Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

The Art of Cards and Letters

This gallery emphasizes the art of letter writing, a cherished art form providing a window into American history.

July 30, 1993 – June 6, 2011

Postal Museum

Victory Mail

This exhibition showcases the museum's collection of World War II V-mail correspondence.

March 6, 2008 – June 6, 2011

Postal Museum

Negro Leagues Baseball Stamp Art

View original art produced for stamps paying tribute to Negro Leagues Baseball that operated from 1920 to around 1960.

October 20, 2010 – June 5, 2011

Postal Museum

SPANS: Photographs from the Esther McCoy Papers at the Archives of American Art

Artist Terence Gower uses archival photographs in the Esther McCoy Papers and his own drawings in this innovative, site-specific installation in dialogue with the glass canopy of the Kogod Courtyard.

March 9, 2011 – June 5, 2011

Archives of American Art

The International Sweethearts of Rhythm

On view are archival materials related to the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, the world’s first integrated all-female big band.

March 29, 2011 – May 31, 2011

American History Museum

Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life

Explore the life and legacy of our 16th president through objects from the museum's collection.

January 16, 2009 – May 30, 2011

American History Museum

One Life: Katharine Graham

The exhibition narrates key moments in the Washington Post publisher's extraordinary life during extraordinary times.

October 1, 2010 – May 30, 2011

Portrait Gallery

Beyond the Limits: Flight Enters the Computer Age

The gallery illustrates how the electronic computer has revolutionized aerospace engineering, aviation, and spaceflight.

May 12, 1989 – May 23, 2011

Air and Space Museum

Blinky Palermo: Retrospective 1964-1977

This exhibition is the first survey of artworks in the United States by postwar German painter Blinky Palermo.

February 24, 2011 – May 15, 2011

Hirshhorn Museum

Alexis Rockman: A Fable for Tomorrow

This first major survey of the work of Alexis Rockman (b. 1962) features approximately 50 paintings and works on paper to trace the artist's development from the mid-1980s to the present.

November 19, 2010 – May 8, 2011

American Art Museum

Beyond: Visions of Our Solar System

View some 148 images of the Sun, the planets, and their moons taken over the last 50 years by unmanned robotic space probes.

May 26, 2010 – May 2, 2011

Air and Space Museum

The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey; Where Art and History Intersect

Over 100 artifacts spanning some 400 years dating from the early 1600s illustrate the hardships and triumphs of the African American experience.

October 15, 2010 – May 1, 2011

American History Museum

Cyprus: Crossroads of Civilizations

The history of Cyprus is revealed through a rich collection of antiquities, many of which are traveling outside the country for the first time.

September 29, 2010 – May 1, 2011

Natural History Museum

R.C. Gorman: Early Prints and Drawings, 1966-1974

See 28 early drawings and lithographs by Navajo artist R.C. Gorman (1931-2005) that foreshadow the monumental women and Indian madonnas that brought the artist international acclaim.

January 13, 2011 – May 1, 2011

American Indian Museum DC

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

A whimsical display of colorful crocheted coral clusters, made of both yarn and found materials, honors the disappearing wonder, beauty, and diversity of living coral reefs.

October 16, 2010 – April 24, 2011

Natural History Museum

Orchids: A View from the East

This year's orchid exhibition showcases a variety of exotic live orchids that testify to the Chinese love for this enchanting plant.

January 29, 2011 – April 24, 2011

Natural History Museum

Shahnama: 1000 Years of the Persian Book of Kings

Celebrate the millennium of the poet Firdawsi's Shahnama (Book of Kings), considered one of the greatest literary works ever written.

October 23, 2010 – April 17, 2011

Asian Art Museum, East Building

The Kennedys 50 Years Ago

On view are nine photographs of the Kennedys taken by Richard Avedon for Harpers Bazaar.

January 3, 2011 – April 10, 2011

American History Museum

The Peacock Room

Do not miss the Peacock Room—the dining room in wealthy London shipowner Frederick R. Leyland's home—that James McNeill Whistler elaborately redecorated.

1923 – April 8, 2011

Asian Art Museum, West Building

A Gateway to the 19th Century: The William Steinway Diary, 1861-1896

Steinway's diary spans 36 years of one of the most dynamic periods in American history.

December 17, 2010 – April 8, 2011

American History Museum

Black Box: Hans Op de Beeck

See Hans Op de Beeck's film Staging Silence with dreamlike black-and-white scenes evoking vintage film and the suspense of film noire.

December 6, 2010 – March 27, 2011

Hirshhorn Museum

Directions: Cyprien Gaillard and Mario Garcia Torres

Brought together for the first time for a Directions project are two artists who examine the architectural and artistic "ruins" of the recent past.

November 10, 2010 – March 27, 2011

Hirshhorn Museum

The Experience of a Lifetime: The Maid of Cotton Story, 1939-1993

On view in several cases are photographs and other archival materials that illustrate the 54-year history of the Maid of Cotton beauty pageant.

December 9, 2010 – March 25, 2011

American History Museum

Celebrating 100 Years at the National Museum of Natural History

This photographic exhibition highlights the behind-the-scenes research that advances scientific knowledge and inspires the museum's public educational programs.

May 29, 2010 – March 20, 2011

Natural History Museum

Quicktake: Tangible Earth

Tangible Earth, the world's first interactive digital globe, shows dynamic changes in the world using interactive technology.

February 18, 2011 – March 18, 2011

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum