Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Part File Score

"Part File Score" (2014) is a recently aquired large-scale multimedia installation by Susan Philipsz. The installation is based on the life and work of film composer Hanns Eisler, a German Jew who immigratred to the United States after his music was banned by the Nazis, only to become an early victim of the infamous Hollywood blacklist of supposed Coummunist sympathizers.

January 22, 2016 – April 10, 2016

Hirshhorn Museum

Crosscurrents: Modern Art from the Sam Rose and Julie Walters Collection

Crosscurrents features stellar paintings and sculpture by major American artists Alexander Calder, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, Georgia O’Keeffe, Wayne Thiebaud and others alongside European giants such as Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró.

October 30, 2015 – April 10, 2016

American Art Museum

George Sidney: Creativity and Innovation in Golden Age Hollywood

This Archives Center case explores the career and innovation of award-winning Hollywood director George Sidney, whose classic films include Bathing Beauty, Anchors Aweigh, and The Harvey Girls.

January 19, 2016 – March 31, 2016

American History Museum

In Memoriam: Nancy Reagan

A photograph by Aaron Shikler (1922–2015) taken for the January 14, 1985 cover of Time magazine is on view.

March 7, 2016 – March 28, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Robert Motherwell: A Centennial Celebration

This exhibition, guest curated by the artist Tim Clifford, marks the 100-year anniversary of the birth of painter Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), through letters, photographs, and rare printed material from collections in the Archives of American Art.

November 21, 2015 – March 27, 2016

Archives of American Art

Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty

Some 160 photographs by Irving Penn demonstrate his legacy as a modern master and place him in the context of the contemporary moment.

October 23, 2015 – March 20, 2016

American Art Museum

Dark Fields of the Republic: Alexander Gardner Photographs 1859-1872

Alexander Gardner created dramatic and vivid photographs of battlefields, which included images of the recently dead. After the war, Gardner went west, creating unforgettable pictures of western landscape and portraits of American Indians. This exhibition also includes the iconic cracked-plate portrait of President Abraham Lincoln taken on February 5, 1865.

September 18, 2015 – March 13, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Freedom Just Around the Corner: Black America from Civil War to Civil Rights

A chronicle of the African American experience told from the perspective of stamps and mail.

February 12, 2015 – February 15, 2016

Postal Museum

Directions: Shana Lutker: Le 'NEW' Monocle, Chapters 1-3

New sculptural work by contemporary American artist Shana Lutker based on historic fistfights involving surrealist artists.

October 29, 2015 – February 15, 2016

Hirshhorn Museum

Marvelous Objects: Surrealist Sculpture from Paris to New York

This exhibition brings together more than 100 three-dimensional works created by more than 20 artists.

October 29, 2015 – February 15, 2016

Hirshhorn Museum

David Adjaye Selects

The exhibition features 14 West and Central African textiles from the museum’s textile holdings, including an Asante kente cloth from Ghana, a bògòloanfini mud cloth from Mali, a Dyula ikat wrapper from Ivory Coast, a Yoruba indigo dyed wrapper from Nigeria and men’s hats from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Cameroon.

June 19, 2015 – February 14, 2016

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Sotatsu: Making Waves

Making Waves is the first in-depth examination of this major Japanese artist. The exhibition convenes for the first time more than seventy of Sotatsu’s masterpieces from collections in Japan, Europe, and the United States, along with homage pieces by later artists that demonstrate his long-ranging influence.

October 24, 2015 – January 31, 2016

Asian Art Museum, East Building

The Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990-2015

As part the Smithsonian's commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, this display features objects from the national collections that capture the significance and legacy of the ADA through the stories of four people.

July 20, 2015 – January 31, 2016

American History Museum

The Modern Pueblo Paintings of Awa Tsireh

The paintings of Awa Tsireh (1898-1955), also known by his Spanish name, Alfonso Roybal, represent an encounter between the art traditions of native Pueblo peoples in the Southwestern United States and the American modernist art style begun in New York, which spread quickly across the country.

September 4, 2015 – January 31, 2016

American Art Museum

Conversations: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the museum in 2014, this exhibition recognizes the museum's unique history and its contributions towards furthering meaningful dialogue between Africa and the African diaspora.

November 9, 2014 – January 24, 2016

African Art Museum

Hear My Voice: Alexander Graham Bell and the Origins of Recorded Sound

See and hear some of the earliest sound recordings ever made, by Alexander Graham Bell’s Volta Laboratory in Washington, D.C., in the 1880s.

January 26, 2015 – January 24, 2016

American History Museum

Billy Strayhorn: A Lush Life

This Archives Center case commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of William “Billy” Strayhorn on November 29, 1915. Drawn from several collections in the Archives Center, it examines the pros and cons of his musical partnership with Duke Ellington as well as his career apart from Ellington.

October 2, 2015 – January 18, 2016

American History Museum

Elaine de Kooning: Portraits

Elaine de Kooning’s gestural portraits of friends and family were much admired during her lifetime, and included many well-known Americans.

March 13, 2015 – January 10, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Glittering World: Navajo Jewelry of the Yazzie Family

Contemporary jewelry complemented by historic pieces from the museum's collection, illustrate the development of Navajo jewelry.

November 13, 2014 – January 10, 2016

American Indian Museum New York

Bold and Beautiful: Rinpa in Japanese Art

This exhibition features works by Korin, his brother Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743), and later artists inspired by the brilliant simplicity of Rinpa design.

June 28, 2015 – January 3, 2016

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Chinese Ceramics: 13th-14th Century

A dozen Chinese ceramics from the Freer collection show highlights of Yuan ceramic styles.

December 20, 2014 – January 3, 2016

Asian Art Museum, West Building

The Nile and Ancient Egypt

Exceptional artifacts evoke the power and enduring fascination with the Nile River.

December 7, 2013 – January 3, 2016

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Cranes and Clouds: The Korean Art of Ceramic Inlay

See how the distinctive Korean ceramic decoration technique sanggam evolved—that made stamped or carved motifs appear to float within a limpid green glaze.

November 5, 2011 – January 3, 2016

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Enigmas: The Art of Bada Shanren (1626-1705)

Featured in this exhibition are examples of Shanren's most daring and idiosyncratic works, demonstrating his unique visual vocabulary.

June 20, 2015 – January 3, 2016

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Freer & Whistler: Points of Contact

Some 23 oil paintings represent a choice selection of the more than 1,300 paintings, prints, and drawings by Whistler from the gallery's collection.

February 23, 2008 – January 3, 2016

Asian Art Museum, West Building