Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

History of the Bathroom in America

Visit the 1st-floor men's and women's restrooms to see a display on the history of bathrooms in America.

February 1, 1974 – October 31, 1974

American History Museum

Popular Pleasures of Science

View a series of 18th and 19th century framed prints.

November 1, 1973 – October 31, 1974

American History Museum

Contemporary Nigerian Art: Craftsmen from Oshogbo

See some 70 pieces of textiles and metal works, with about half being the sculptured figures and jewelry of Jinadu Oladepo. Tapestries, embroideries, appliques and batiks are included in the textiles.

July 26, 1974 – October 28, 1974

Renwick Gallery

The Message Makers

Examine the media --radio, television, newspaper and film--and, more specifically, the decision-making process utilized in the selection of a message, its impact on the lives of people in general and black people in particular.

August 11, 1974 – October 27, 1974

Anacostia Community Museum

Portrait of Dean Acheson

See a portrait of Dean Acheson, painted by Gardner Cox, that is a replica of the artist's earlier work that hangs in the State Department building.

September 18, 1974 – October 20, 1974

Portrait Gallery

It All Depends

This new permanent exhibition hall dramatizes the dependency man and all other living things have on one another for survival.

April 6, 1974 – October 1, 1974

Natural History Museum

Sailor's Folk Craft

See examples of scrimshaw and whale bone carving.

September 1, 1974 – September 30, 1974

American History Museum

Bride's Quilt - 1851

See information and photographs of women working in textile mills.

September 1, 1974 – September 30, 1974

American History Museum

The Howe Butterflies

See some 20 acrylics and watercolors of butterflies in natural settings by William Howe.

July 15, 1974 – September 30, 1974

Natural History Museum

20th Century Painting and Sculpture

See a new installation made up of works selected from the permanent collection and works on loan.

August 9, 1974 – September 29, 1974

American Art Museum

African Art and Motion

Explore African art and its relation to African music and dance with more than 150 masks, sculptures, textiles, costumes, pieces of jewelry and furniture from sub-Saharan Africa on loan from the collection of Katherine Croyton White of Los Angeles.

September 1, 1974 – September 22, 1974

American Art Museum

Abraham Lincoln: The White House Years

Mark the anniversary of the assassination of Lincoln through photographs, cartoons and other associative items show how he changed during the Civil War years.

April 14, 1974 – September 15, 1974

Portrait Gallery

The Cicada

Hopefully coinciding with the local emergence of cicadas, an audio-visual, multi-screen presentation of the life of a cicada will be shown in a mini-theater.

July 1, 1974 – September 10, 1974

Natural History Museum

American Artists at Work

See 13 pencil and watercolor caricatures of artists of the 1930s by Aline Fruhauf, and 4 small bronze sculptures by Eugenie Gershoy.

August 1, 1974 – September 8, 1974

American Art Museum

Tribute to Mark Tobey

In one of its major exhibitions of 1974, NCFA will honor 84-year-old Mark Tobey, "the grand old man of American painting".

June 7, 1974 – September 8, 1974

American Art Museum

Two Decades of American Prints: 1920-1940

View about 60 works by well-known and no-so-well-known printmakers that show the varied aspects of the medium over a 20-year period.

June 21, 1974 – September 8, 1974

American Art Museum

Women in the Crafts

See examples of craft objects made by women, taken from the collections of the museum.

August 1, 1974 – August 31, 1974

American History Museum

Women and Rookwood Pottery

Founded in 1880 by Maria Longworth Nichols in Cincinnati, the company developed various types of art pottery which influenced the art pottery movement of the late 19th century.

August 1, 1974 – August 31, 1974

American History Museum

Portrait Prints and Drawings

See a newly installed, continuing exhibit of the Portrait Gallery's finest prints and drawings. Likenesses of Alexander Hamilton, Horace Greeley, Albert Einstein and Enrico Caruso are included.

May 1, 1973 – August 31, 1974

Portrait Gallery

Four Outstanding Women

Four outstanding women from the turn of the century are featured.

August 1, 1974 – August 31, 1974

American History Museum

The Goldsmith: Jewelry and Other Objects by Contemporary Artist-Craftsmen of North America

See jewelry, hollow ware, flatware and architectural and decorative accessories of 145 artists, selected from a recent competition.

May 17, 1974 – August 18, 1974

Renwick Gallery

Restoration of Musical Instruments

Four different kinds of restoration are shown - organ, keyboard, string, and an 18th century disassembled trumpet.

July 1, 1974 – July 31, 1974

American History Museum

Edward Weston

View examples of the photographs and some of the equipment used by this noted 20th century American photographer.

July 1, 1974 – July 31, 1974

American History Museum

Fourth of July

See historical objects from the 19th and 20th centuries pertaining to the celebration of the holiday.

July 1, 1974 – July 31, 1974

American History Museum

Thirty Years in Computer Programming

Visit an exhibit honoring Grace Hopper for the first half of the month, and Desk Calculators, with examples, for the last half of the month.

July 1, 1974 – July 31, 1974

American History Museum