Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

French Folk Art

Revisit the 18th- and 19th-centuries in France with this collection of tools and equipment, accoutrements of festivals and religious ceremonies, objects from daily life, and costumes and wearing apparel.

October 28, 1977 – June 11, 1978

Renwick Gallery

Pochoir

See 6 applications of the modern stencilling process, including its use in French illustrations of the 1920s; in French wallpaper; in American printmaking; in photography and in work from a modern portrait studio.

July 1, 1977 – May 31, 1978

American History Museum

Wooden Carvings of North American Birds

View some 15 carvings, realistically painted and in natural poses, by James Eddleman of Lubbock, Texas.

January 1, 1978 – May 31, 1978

Natural History Museum

Sales Exhibition: Tribal Pottery of the Catawba Indians

Admire and purchase a selection of bowls and pitchers made in their traditional way by women of the South Carolina Indian tribe.

April 4, 1978 – May 31, 1978

Renwick Gallery

We Were But a Handful

Pay tribute to the early suffragettes who brought about the ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 26, 1920 in this anniversary exhibit.

August 26, 1977 – May 26, 1978

Portrait Gallery

Alice Pike Barney and Her Friends

Visit 41 works by Alice Pike Barney and friends Aman-Jean, Romaine Brooks, Carolus-Duran, Albert Herter, Edwin Scott and Herman Webster as well as photographs of the era and pieces of furniture and jewelry; among the latter is a pendent designed by Romaine Brooks.

January 20, 1978 – May 21, 1978

American Art Museum

Look Again

View a second group of about 500 objects from Cooper-Hewitt collections, including drawings and prints, textiles, wallpaper, furniture, ceramics and glass.

March 15, 1978 – May 15, 1978

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Perfectly Beautiful: Art in Science

See wildlife subjects in a variety of media and techniques in 70 drawings, the work of members of the nationwide group, The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators.

March 18, 1978 – May 14, 1978

Natural History Museum

Europe in the Seventies: Aspects of Recent Art

A full-scale exhibition of avant-garde European art of this decade, this show is comprised of about 60 works (several of which form components of individual pieces) executed by 23 artists from 7 European countries.

March 16, 1978 – May 7, 1978

Hirshhorn Museum

Attillio Salemme: Inhabitant of a Dream

See 50 works of Salemme (1911-1955), an American artist whose work is in strong, vivid colors and whose isolated figures suggest both architectural forms and human shapes.

March 3, 1978 – May 7, 1978

American Art Museum

The Museum of Drawers

Examine 20 drawers, each containing 25 compartments, full of the miniature works of 500 architects and artists.

March 21, 1978 – May 7, 1978

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Orozco, Rivera, Siqueiros: A Selection from Mexican National Museums

View a selection of more than 35 paintings, lithographs and drawings as well as studies for murals for which the trio (referred to as "Les Tres Grandes" -- The Big Three) is widely known.

March 30, 1978 – April 30, 1978

Hirshhorn Museum

20th Century Stage and Costume Design

See about 1000 original costume and scenic designs for major opera and ballet productions as well as for musical comedies, for sale in the Design Sales Gallery.

April 1, 1978 – April 30, 1978

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Tools to Test Psychic Phenomena

Outwit a variety of ESP cards, dice, and random number generators which have been used by parapsychology researchers to learn whether man can communicate without the help of sight, sound, touch, taste or smell.

March 3, 1978 – April 25, 1978

American History Museum

Mary Cassatt: Pastels and Color Prints

The domestic life of women and children is the major theme of the 36 pastels and 16 color prints, dating from 1879 to 1914.

February 24, 1978 – April 20, 1978

American Art Museum

Sringar: A Pageant of Costumes from India

Admire 54 authentic costumes from India selected for their distinct style, cut, drape, or weave; on loan from Air India.

December 15, 1977 – April 10, 1978

Natural History Museum

William Harper: Recent Works in Enamel

Admire 50 works--pins, rattles, pendants, puzzles, amulet and necklaces--by Harper, Assistant Professor of Art at Florida State University.

November 24, 1977 – April 2, 1978

Renwick Gallery

The Frederick Douglass Years

See 42 panels that trace the life and times of Frederick Douglass, the "Sage of Anacostia", as a slave, in the Abolitionist Movement, through the Civil War and Reconstruction, and as an elder statesman.

February 12, 1978 – April 2, 1978

Anacostia Community Museum

Biblical Manuscripts

View a collection of Biblical manuscripts dated from the 3rd to the 17th centuries.

April 1, 1977 – March 30, 1978

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons in Japanese Art

Examine the major themes of Japanese art in 60 objects from the collections: paintings, screens, lacquerware, ceramics and metalwork.

September 15, 1977 – March 30, 1978

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Chinese Album Leaves and Fan Paintings

See 40 album leaves and 14 fan paintings executed on paper or silk, depicting landscapes, figures, birds and flowers.

November 15, 1977 – March 30, 1978

Asian Art Museum, West Building

Now He Belongs to the Ages

View 10 sculptured likenesses of Abraham Lincoln including a life mask and bust by Leonard Volk, a bust by Fisk Mills and one by Marshall Swayne, and a recently acquired seated sculpture by John Rogers: Reading the Emancipation Proclamation.

February 1, 1978 – March 30, 1978

American History Museum

Sales Exhibition: The Art of the Turned Bowl

Admire and purchase turned bowls of various woods by 4 craftsmen selected by the Museum Store.

February 1, 1978 – March 30, 1978

Renwick Gallery

Miniature Zoo

Be charmed by a collection of 19th century animal figures, toy zoos, Noah's arks and other miniature fauna.

December 15, 1978 – March 30, 1978

National Zoo

Place, Product, Packaging

View historical photographs, logos and designs for buildings showing enterprises that have employed an integrated design program in the promotion of a product, service, or experience.

January 20, 1978 – March 19, 1978

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum