, and earthworks suitable for public buildings.

June 4, 1980 – September 1, 1980

American Art Museum

Sound Lab: Research in Animal Communications

Featured in the Research in Natural History case is the work of Dr. William R. Heyer, curator, Dept. of Vertebrate Zoology, on the meanings of sounds made by frogs.

May 15, 1980 – August 31, 1980

Natural History Museum

Dolls from the 19th Century to Present

View 25 dolls made from a variety of materials, including some bisque and china heads.

July 31, 1980 – August 31, 1980

American History Museum

New Glass

See 272 contemporary objects including goblets, neon sculpture, vases, a baptismal font, bowls, glass sculpture, and stained glass, selected for their aesthetic qualities by an international panel of judges.

March 21, 1980 – August 24, 1980

Renwick Gallery

Resorts of the Catskills

Explore Hudson River School paintings, photographs, historical documents, furniture, and video tape presentations that tell the architectural and social history of the mountain resort area of New York State.

June 10, 1980 – August 17, 1980

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Hair

Enjoy an informative and sometimes light-hearted history of hair, its symbolism and significance in many societies, presented in prints, drawings and artifacts.

June 10, 1980 – August 17, 1980

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

John R. Grabach: Seventy Years an Artist

See 22 paintings, drawings, and watercolors that re-introduce the work of an artist almost forgotten since the 1940s. Initially an Impressionist, Grabach became known during the 1920s and 1930s for his Ash-Can style urban landscapes and social protest paintings.

May 23, 1980 – August 17, 1980

American Art Museum

Art of the Court of Shah Tahmasp

Enjoy 47 manuscripts, illuminations, drawings and book bindings executed during the reign of Shah Tahmasp (1524-1576).

January 1, 1980 – August 15, 1980

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Brancusi As Photographer

Displayed are approximately 70 vintage prints, loaned by the Musee National D'Art Moderne Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, photographed by well-known sculptor Constantin Brancusi.

June 4, 1980 – August 10, 1980

Hirshhorn Museum

Raising of the Indiana

See a pump, cleaned and restored, and photographs of the Smithsonian salvage operation on Lake Superior, where the 19th-century steam-powered freighter sank in 1858.

May 1, 1980 – August 5, 1980

American History Museum

Newer Than New Glass, Part I

Admire and purchase glass pieces created by American craftsmen whose work is included in the current New Glass exhibition; among them are Paula Bartron, William Bernstein, and Robert Levin.

June 13, 1980 – August 3, 1980

Renwick Gallery

American Portrait Drawings

See 96 drawings in pencil, charcoal, crayon, and ink, selected for aesthetic excellence.

May 1, 1980 – August 3, 1980

Portrait Gallery

Howard Chandler Christy

See the American portrait painter's early work as an illustrator, including his WWI Christy Girl posters.

January 11, 1980 – August 3, 1980

Portrait Gallery