Skip to main content Skip to main navigation
heart-solid My Visit Donate
Home Smithsonian Institution IK development site for ODI
Press Enter to activate a submenu, down arrow to access the items and Escape to close the submenu.
    • Overview
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Entry and Guidelines
    • Museum Maps
    • Dine and Shop
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Group Visits
    • Overview
    • Exhibitions
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX & Planetarium
    • Overview
    • Topics
    • Collections
    • Research Resources
    • Stories
    • Podcasts
    • Overview
    • For Caregivers
    • For Educators
    • For Students
    • For Academics
    • For Lifelong Learners
    • Overview
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Membership
    • Make a Gift
    • Volunteer
    • Overview
    • Our Organization
    • Our Leadership
    • Reports and Plans
    • Newsdesk
heart-solid My Visit Donate

Explore

  • Let's Go to the Movies: Artifacts and Icons of the American Cinema
  • Early Movies
  • Silent Era
  • Golden Age

Let's Go to the Movies: Artifacts and Icons of the American Cinema

Since its birth in the late 19th century, American cinema has been one of the most powerful forms of popular art. American movies shape how the world sees us and how we see ourselves. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is home to an extensive number of objects and images related to film and television history, and more are being digitized all the time. The National Portrait Gallery features notable stars of the big screen. The National Postal Museum houses commemorative stamps featuring icons of film.


  • National Portrait Gallery 197 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • National Museum of American History 37 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture 18 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • National Postal Museum 14 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum 6 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • National Air and Space Museum 5 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Smithsonian Channel 4 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Smithsonian American Art Museum 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Photographs 166 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Prints 26 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Exterior views 21 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Postage stamps 14 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Drawings 11 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Posters 9 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Cards (information artifacts) 5 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • collectible card 5 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • gelatin silver print 5 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Sculpture 4 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • African Americans 20 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • British 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1920s 15 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1930s 56 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1940s 35 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1950s 38 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1960s 29 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1970s 38 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1980s 35 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1990s 28 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 2000s 9 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 2010s 12 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • United States 52 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • North America 34 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • California 28 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Los Angeles 22 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • United States of America 18 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Hollywood 13 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • New York 13 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Kings 12 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • North and Central America 11 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • England 7 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • National Portrait Gallery Collection 197 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Currently not on view 193 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Popular Entertainment 33 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Culture and the Arts: Entertainment 18 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection 18 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Work and Industry: Photographic History 18 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • National Postal Museum Collection 14 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Photography 14 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Movie Collection 13 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Photo History Collection 9 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Motion pictures 216 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Arts and Culture 196 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Portraits 196 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Entertainers 195 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Movie actor 152 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Men 123 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Performing arts awards 111 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Costume 110 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Academy Award 106 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Design 97 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Usage conditions apply 174 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • Not determined 92 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • CC0 19 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus

Filter Settings

Excluded:

  • Remove Resource Type: Paintings close

Poster from the movie, "The Endless Summer" released in 1966

A Boy in Front of the Loews 125th Street Movie Theater

Colleen Moore

Dirty Dancing

Un Americano a Parigi

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in "A Chump At Oxford"

Johnny Depp: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Indiana Jones Thermos

Marilyn Monroe

Textile Design: Hollywood Series, 1930

William Powell and Hedy Lamarr

37c American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes: Costume Design single

Stamp with portrait of John Ford smoking a pipe, in the background a man walks into western scenery

Forever Great Film Directors: John Ford single

Forever Great Film Directors: Frank Capra single

Film Series: Wizard of Oz

39c Black Heritage: Hattie McDaniel single

Script for The Wizard of Oz

Film still for Carmen Jones

Photograph for The Emperor Jones

Film still for Cabin in the Sky

Film still of Julius Carry and Taimak in The Last Dragon

Brooke Shields

Lupe Vélez cinema card

Costume for Black Panther worn by Chadwick Boseman

Makeup case used by makeup artist Bernadine M. Anderson

Costume worn by Beyoncé as Deena Jones in the film Dreamgirls

Navy blue baseball cap for the Black Stuntmen's Association

Technicolor: Film Magazine

Harrison Ford doing electrical repair for Sevem Darden at his house on Fountain Avenue, Hollywood, CA, 1967

Katherine Dunham

Character study of Mlle Upanova, the dancing ostrich, for the Disney animated film Fantasia

Clara Bow cinema card

Snow White colored animation celluloid

Dolores del Río cinema card

Myrna Loy cinema card


  1. First page First
  2. Previous page Previous
  3. Page 1
  4. Page 2
  5. Page 3
  6. Page 4
  7. Page 5
  8. Page 6
  9. Page 7
  10. Current page 8
  11. Page 9
  12. Next page Next
  13. Last page Last
arrow-up Back to top
Home
  • Facebook facebook
  • Instagram instagram
  • LinkedIn linkedin
  • YouTube youtube

  • Contact Us
  • Get Involved
  • Shop Online
  • Job Opportunities
  • Equal Opportunity
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Accessibility
  • Host Your Event
  • Press Room
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use