Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Recent Acquisitions

This annual exhibition features 29 objects that tell the story and identity of America through the art of portraiture and showcase some of the newest additions to the museum’s collection.

November 6, 2015 – October 30, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Celebrate: Bob Dylan

The National Portrait Gallery celebrates the accomplishments of the singer and songwriter Bob Dylan, who was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature Oct. 13.

October 17, 2016 – October 30, 2016

Portrait Gallery

In this installment of the museum’s Selects series, fashion designer Thom Browne explores ideas of reflection and individuality with an installation that includes more than 50 of the museum’s historic and contemporary mirrors and frames.

March 4, 2016 – October 23, 2016

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Twelve Years that Shook and Shaped Washington: 1963-1975

Between 1963 and 1975, national and local change transformed the nation’s capital, Washington, DC. On display are photos, paintings, recordings, period clothing, and artifacts, such as a pen used to sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

December 14, 2015 – October 23, 2016

Anacostia Community Museum

The Four Justices

See Supreme Court justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan in this life-size portrait.

January 6, 2013 – October 16, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Kevin Spacey as President Francis J. Underwood

The Portrait Gallery unveiled a new portrait of Kevin Spacey as his Golden Globe-winning character Frank Underwood from the Netflix original series, House of Cards. The monumental painting, which measures six feet by six feet, was painted by Jonathan Yeo.

February 24, 2016 – October 10, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Romaine Brooks

This exhibition brings together 50 paintings and drawings from the museum’s permanent collection.

June 17, 2016 – October 2, 2016

American Art Museum

From the Permanent Collection: Artists of the Spiral Collective, 1963-1965

From 1963 to 1965, Spiral, a diverse group of African American artists, met weekly to discuss the role of artists in the Civil Rights Movement and the relationship of aesthetics and political expression.

January 18, 2016 – September 25, 2016

Anacostia Community Museum

Symbolic Cities: The Work of Ahmed Mater

Born in 1979 in southern Saudi Arabia and trained as a medical doctor, Ahmed Mater has been a practicing artist since the early 1990s, creating works that offer an unparalleled perspective on contemporary Saudi Arabia.

March 19, 2016 – September 18, 2016

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Science Under Glass

An examination of our collection of scientific glassware, from the 1770s to the 1970s, reveals the underlying story of the growth of laboratory science in America.

September 15, 2015 – September 18, 2016

American History Museum

Kay WalkingStick: An American Artist

This major retrospective of the Cherokee artist Kay WalkingStick, includes 75 of her most notable works.

November 7, 2015 – September 18, 2016

American Indian Museum DC

Artists' Books and Africa

African artists are experimenting with the genre of artists’ books, while international artists are exploring African themes in theirs. Artists’ Books and Africa is the first exhibition to focus on African artists books from the Smithsonian Libraries’ Warren M. Robbins Library and the National Museum of African Art.

September 16, 2015 – September 11, 2016

African Art Museum

Hollywood and Time: Celebrity Covers

Hollywood personalities who once graced theater marquees across America are featured in original cover art commissioned by Time magazine. Included are vintage portraits of stars, as well as Oscar-winning directors.

April 1, 2016 – September 11, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea

Experience Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea, a larger-than-life exhibit of 17 marine wildlife sculptures—from jellyfish to sharks—made entirely of plastic pollution directly recovered from oceans. The sculptures represent more than 315 billion pounds of plastic in oceans, illustrating the devastating effects of the ocean's deadliest predator—trash.

May 27, 2016 – September 5, 2016

National Zoo

Robert Irwin: All the Rules Will Change

Robert Irwin: All the Rules Will Change is a major exhibition by one of the leading postwar American artists. It is the first museum survey devoted to Irwin’s work in the pivotal decade of the 1960s.

April 7, 2016 – September 5, 2016

Hirshhorn Museum

Prince's "Yellow Cloud" Electric Guitar

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History recognizes the life and legacy of Prince Rogers Nelson (1958 – 2016) by displaying his “Yellow Cloud” electric guitar.

April 26, 2016 – September 5, 2016

American History Museum

Martin Puryear: Multiple Dimensions

Martin Puryear (b. 1945) is one of the leading sculptors of his generation, whose work is recognized internationally for its evocative forms and exquisite craftsmanship. The exhibition explores reoccurring forms across time and medium in Puryear’s sculptures, drawings, and prints.

May 27, 2016 – September 5, 2016

American Art Museum

Design for Small Spaces

From fairy gardens to green walls, vignettes in this exhibit feature pieces from the Smithsonian Gardens’ Garden Furnishing Collection and plants grown at the Smithsonian Gardens Greenhouses.

September 5, 2015 – August 30, 2016

Ripley Center

Continuity and Change: Fifty Years of Museum History

Explore the museum's transformation from a history and technology museum to one devoted to American history through images of key exhibitions and activities.

May 16, 2014 – August 22, 2016

American History Museum

Finding: Source Material in the Archives of American Art

In this exhibition, the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art reveals how artists find inspiration. The ways in which artists draw on source materials provides a glimpse into the twists and turns of their creative practices

April 22, 2016 – August 21, 2016

Archives of American Art

Beauty—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial

Cooper Hewitt’s renowned Triennial exhibition series showcases some of the most exciting, provocative, and innovative design created around the globe during the previous three years. The 2016 presentation will include a range of works from all areas of design including fashion, product design, interactive design, architecture, scent design, graphics and communications, and more.

February 12, 2016 – August 21, 2016

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Nature's Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards Presents: The Best of the Best

Enjoy 20 years of nature's finest moments in the "Best of the Best" photo exhibition. This collection brings dramatic landscapes, exciting wildlife behavior, and surprising glimpses of Earth's icy peaks to mysterious ocean depths.

October 24, 2015 – August 14, 2016

Natural History Museum

Pixar: The Design of Story

This exhibition examines the design process behind Pixar Animation Studios and films such as Toy Story, Wall-E, Up, Brave, The Incredibles, and Cars, among others. Focusing on the process of iteration, collaboration and research, Pixar features original artwork, including rarely seen hand-drawn sketches, paintings, and sculptures.

October 8, 2015 – August 7, 2016

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Heart of an Empire: Herzfeld's Discovery of Pasargadae

Pasargadae was the first capital of the ancient Achaemenid Persian Empire (circa 540 BCE) and the last resting place of Cyrus the Great. Featuring selections from the Freer|Sackler Archives’ rich holdings of Ernst Herzfeld’s drawings, notes, and photographs, this exhibition illuminates one of the most important sites of the ancient world.

February 13, 2016 – July 31, 2016

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Chief S.O. Alonge: Photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria

To celebrate the history of Nigerian photography, this exhibition focuses on the collection of Chief Solomon Osagie Alonge, one of Nigeria's premiere early photographers.

September 17, 2014 – July 31, 2016

African Art Museum