Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Andrea Carlson

More than 20 works by Minnesota-based artist Andrea Carlson (Anishinaabe/European, b. 1979) reflect cultural narratives and stories while offering a sharp commentary on museums, collections, and contemporary storytelling.

June 13, 2009 – January 10, 2010

American Indian Museum New York

Accelerate: A National Juried Exhibition for Emerging Artists with Disabilities, Ages 16-25

View works by 15 award-winning emerging artists with disabilities, ages 16 to 25.

September 10, 2009 – January 6, 2010

Ripley Center

Design for a Living World

Follow ten leading designers commissioned to develop new uses for sustainably grown and harvested materials in order to tell a unique story about the life cycle of materials and the power of conservation and design.

May 14, 2009 – January 4, 2010

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

1934: A New Deal for Artists

See 56 paintings created by artists from across the United States working under the Public Works of Art Program, a federal New Deal program that lasted only six months from mid-December 1933 to June 1934.

February 27, 2009 – January 3, 2010

American Art Museum

Anne Truitt: Perception and Reflection

This is the first major survey spanning Anne Truitt's 40-year career since her death in 2004.

October 8, 2009 – January 3, 2010

Hirshhorn Museum

Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964

Through freestanding, illustrated banners with text, this bilingual (English and Spanish) exhibition examines the experiences of bracero workers and their families while providing insight into Mexican American history and historical context to today's debates on guest worker programs.

September 9, 2009 – January 3, 2010

American History Museum

Presidents in Waiting

If some still remain unconvinced about the significance of the vice president and those who occupied the office, this exhibition shows that most of the vice presidents who succeeded to the presidency were highly capable political figures with the experience and aptitude to be president.

January 20, 2009 – January 3, 2010

Portrait Gallery

Staged Stories: Renwick Craft Invitational 2009

This exhibition features works by four contemporary artists.

August 7, 2009 – January 3, 2010

Renwick Gallery

Bats on Exhibit

Hang out with some 15 bats of 3 species -- Big Fruit, Short-tailed, and Hammerhead -- in this recently opened exhibit.

October 1, 1984 – December 31, 2009

National Zoo

Seals

Visit with gray seals and California sea lions.

October 1, 1978 – November 30, 2009

National Zoo

Moonlight and Clouds: Silver and Gold in the Arts of Japan

View artworks that showcase the distinctive repertoire of techniques for applying gold and silver on a variety of materials that Japanese artists developed beginning in the 17th century.

November 8, 2008 – November 29, 2009

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Golden Seams: The Japanese Art of Mending Ceramics

See ceramics from China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan that were mended and enhanced by a unique method of 'gold' lacquer repair created by Japanese craftsmen.

November 8, 2008 – November 29, 2009

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Addison Scurlock's Portrait Studies of Women

See 14 photographic portraits of young women taken by African American photographer Addison Scurlock (1883-1964) during the 1920s.

August 3, 2009 – November 29, 2009

American History Museum

One Life: Thomas Paine, The Radical Founding Father

This exhibition features Thomas Paine, whose pamphlet Common Sense fired up Americans to get on with a declaration of independence.

August 7, 2009 – November 29, 2009

Portrait Gallery

Strange Bodies: Figurative Works from the Hirshhorn Collection

This exhibition brings together some of the most praised and popular examples of figuration.

December 11, 2008 – November 15, 2009

Hirshhorn Museum

Moving Perspectives: Shahzia Sikander/Xun

See works by Shahzia Sikander and Sun Xun, shown continuously as part of the year-long series Moving Perspectives, focusing on contemporary Asia.

July 18, 2009 – November 8, 2009

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Earl Shaffer and the Appalachian Trail

Focus on the American environmentalist, naturalist, and activist Earl Shaffer (1918-2002), who in 1948 became the first person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail more than 2,000 miles -- in one continuous hike.

July 10, 2009 – November 1, 2009

American History Museum

Jamestown, Québec, Santa Fe: Three North American Beginnings

Explore the first permanent English, French, and Spanish settlements in the New World -- Jamestown, Virginia (1607); Quebec, Canada (1608); and Santa Fe, New Mexico (1609) -- and the societies that emerged to approximately 1700.

May 18, 2009 – November 1, 2009

Ripley Center

Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America

View rare and archival photographs and film of Native American skateboarders, as well as skatedecks from Native companies and contemporary artists, that celebrate the vibrancy, creativity, and controversy of American Indian skate culture.

June 12, 2009 – November 1, 2009

American Indian Museum DC

Treasures from the William H. Gross Collection

In honor of National Stamp Collecting Month, the museum features three great stamp rarities on loan from William H. Gross.

October 1, 2009 – October 31, 2009

Postal Museum

Sunset Song

Sunset Song, an 8-minute sound installation by Susan Philipsz, confronts visitors with questions about how an artist can deliver narrative and the ways an artist can sculpt space with sound rather than tactile materials.

July 1, 2009 – October 31, 2009

Hirshhorn Museum

Sporting Invention

In this showcase, items from drawings and prototypes to final products trace the development of sports inventions and highlight aspects of universal design in sports technology development.

January 7, 2009 – October 30, 2009

American History Museum

Art of the Stamp: Lincoln's Bicentennial

The National Postal Museum presents the original artwork for a set of four stamps commemorating the bicentennial of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln.

February 12, 2009 – October 26, 2009

Postal Museum

Writing, Carving, and Rubbing: China's Calligraphic Arts

Follow the evolution of Chinese calligraphy through six major script types in the past three millenniums.

April 4, 2009 – October 25, 2009

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Meier 75

Celebrate the architect Richard Meier's 75th birthday, with architectural drawings and models of three of his major projects, and three collage works.

October 1, 2009 – October 12, 2009

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum