Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers

From Althea Gibson's struggle to break the color barrier through the "Battle of the Sexes" between tennis players Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs to the humanitarian efforts of Roberto Clemente, sports illustrate many facets of American life.

October 7, 2004 – January 9, 2005

American History Museum

Holiday Display: Gingerbread Rendering of the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building

See an artistic rendering of the Arts & Industries Building -- created entirely of gingerbread, sugar paste, herbs, grains, and hand-carved chocolate figures -- made by artist Jan Curry.

December 2, 2004 – January 5, 2005

Smithsonian Castle

Dream Worlds: Modern Japanese Prints and Paintings from the Robert O. Muller Collection

View approximately 160 Japanese woodblock prints from the 1860s through the 1940s bequeathed to the museum by Robert O. Muller (1911-2003).

November 6, 2004 – January 2, 2005

Asian Art Museum, East Building

Ana Mendieta: Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance 1972-1985

Survey the work of Mendieta, celebrated for using her body to explore issues of gender and identity. Mature audiences.

October 14, 2004 – January 2, 2005

Hirshhorn Museum

The Beatles! Backstage and Behind the Scenes

Mark the 40th anniversary of the Beatles's first U.S. tour and their live performance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

January 16, 2004 – January 2, 2005

American History Museum

DigiLab

This exhibition explains the purpose and goals of the museum's Digital Image Laboratory and demonstrates the process of digitizing its holdings.

November 10, 1999 – January 2, 2005

American History Museum

MMLL: Mike McCartney's Liverpool Life

View 65 b&w photographs by Mike McCartney depicting Liverpool, England, in the 1960s, including street scenes, self portraits, images of the McCartney family, and photos of such American rock-n-roll legends.

January 16, 2004 – January 2, 2005

American History Museum

Continuum: 12 Artists

This 18-month rotating exhibition series features works by 12 contemporary Native American artists, representing the succeeding generations of major 20th-century artists.

April 26, 2003 – January 2, 2005

American Indian Museum New York

Women of Our Time: Photographs from the National Portrait Gallery

This wide-ranging survey featured 75 of the most important American women of the 20th century, as seen by many of the finest photographers of our time.

August 22, 2003 – January 2, 2005

Portrait Gallery

Selected Works by William H. Smith and Floyd Roberts

See the works of two Maryland artists -- 7 paintings by William H. Smith, silver medalist at the 1939 New York World's Fair, and 1 sculpture by Floyd Roberts.

June 7, 2004 – December 31, 2004

Anacostia Community Museum

All the Stories Are True: African American Writers Speak

Notable African American writers tell stories, including Valerie Boyd, Octavia E. Butler, Kenny Carroll, Edwidge Danticat, Samuel R. Delany, Eloise Greenfield, Charles Johnson, Delores Kendrick, and Walter Dean Myers.

June 7, 2004 – December 31, 2004

Anacostia Community Museum

Selected Works by Kadir Nelson

See an exhibition featuring the inspirational works of noted artist and illustrator of children's literature, Kadir Nelson.

June 7, 2004 – December 31, 2004

Anacostia Community Museum

Graphic Masters: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

This exhibition features 75 watercolors, pastels, and drawings from the 1860s through the 1990s that reveal the central importance of works on paper for American artists, both as studies for creations in other media and as finished works of art.

September 13, 2003 – December 28, 2004

American Art Museum

America's Band Traditions: March, Swing, Stomp, and Fiddle Your Partner

These cases highlight the diverse music collections in the Archives Center and celebrate music in America with a special sesquicentennial celebration of the birth of John Phillip Sousa.

November 17, 2004 – December 27, 2004

American History Museum

The Land through a Lens: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

This exhibition includes 85 photographs from the 1850s through the 20th century that trace America's fascination with the land and the way artists transform it into symbols and signature images.

May 20, 2003 – December 26, 2004

American Art Museum

Playful Performers

View an exhibition that looks at children's masquerades in Africa using objects, photographs, and video presentations.

April 9, 2004 – December 12, 2004

African Art Museum

History in the News: Collecting September 11

Objects on view include pieces of the fuselage from Flight 93; a clock from the Pentagon Station firehouse; and a place setting from Windows on the World, a restaurant on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center's north tower.

June 30, 2004 – December 7, 2004

American History Museum

Insights

See artworks by 9 contemporary artists whose experimentation with subject matter and material offers a thoughtful look at the artistic process.

February 27, 2004 – December 5, 2004

African Art Museum

National Museum of the American Indian On the Mall Display

See a model of the National Museum of the American Indian, scheduled to open on the National Mall Sept. 21, 2004.

December 23, 2003 – November 30, 2004

Smithsonian Castle

Driving Force: VSA arts

View 15 award-winning works of art by young artists with disabilities submitted to a contest sponsored by VSA arts.

September 25, 2004 – November 29, 2004

Ripley Center

Winogrand 1964

See 185 photographs of America taken in 1964, a year after the assassination of President Kennedy, that reflect the country at a cultural crossroads from the Civil Rights movement to the Vietnam War.

September 3, 2004 – November 28, 2004

Ripley Center

Oscar de la Renta Ball Gown and Jacket

Enjoy a ball gown and jacket by Oscar de la Renta made for Francesca Lodge, wife of John Cabot Lodge, U.S. ambassador to Spain in the 1950s.

September 17, 2003 – November 21, 2004

American History Museum

Calico & Chintz: Early American Quilts from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

This exhibition features 22 rare pieced and whole-cloth American quilts made before 1850 from the collection of Patricia A. Smith, a Washington playwright and quilt historian.

December 16, 2003 – November 21, 2004

American Art Museum

Artists' Designed Wallpapers

See twelve wallcoverings from the museum's permanent collection, designed by leading 20th-century artists.

August 13, 2004 – November 14, 2004

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Archives Center: From Lamps to Lunch Boxes: Aladdin Industries Inc.

On view are recently acquired records and documents related to Aladdin Industries Inc., which made lamps, vacuum ware, and lunch boxes.

September 15, 2004 – November 10, 2004

American History Museum