Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Masterpieces of Chinese Painting

Trace the development of Chinese painting across the generations from 960-1911.

June 12, 2010 – November 28, 2010

Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art

Trace the story of the beautiful coiled basket on two continents, demonstrating the enduring contribution of African peoples and cultures to American life in southeastern United States.

June 23, 2010 – November 28, 2010

African Art Museum

Black Box: Superflex

The Black Box theater showcases rotating exhibitions of contemporary artists who use film or video as their creative medium. Currently on view is Superflex's Flooded McDonald's.

August 9, 2010 – November 28, 2010

Hirshhorn Museum

New Arrivals

The recently acquired works displayed in this installation span more than two centuries of American history and culture.

January 30, 2009 – November 14, 2010

Portrait Gallery

Heritage Gardens: African American and Native American

On view are living examples of plants used by Native Americans and African Americans for food and medicines.

August 1, 1992 – November 1, 2010

National Zoo

Directions: Pipilotti Rist

This film Pepperminta, shown on selected days, features the Swiss artist Rist's phantasmagorical adult fairy tale about the power of color.

October 14, 2010 – October 28, 2010

Hirshhorn Museum

Read My Pins: The Madeline Albright Collection

See pins from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's collection, highlighting her use of jewelry as a tool of diplomacy and capturing her wit.

June 18, 2010 – October 17, 2010

Smithsonian Castle

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species, on view in two cases are objects and books related to the scientific voyage in the early 1830s that inspired his theory of evolution.

September 10, 2009 – October 11, 2010

Natural History Museum

Annie Pootoogook

Visit 39 works that chronicle the social, economic, and cultural realities of Inuit life in the Canadian North by Annie Pootoogook (Inuit, b. 1969).

June 13, 2009 – October 10, 2010

American Indian Museum New York

Holidays on Display

This exhibition examines the art, industry, and history of holiday displays across the United States, primarily between the 1920s and the 1960s, at the height of their popularity.

November 13, 2009 – September 30, 2010

American History Museum

Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Archives of American Art, Part 2

This exhibition celebrates a common document -- the "list" -- as a key to the habits and thinking of some of the most celebrated artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

June 9, 2010 – September 27, 2010

Archives of American Art

From FDR to Obama: Presidents on Time

The show includes approximately 30 works of presidential cover art, representing a variety of mediums, from traditional oil paintings to a pop-art sculpture bust of Richard Nixon made from strips of newspaper headlines.

February 12, 2010 – September 26, 2010

Portrait Gallery

Origins of Western Culture

This hall explores some examples from various cultures in the western world including northern Iraq, ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Natural History Museum

Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the "Running Fence"

Some 50 preparatory drawings and collages, along with photos and other media, document the creation and installation of this epic project.

April 2, 2010 – September 26, 2010

American Art Museum

Archives Center Cases: Solomon "Sol" Adler: Restless Inventor, 1901-1990

In several cases are drawings and documents related to inventor Solomon "Sol" Adler, who developed the first sewing machine that offered decorative stitches.

June 1, 2010 – September 22, 2010

American History Museum

Outdoor Installation: UP7TH

The Hirshhorn Museum debuts new works by animator David Polonsky.

October 2, 2009 – September 17, 2010

Hirshhorn Museum

Yves Klein: With the Void, Full Powers

The first American retrospective in nearly 30 years of this highly influential French artist's career examines his life and work.

May 20, 2010 – September 12, 2010

Hirshhorn Museum

Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2009

The National Portrait Gallery presents finalists' works that were selected from the second triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.

October 23, 2009 – September 6, 2010

Portrait Gallery

A Rare Encounter: The Hope and Wittelsbach-Graff Diamonds

The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is displayed together with the Hope Diamond for the first time.

January 29, 2010 – September 6, 2010

Natural History Museum

One Life: Echoes of Elvis

This exhibition features Elvis Presley and celebrates the 75th anniversary of his birth.

January 8, 2010 – August 29, 2010

Portrait Gallery

Revealing Culture

Witness a groundbreaking exhibition of contemporary art by 55 artists with disabilities that features over 130 works in a range of media.

June 8, 2010 – August 29, 2010

Ripley Center

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment

The exhibition explores for the first time the rich history and the cultural significance of Harlem's Apollo Theater.

April 23, 2010 – August 29, 2010

American History Museum

Paul Emmanuel: Transitions

Artist Paul Emmanuel employs various media, including photography and film, to reveal complex concerns relating to his identity as a young white male living in post-apartheid South Africa.

May 12, 2010 – August 22, 2010

African Art Museum

Doodle 4 Google: If I Could Do Anything, I Would...

Delight in 40 designs selected among tens of thousands of entries submitted by students K-12 from all 50 states in Google's annual "Doodle 4 Google" design competition.

May 27, 2010 – August 15, 2010

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Brian Jungen: Strange Comfort

Examine iconic works and major pieces never before seen in the United States by Brian Jungen (Dunne-za First Nations/Swiss/Canadian).

October 16, 2009 – August 8, 2010

American Indian Museum DC