Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

American Heroes of the Olympic Spirit

See 49 medals and 4 torches, along with photos and stories, that highlight Olympic and Paralympic athletes and their achievements over several decades in a variety of sports.

June 20, 2008 – October 12, 2008

Smithsonian Castle

Separate and Unequaled: Black Baseball in the District of Columbia

After the Civil War, baseball became America’s pastime. Largely integrated, it was a unifying force in a nation grappling with a divided racial history. Yet, in the nation’s capital, the game remained segregated until 1944.

May 18, 2008 – October 5, 2008

Anacostia Community Museum

Jim Henson's Fantastic World

Explore the creativity and "visual thinking" of artist, puppeteer, film director, and producer Jim Henson (1936-90).

July 12, 2008 – October 5, 2008

Ripley Center

Summer School: Selections from the Archives of American Art

View letters, photographs, and sketchbooks that reveal the importance of summer art schools to artists' lives and careers.

June 20, 2008 – September 28, 2008

Archives of American Art

One Life: KATE: A Centennial Celebration

This exhibition is dedicated to Hepburn, who carefully constructed and maintained her own myth through more than 50 years on stage, screen, and television.

November 2, 2007 – September 28, 2008

Portrait Gallery

Circle of Empowerment: Education, Language, Culture, Tradition

View the winning artwork and writing pieces from the 4th Native American Student Artist Competition.

August 22, 2008 – September 22, 2008

American Indian Museum DC

Remix: New Modernities in a Post-Indian World

Artists of mixed Native/non-Native background explore issues about the meaning of race and ethnicity in an increasingly global society, and the tension between individual self-expression and cultural identity.

June 7, 2008 – September 21, 2008

American Indian Museum New York

The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality,and the Moving Image: Part II - Realisms

Explores the phenomenon that in an age when capturing real life in real time becomes ever easier, the line between fact and fiction is increasingly complicated.

June 19, 2008 – September 7, 2008

Hirshhorn Museum

El Anatsui: Gawu

View an exhibition of works by El Anatsui, one of Africa's leading contemporary artists, using discarded metal objects to create weavings with the abstraction of modernist paintings.

March 12, 2008 – September 2, 2008

African Art Museum

Zaida Ben-Yusuf: New York Portrait Photographer

Photographer Zaida Ben-Yusuf (1869-1933) was an important figure in the pictorialist photography movement in late 19th and early 20th century New York.

April 11, 2008 – September 1, 2008

Portrait Gallery

Science in the News: The Truth about Crystal Skulls

On view for the first time is the Smithsonian's own crystal skull.

July 10, 2008 – September 1, 2008

Natural History Museum

Edward Steichen: Portraits

During his tenure as chief photographer for Condé Nast’s Vanity Fair from 1923 to1936, Edward Steichen created compelling portraits of many of that era’s most celebrated personalities.

April 11, 2008 – September 1, 2008

Portrait Gallery

Multiple Choice: From Sample to Product

Examine sample books and other sampling formats as tools for marketing or recording designs and techniques in a wide variety of media.

November 9, 2007 – September 1, 2008

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Yellow Mountain: China's Ever-Changing Landscape

See prints and paintings depicting the scenic Yellow Mountain (Mount Huangshan or Huangshan) in Anhui province, arguably the most beautiful mountain in China.

May 31, 2008 – August 24, 2008

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Campana Brothers Select: Works from the Permanent Collection

See an installation from the museum's collection selected by the Brazilian brothers Fernando and Huberto Campana, the fifth guest curators in this exhibition series.

February 15, 2008 – August 24, 2008

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Treasures 2008

See 74 artworks made of ivory ranging from small personal objects, such as containers and jewelry, to large public objects, such as carved tusks and staffs, dating from the 15th through the 20th centuries.

April 17, 2008 – August 24, 2008

African Art Museum

Black Box: Kimsooja

View a film by Kimsooja: A Laundry Woman, Yamuna River, Delhi (2000). In this film, the artist acts as a visual and spiritual mediator through which viewers are invited to contemplate the flow of the river -- a metaphor for life.

April 28, 2008 – August 17, 2008

Hirshhorn Museum

Trailblazers & Trendsetters: Art of the Stamp

See 76 original artworks commissioned by the United States Postal Service during the last 50 years for stamps that pay tribute to American history.

November 16, 2006 – August 17, 2008

Postal Museum

MURAQQA': Imperial Mughal Albums from the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin

See 82 masterpieces from lavish imperial albums (called muraqqa' in Persian) depicting images of the imperial family in private settings, Sufi saints and mystics, allies and courtiers, and natural history objects.

May 3, 2008 – August 3, 2008

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Aaron Douglas: African American Modernist

View more than 80 rarely seen works by Aaron Douglas (1899-1979) -- one of the foremost visual artists from the Harlem Renaissance -- including paintings, prints, drawings, and illustrations, in addition to works by several of his contemporaries.

May 9, 2008 – August 3, 2008

American Art Museum

Identity by Design: Tradition, Change, and Celebration in Native Women's Dresses

See 55 dresses and more than 200 related items from the Plains, Plateau, and Great Basin regions in this exhibition of Native women's identity through traditional dress and its contemporary evolution.

March 24, 2007 – August 3, 2008

American Indian Museum DC

Tales of the Brush Continued: Chinese Paintings with Literary Themes

Enjoy the works of Chinese artists who have turned to literature for inspiration for their paintings, works on silk and paper, and other objects.

February 9, 2008 – July 27, 2008

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Artists at Work

See over 70 artworks by Smithsonian staff, fellows, interns, and volunteers in a variety of media.

March 27, 2008 – July 27, 2008

Ripley Center

Listening to Our Ancestors: The Art of Native Life Along the North Pacific Coast

See more than 400 ceremonial and everyday objects featuring the art and culture of the people of the Northwest Coast.

September 12, 2007 – July 20, 2008

American Indian Museum New York

2008 Presidential Scholars in the Arts: Works in the Literary and Visual Arts

As one of the co-sponsors, the Portrait Gallery presents the works of the 2008 Presidential Scholars in the fields of cinematic arts, photography, visual arts, and writing.

June 22, 2008 – July 13, 2008

Portrait Gallery