Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Duke Ellington: American Musician

Trace the "Duke's" career and musical legacy through original compositions, awards, a bandstand and posters.

April 4, 1989 – August 7, 2006

Reclaiming Midwives: Pillars of Community Support

Journey through photographs, drawings, diary entries, and birthing equipment in this exhibition documenting the life and work of Mary Francis Hill Coley in rural Georgia, where she provided midwifery care to thousands for 30 years.

November 13, 2005 – August 6, 2006

Anacostia Community Museum

Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes and Other Riches

Follow a boat journey along the Amazon River with 9 ports of call and see live fish, objects, interactives, and multimedia presentations to explore biodiversity and the relationships between the environment, the animals and people who live there.

April 3, 2006 – August 6, 2006

Ripley Center

Hiroshi Sugimoto: History of History

Explore connections between past and present modes of seeing by juxtaposing contemporary photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto's photographs with approximately 60 ancient and medieval Japanese artworks.

April 1, 2006 – July 30, 2006

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Wildlife Photography Rotating Display

Visit a rotating display of wildlife photography by Zoo and FONZ Photo Club photographers.

April 9, 2005 – July 24, 2006

National Zoo

Arctic Transformations: The Jewelry of Denise and Samuel Wallace

This 25-year retrospective of jewelry artists Denise and Samuel Wallace includes 150 works created from silver, gold, fossil ivory and semi-precious stones and features 16 intricately crafted belts from early in the artists' career.

March 2, 2006 – July 23, 2006

American Indian Museum New York

BIG/small

See an exhibition of 106 contemporary and tradition-based works from private collections and the museum's collection that illustrates how artists use size and scale, both literally and metaphorically, to communicate a range of ideas.

January 17, 2006 – July 23, 2006

African Art Museum

Country Store Post Office

This country store was located in Headsville, West Virginia, from the 1860s to 1971, serving as a post office about half those years.

January 1, 1980 – July 21, 2006

American History Museum

The Stanley King Collection

See objects from the Stanley King collection of souvenirs from Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic in 1927.

Late April 2006 – July 20, 2006

Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center

Ceremonial Court

This exhibition provides a glimpse of White House family life and serves as a setting for objects associated with the presidents.

April 6, 1989 – July 16, 2006

American History Museum

Separate Is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education

This exhibition celebrates the 50-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision that ended segregation in public schools.

May 15, 2004 – July 16, 2006

American History Museum

First Ladies: Political Role and Public Image

This exhibition examines the evolving role of the First Lady and presents a new understanding of the demanding responsibilities of presidential wives and hostesses.

March 29, 1992 – July 16, 2006

American History Museum

Grant Wood's Studio: Birthplace of "American Gothic"

See approximately 160 works by artist Grant Wood (1891-1942) that place his decorative arts and design work within the larger context of his better-known paintings, drawings, and prints.

March 10, 2006 – July 15, 2006

Renwick Gallery

Fire and Water: The CIGNA Firefighting and Maritime Collection

Visitors can watch through large windows as curators process a collection of nearly 4,000 firefighting and maritime materials that date from 1825-1875, the heyday of voluntary fire organizations.

October 28, 2005 – July 13, 2006

American History Museum

On Time

The changing ways Americans have measured, used and thought about time during the past 300 years is told through some 200 clocks, watches, and objects.

November 18, 1999 – July 9, 2006

American History Museum

Frost: Life and Culture of the Sami Reindeer People of Norway

View 39 photographs that document the lives of the Sami -- indigenous people living today in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia.

October 19, 2005 – July 3, 2006

Natural History Museum

Artistic License: The Duck Stamp Story

A rotating selection of objects from the collection of Jeanette Cantrell Rudy sheds light on the Federal Duck Stamp program.

June 28, 1996 – June 30, 2006

Postal Museum

EV1 Electric Car

See a 1997 silver blue "Generation 1" EV1 electric car.

March 15, 2005 – June 14, 2006

American History Museum

Engines of Change: American Industrial Revolution, 1790-1860

With more than 250 original artifacts, this major exhibition brings to life the American Industrial Revolution.

November 21, 1986 – June 12, 2006

American History Museum

On Stage and Back Stage: Women in Jazz

See 10 black-and-white images of Dorothy Donegon, Ingrid Jensen, Jane Bunnett, Betty Carter, and other women in jazz by Baltimore photographer Jeffrey Kliman.

April 8, 2003 – June 4, 2006

American History Museum

Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song

Costumes, awards, photograph, recordings, scrapbooks, sheet music, and personal memorabilia examine the 60-year career of Ella Fitzgerald.

March 19, 1998 – May 31, 2006

American History Museum

Artists of Edo (1800-1850)

Visit approximately 30 paintings and prints representing the distinctive styles of early 19th-century artists active in the large metropolis of Edo.

November 19, 2005 – May 29, 2006

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Freer and Tea: 100 Years of "The Book of Tea"

Explore the connections between Freer and the Japanese art historian and curator Okakura Kakuzo in this collection of tea ceremony ceramics.

November 19, 2005 – May 29, 2006

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Azucar! The Life and Music of Celia Cruz

The life of legendary Cuban-born singer Celia Cruz (1924-2003) is explored through costumes, wigs, shoes, photographs, video, and music.

May 18, 2005 – May 29, 2006

American History Museum

First American Art: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection

View 200 items illustrating the similar aesthetic characteristics found in Native American objects from different North American cultures.

April 24, 2004 – May 29, 2006

American Indian Museum New York