Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

The Madrid Manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci

See 14 sheets, each rich with drawings, of Leonardo's manuscripts rediscovered in recent years in Madrid, Spain, are on loan from the Spanish Government.

October 1, 1974 – December 31, 1974

American History Museum

Hollow Ware Renderings

Delight in 30 watercolor renderings of American teapots, mugs, ladles, and bowls from colonial times through the 19th century.

August 1, 1974 – December 31, 1974

Renwick Gallery

World War I Field Utility Chest of Kaiser Wilhelm II

See the contents of the case, which include the Berlin dog license issued to the Kaiser's dachshund.

December 1, 1974 – December 31, 1974

American History Museum

When Coal Was King: Breakers and Depots

View pen and ink drawings by Fred Bartlett of coal breakers and railroad stations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland.

March 15, 1973 – November 30, 1974

American History Museum

Universal Postal Union Stamp Collection

Visit important portions of Ohio Legislator M. William Tyrrell's award-winning collection.

October 9, 1974 – November 30, 1974

American History Museum

Prints by M.C. Escher

Marvel at a selection of about 50 prints by the late Dutch printmaker from the Roosevelt Collection recently given to the Gallery.

September 1, 1974 – November 30, 1974

American Art Museum

Made in Chicago

Visit nearly 100 contemporary paintings and sculptures by 12 artists associated with Chicago activity known as "imagist art."

October 31, 1974 – November 29, 1974

American Art Museum

Venetian Drawings From American Collections

Enjoy about 120 drawings on loan from private and public collections of works ranging from the 15th to the 18th centuries, including such artists as Titian and Tintoretto.

September 29, 1974 – November 24, 1974

American Art Museum

Chaim Gross: Sculpture and Drawings

Visit an exhibition covering the span of his career as a sculptor and draughtsman through 14 ebony and lignum vitae wood sculptures and 58 drawings in ink, pencil and watercolor that make up the show.

September 13, 1974 – November 24, 1974

American Art Museum

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

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

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