Past Exhibitions

Ryijy Rugs from Finland: 200 Years of a Textile Art

Examine 30 rugs that illustrate stylistic progression in design as well as the changing uses of "ryijy" from bed covering, ceremonial rug, and bench cover to wall decoration.

December 21, 1979 – March 16, 1980

Ten Tennessee Potters

Admire and purchase utilitarian production pottery pieces--bowls, plates, mugs, covered dishes, etc.

January 9, 1980 – March 14, 1980

Take in a retrospective exhibition of 41 works including sculpture, paintings, drawings, and jewelry. Included are a group of oils, executed before 1920, the year Robus decided to concentrate on sculpture.

November 30, 1979 – March 2, 1980

American Art Museum

Oscar Bluemner: The HMSG Collection

See 58 landscapes (3 paintings, 55 drawings and watercolors) that show the stylistic development of this American Modernist.

November 14, 1979 – March 2, 1980

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Japanese Lacquer

See approximately 60 lacquer objects--including writing boxes, cabinets, seal cases, and containers--that illustrate 11 centuries of lacquer-making techniques.

January 1, 1980 – March 1, 1980

Five 19th-Century Afro-American Artists

See 25 works by Henry O. Tanner, Edward Mitchell Bannister, Robert S. Duncanson, Edmonia Lewis, and Joshua Johnston selected from the permanent collection.

February 4, 1980 – February 29, 1980

African Art Museum

We'll Never Turn Back: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement

Thirteen photographers, all affiliated with black civil rights groups of the 1960s, provided pictorial documentation to accompany affidavits and eye witness accounts of local events.

February 2, 1980 – February 29, 1980

Valentines of Yesteryear

See 36 cards that reflect Valentine sentiments expressed in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

February 1, 1980 – February 29, 1980

Time: Arts and Entertainment (Part II)

Contemplate 49 likenesses from the Time magazine cover collection of 900 original paintings, drawings, photos, and sculptures acquired in 1978.

January 1, 1980 – February 29, 1980

Portrait Gallery

Christmas Plates

View a small selection of Royal Copenhagen plates dating from 1908 to the present.

December 1, 1979 – February 29, 1980

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Chinese Children's Art

See some 40 drawings, paintings, and calligraphies collected in the People's Republic of China in 1978 by Mr. and Mrs. Rudy Pribuss, San Mateo, CA, as part of their program of "paintbrush diplomacy."

January 1, 1980 – February 29, 1980

Natural History Museum

The Drawings of Morris Louis

See 57 drawings, shown for the first time, that represent the earlier output of an artist who became notable as a painter.

December 6, 1979 – February 3, 1980

American Art Museum

Smithsonian

View objects from 10 museums selected for their beauty, rarity, or historical value as being representative of the 75 million items in the Smithsonian collections.

January 1, 1980 – February 3, 1980

The Cooper-Hewitt Collection: Furniture

View 20 examples of 17th-century English furniture, 18th-century French and Italian forms, and 19th- and 20th-century American designs.

January 1, 1980 – February 3, 1980

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Armenian Manuscripts

View early Christian manuscripts from the Freer's collection, including 6 Gospels, a hymnal, and a Psalter.

January 1, 1980 – January 31, 1980

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Elmer Vernon Mccollum

This exhibition features the discoverer of Vitamins A and D is featured and includes photographs, lab equipment, a model of Vitamin A, and other memorabilia.

January 1, 1980 – January 31, 1980

Harvest Ceremonies and Celebrations: African Art, Kwanzaa

View a headdress and mask, a wall mural, a sculpture, and Kwanzaa materials.

January 1, 1980 – January 31, 1980

African Art Museum

David Pawson: Study of Deep Sea Echinoderms

This Research in Natural History case features photographs of fauna observed by the curator of Invertebrate Zoology during deep sea dives.

October 1, 1979 – January 30, 1980

Natural History Museum

A Century of Ceramics in the United States, 1878-1978

Trace the growth of ceramics as an art form from its traditional art pottery roots to more recent pioneering personal statements in clay with these 231 works.

November 8, 1979 – January 27, 1980

The Cubist Heritage

See 30 works on paper and one wood relief done during the period 1912-1939.

January 1, 1980 – January 25, 1980

Raphael Soyer: A Birthday Celebration

Honoring the artist's 80th birthday (Dec. 25) with 28 paintings and watercolors from the permanent collection.

December 5, 1979 – January 20, 1980

Irena Brynner: Jewelry Since 1950

See 79 pieces of handwrought silver and gold jewelry, including chains, head ornaments, rings, necklaces, earrings, brooches, and wedding bands.

September 28, 1979 – January 13, 1980