Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

The Sculpture and Drawings of Elie Nadelman

See a comprehensive exhibition of 102 sculptures and 41 drawings, including Nadelman's neo-classical works, portraits, decorative pieces, and a group entitled Ideal Heads.

December 18, 1975 – February 15, 1976

Hirshhorn Museum

Peggy Bacon: Personalities and Places

The artist, now 80, exhibits regularly, but this is the most comprehensive exhibition of her work every held -- 131 pastels, prints, drawings, paintings and embroideries.

December 5, 1975 – February 8, 1976

American Art Museum

Bust of Henry Wallace

View a recently presented bust of Henry Wallace marking the 35th anniversary of his inauguration as Vice President.

January 1, 1976 – February 3, 1976

Portrait Gallery

American Presidential China

See 115 pieces of official and personal china, with at least one example from each administration, including that of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

December 6, 1975 – January 11, 1976

American History Museum

Portrait Miniatures from Private Collections

Trace the evolution of the American portrait miniature from Colonial times to that of the Civil War in these 125 works.

June 25, 1976 – January 9, 1976

American Art Museum

19th-Century American Landscape Paintings

See 18 paintings on loan from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, including 6 from the private collection of banker-philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran, the original benefactor of the Corcoran Gallery.

November 1975 – January 5, 1976

Smithsonian Castle

Christmas Seal Paintings 1975

Visit 54 holiday scenes by elementary school children from which the 1975 Christmas seals were selected.

November 14, 1975 – January 4, 1976

American Art Museum

Portrait of Golda Meir

See a recently acquired portrait of Golda Meir.

December 1, 1975 – January 4, 1976

Portrait Gallery

Blacks in the Westward Movement

View historical and biographical materials that illustrate the role of Blacks as explorers, settlers, wranglers, trail bosses, soldiers, government agents, rustlers, and con men in the western expansion of the U.S.

September 14, 1975 – January 4, 1976

Anacostia Community Museum

My Hat is in the Ring

A slogan from Theodore Roosevelt's presidential campaign is used as the title of this exhibition, which contains hats of well-known political figures as well as campaign memorabilia.

October 1, 1975 – December 31, 1975

American History Museum

Unseen Flowers of the Desert

See color photographs by R.I. Gilbreath, who uses sepcial lenses in his camera and the heads of pins in his photos to indicate the size of the desert blooms nearly invisible to the naked eye.

November 4, 1975 – December 31, 1975

Natural History Museum

Bicentennial Bust of George Washington

See a Bicentennial gift to the United States from the world-reknowned English firm of Wedgewood.

November 5, 1975 – December 31, 1975

Portrait Gallery

Frederick A. Walpole, Plant Illustrator

Take a look at line drawings in ink, watercolor and pencil by Walpole, a botanical illustrator for Smithsonian publicatios at the turn of the last century.

November 4, 1975 – December 31, 1975

Natural History Museum

Thomas Wolfe

See a small exhibit of letters and photographs commemorating the 75th anniversary of the American novelist.

October 3, 1975 – December 7, 1975

American History Museum

Renderings from the Index of American Design

See watercolor representations of weathervanes, carrousel animals and cigar-store figures from the Index of American Design.

January 15, 1975 – November 30, 1975

Renwick Gallery

Sculpture: American Directions, 1945-1975

The rich variety of materials and techniques used by American artists during the past 30 years is demonstrated in this major exhibition of 63 pieces by 54 artists.

October 3, 1975 – November 30, 1975

American Art Museum

Louis Lozowick (1892-1973)

See 60 drawings and lithographs executed between 1923 and 1973. Lozowick's works range from the bold, black constructivist drawings of machine forms of the 1920s to subtle, softly modulated lithographic studies of tabletop still lifes.

September 12, 1975 – November 23, 1975

American Art Museum

Siberia Scientific

Visit Novosibersk, the science center of the U.S.S.R.,and talk to a number of young Russian scientists who explain aspects of the life, science and nature of Siberia.

October 29, 1975 – November 21, 1975

Natural History Museum

The Dye is Now Cast: The Road to American Independence 1774-1776

This is the second in a series of three Bicentennial exhibitions, dealing with the period beginning with military engagements at Lexington and Concord and ending with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the First Continental Congress.

April 19, 1975 – November 16, 1975

Portrait Gallery

The Designs of Raymond Loewy

Tour the career of Raymond Loewy, a pioneer of the industrial design profession, through photographs, drawings, models and objects that showcase his work.

August 1, 1975 – November 16, 1975

Renwick Gallery

Jesus Raphael Soto: A Retrospective Exhibition

Optical problems and the representation of movement have occupied this contemporary Venezuelan artist for nearly three decades. A feature of the Exhibition will be one of his Penetrables -- a construction into which the visitor enters, thus becoming a participant in the completion of the work.

September 25, 1975 – November 9, 1975

Hirshhorn Museum

A Modern Consciousness: D. J. DePree and Florence Knoll

Honor two designers of 20th century American furniture who contributed greatly to the success of two major companies, Herman Miller Incorporated and Knoll International. Some 50 pieces of furniture are on display.

April 11, 1975 – November 9, 1975

Renwick Gallery