Past Exhibitions

Tribute to Africa: Eliot Elisofon Photographs

See an audio-visual presentation of the outstanding color photography of Eliot Elisofon, renowned TIME/LIFE photographer.

January 1, 1980 – July 31, 1980

Drums & Musical Instruments

View kalimba (thumb pianos), xylophones and percussion instruments from West and Central Africa.

May 1, 1980 – July 31, 1980

Puppets and Marionettes

Admire and purchase a small selection of puppets and marionettes created by Timothy Evans, fiber artist.

July 1, 1980 – July 31, 1980

African Influences in Modern Art

See an exhibition illustrating the similarities in form and artistic concept between traditional African sculpture and works of modern Western art.

January 1, 1980 – July 31, 1980

Photographs from the NPG's Permanent Collection

Included in an exhibition of great variety are portraits of Edward Hopper and Edna St. Vincent Millay, James Agee, Carl Sandburg, a young Ernest Hemingway, and Walt Whitman.

May 1, 1980 – July 31, 1980

Portrait Gallery

An Engraver's Potpourri: The Life and Times of a 19th-Century Bank Note Engraver, S.A. Schoff

Visit a collection of prints created by copper and steel engravers.

January 1, 1980 – July 31, 1980

John P. Remensnyder Collection of American Stoneware

View approximately 150 selections that trace the history of stoneware from the first half of the 18th century through 19th-century industrialization.

January 1, 1980 – July 30, 1980

Triumph over Disability: Rehabilitation Medicine in the U.S.

The visitor can test his own muscle strength on dynamometers and electromyographs in this exhibit outlining the principles of rehabilitation and methods of treatment -- heat, water, electrical stimulation, and exercise therapy.

October 22, 1973 – July 30, 1980

Traditional Marionettes in French Belgium Today

Delight in 53 costumed marionettes about half the size of their live counterparts. Both rod and string puppets are included.

April 23, 1980 – July 27, 1980

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Close Observations: The Oil Sketches of Frederic Edwin Church

See more than 100 oil sketches which served as a basis for later landscape paintings by the 19th-century artist.

April 29, 1980 – July 27, 1980

Costumes from the Arab World

Examine 83 distinctive objects on display such as traditional body veils, belts, daggers, tunics, pants, jackets, vests, and dresses as well as jewelry representative of 10 Arab countries.

May 2, 1980 – July 27, 1980

Fitting Like a Glove

See the McDowell Drafting tool to highlight fashion design of 1876 to 1900.

March 15, 1980 – July 20, 1980

Botanical Illustrations: Palms of the Lesser Antilles

See 15 black-and-white plant illustrations of West Indian palms by Alice Tangerini, illustrator, NMNH Dept. of Botany.

May 24, 1980 – July 20, 1980

Natural History Museum

Alexandra Exter: Marionettes

On view are approximately 15 marionettes and about 15 stage and costume designs (gouaches and hand-colored prints) by the Constructivist artist.

April 17, 1980 – July 6, 1980

Hirshhorn Museum

Georg Jensen Silversmithy: 77 Artists, 75 Years

View 150 pieces of flatware, jewelry, hollowware, and decorative accessories designed for the Danish firm since 1904. Objects range from clocks and candelabara to pipe tampers and cane handles.

February 29, 1980 – July 6, 1980

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Powhatan Tribal Artisans: Contemporary Virginia Indian Potters

See nearly 90 pieces of pottery made by southeastern Virginia's Powhatan Indians, some of it in traditional styles.

May 23, 1980 – July 6, 1980

Natural History Museum

Japanese Puppetry

See painted screens and mounted scrolls depicting simple hand puppets as well as full-scale productions of Japan's puppet theater of the Edo Period (1615-1868).

June 1, 1980 – June 30, 1980

Out of Africa: From West African Kingdoms to Colonization

Learn about early African civilizations, the slave trade, the abolitionist movement and the founding of the first African republic, Liberia, in this exhibition. Music, artifacts, accounts, documents and photographs depict the many ancient kingdoms of Africa.

February 28, 1979 – June 30, 1980

Anacostia Community Museum

Eradication of Smallpox

View samples of vaccines, injection devices, field equipment, and posters from a 50-year span, leading to the World Health Organization announcement this May that smallpox has been eradicated worldwide.

May 9, 1980 – June 30, 1980

Jefferson Davis Portrait

View a recently acquired portrait, a gift of Davis' great- grandchildren.

April 18, 1980 – June 30, 1980

Portrait Gallery

French Tradition in Belgium Today: Carnival Costumes from Belgium and Marionettes from Liege

See some 25 figures, ranging from costumed male figures central to local celebrations to the traditional Harlequin and Pierrot; from the permanent collection of the Musee de la Vie Wallone, Liege.

April 25, 1980 – June 27, 1980

Women in the Navy

View examples of the changing role of women in the Navy.

March 3, 1980 – June 15, 1980