Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th and 17th Centuries

View a selection of objects that reflect the influence of Portugal on African art forms and African artists' response to Portuguese presence in Africa, beginning in the 16th century.

June 24, 2007 – September 16, 2007

African Art Museum

Made in Northern Ireland: A Dynamic of Change

See past and present crafts made in Northern Ireland, including linen and damask textiles, Belfast glass, jewelry, silver, and ceramics that show the development of design, the artists' skill, and the application of new technologies.

June 15, 2007 – September 10, 2007

Ripley Center

Black Box: Takeshi Murata

See films by Takeshi Murata (born 1974, lives and works in Los Angeles and New York) who produces films involving masterful manipulation of digital animation while also integrating hand-built dimensions.

May 28, 2007 – September 9, 2007

Hirshhorn Museum

Native Words, Native Warriors

See 15 large-scale banners that reveal the little-known but crucial role Native Americans played during World Wars I and II. Native Americans from more than a dozen tribes used their Native languages while in service to the U.S. military.

August 10, 2007 – September 4, 2007

American Indian Museum DC

Harry Benson: Being There

This exhibition features approximately 100 photographs -- beginning with the era of the Beatles to 9/11 -- by New York-based, Scotland-born photographer Harry Benson.

April 27, 2007 – September 3, 2007

Portrait Gallery

Off the Map: Landscape in the Native Imagination

Native artists use landscapes to show longing and emotion, and connection to and detachment from the land that is universal to contemporary Native experience.

March 3, 2007 – September 3, 2007

American Indian Museum New York

Royal Portraits of Celebration by Alexander Talbot Rice

This exhibition features two portraits -- Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, painted to celebrate the Golden Jubilee in 2005, and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh -- by Alexander Talbot Rice, one of the youngest artists to be commmissioned for a modern royal portrait.

May 8, 2007 – September 3, 2007

Portrait Gallery

Great Britons: Treasures from the National Portrait Gallery, London

In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the National Portrait Gallery, London, this exhibition includes 60 works representing five centuries of British history.

April 27, 2007 – September 3, 2007

Portrait Gallery

Fly Now! The Poster Collection of the National Air and Space Museum

Enjoy reproductions of almost 24 aviation posters from the museum's extensive collection.

June 1, 2007 – August 31, 2007

Air and Space Museum

Inscribing Meaning: Writing + Graphic Systems in African Art

See the first comprehensive exhibition that addresses the interaction between African art and the communicative power of graphic systems, language, and the written word.

May 9, 2007 – August 26, 2007

African Art Museum

Wolfgang Tillmans

View approximately 300 photographic and installation-based works of Wolfgang Tillmans, internationally recognized for his photography that captures often overlooked objects and moments in everyday life.

May 10, 2007 – August 12, 2007

Hirshhorn Museum

Voices & Visions of Tha Bloc: An Exhibition by Ellis L. Marsalis III

Through poetry, essays, and 31 photographs developed over the past decade, photographer/poet Ellis Marsalis III details the lives of neighbors living on one block in Baltimore City.

June 10, 2007 – August 12, 2007

Anacostia Community Museum

A Creative Profile: Artists of the East Bank

See 41 works in a variety of media by a diverse community of professional artists who live and work east of the river in the District of Columbia.

May 13, 2007 – August 12, 2007

Anacostia Community Museum

Design Life Now: National Design Triennial 2006

Visit an ongoing exhibition program that seeks out and presents the most innovative American designs covering various fields, including product design, architecture, furniture, film, graphics, new technologies, animation, science, medicine, and fashion.

December 8, 2006 – July 29, 2007

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Variations on America: Masterworks from American Art Forum Collections

Visit an exhibition featuring approximately 75 major oil paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by leading artists from the past 150 years.

April 13, 2007 – July 29, 2007

American Art Museum

Directions: Virgil Marti and Pae White

Artists Pae White and Virgil Marti combine their individual creative practices to collaborate on a site-specific installation, which addresses how the transformation of a space changes its context.

March 9, 2007 – July 29, 2007

Hirshhorn Museum

From the Ground Up: Renwick Craft Invitational 2007

See works by contemporary craft artists in this biennial exhibition.

March 9, 2007 – July 22, 2007

Renwick Gallery

Landscapes in Japanese Art

Explore the landscapes created by Japanese artists from the 15th through the 19th centuries in this exhibition of 20 paintings and 12 ceramics.

February 3, 2007 – July 15, 2007

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Tea Bowls in Bloom: Botanical Decorations on Tea Ceremony Ceramics

See how decorated tea bowls and water jars can skillfully show how a limited palette can evoke the full spectrum of nature's hues.

February 3, 2007 – July 15, 2007

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Clash of Empires: The British, French & Indian War, 1754-1763

Marking the 250th anniversary of the British, French, and Indian War, this exhibition of more than 300 objects and works of art explores the 3-sided epic struggle for North America and its effects worldwide.

December 15, 2006 – July 15, 2007

Ripley Center

On the Road

Learn about the history of city mail delivery vehicles from the first tests in 1899 to the present.

December 23, 2004 – July 13, 2007

Postal Museum

Passing Time: The Art of William Christenberry

Visit more than 60 paintings, photographs, assemblages, and sculpted building constructions by William Christenberry.

June 30, 2006 – July 7, 2007

American Art Museum

Daoism in the Arts of China

Consider the four aspects of Daoism in this exhibition and the influence of folklore, Confucianism, and Buddhism on Daoism.

December 16, 2006 – July 1, 2007

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Saul Steinberg: Illuminations

Enjoy 120 works on paper and board, paintings, sculpture, and other objects by Saul Steinberg.

April 6, 2007 – June 24, 2007

American Art Museum

Transitions: Photographs by Robert Creamer

On view are some 30 of Robert Creamer's high-resolution images of plants and animals that show the effects of time.

October 26, 2006 – June 24, 2007

Natural History Museum