View the iconic Cyrus cylinder along with objects showcasing innovations of the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) of Iran that had a huge impact on the ancient world.

Discover how the processes of copying, faking, and duplicating as strategic artistic invention can result in objects that are both recognizable and strange. 

Experience a tropical rainforest on a cold winter's day with orchids from Mexico and Central and South America.

See photographs of six great Native chiefs who participated in President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade.

See two tapestry portraits of President Barack Obama by Chuck Close.

Learn about the role of museums in the everyday lives of American artists.

See how this contemporary artist addresses memory through cultural and personal symbols.

Colorful murals in a Chinese Buddhist cave temple of Dunhuang come alive with floating figures, performing musicians, and Buddhist sculpture in this hyper-real tour of one of the world's important treasures.

The first U.S. venue of this unprecedented exhibition reveals the unknown past of the Arabian Peninsula with newly discovered artifacts from ancient trade routes stretching from Yemen in the south to Iraq and Syria in the north.

Some of the finest artwork produced during the Civil War and its aftermath illustrate the influence of this period in history on the visual arts in America.

See how contemporary artist Julie Buffalohead (Ponca) addresses parenting and identity using the iconography of childhood.

See drawings, prints, tapestries, and photographs that depict the environment and culture of the Inuit.

Learn about the contribution of poetry in American literature through portraits of and quotations by such poets as Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, Langston Hughes, and Allen Ginsberg.

This major solo exhibition of works by Chinese conceptual artist Ai Weiwei introduces viewers to his broad spectrum of artistic practice.

View Abraham Anghik Ruben's sculptures as they give new life and expression to the myths and legends of ancient northern cultures of the North American Arctic.

See a composite "portrait" of  legendary singer Celia Cruz (1924-2003) made up of images of objects in the museum's collection that represent her.

Learn about the life and times of Clotilde Arias, who in 1946 was commissioned by the US State Department to compose an official Spanish-language translation of the national anthem.

See how emerging artists with disabilities illustrate their innovative viewpoints on sustainability and contemporary creativity. 

See the visor and gloves astronaut Neil Armstrong wore when he walked on the moon. 

Learn about four main categories of enlightened being in Buddhism through 27 works dating from the Song to Qing dynasties.