Past Exhibitions

"Cracked Plate" Photograph of Lincoln

For just five days, the museum will display the original print of the “cracked plate” portrait of Abraham Lincoln. This photograph by Alexander Gardner is one of the most haunting portraits of any president.

February 12, 2015 – February 16, 2015

"Do you hear that whistle...?" Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's film The Harvey Girls

Celebrates the 60th anniversary of the MGM classic movie musical The Harvey Girls.

December 21, 2006 – March 29, 2006

"Gold Rush" Bicycle

See the "Gold Rush," an aerodynamically designed bicycle made of light-weight, synthetic materials, including aramid, spandex fibers, and polyester film.

September 22, 1987 – April 15, 1988

Anacostia Community Museum

"Here, Look at Mine!" - John N. Robinson and Larry Francis Lebby Art Show

John Robinson, a painter, and Larry Francis Lebby, a stone lithographer, come from different generations and geographies. Yet, vital themes of family, neighbors, and the natural environment link the artists.

November 14, 1982 – February 28, 1983

"Make the Dirt Fly!": Building the Panama Canal

Explore the background, planning, and construction of the Panama Canal.

November 20, 1999 – January 22, 2001

"Save the Whale" Children's Art

Paintings by school children in the U.S. and abroad center on the theme of the threatened extinction of the whale.

May 2, 1974 – June 30, 1974

Natural History Museum

"Star-Spangled Banner" Manuscript

See Francis Scott Key’s original manuscript of the "Star-Spangled Banner" to celebrate the song's 200th anniversary.

June 14, 2014 – July 6, 2014

"The Fabric of a Friendship" and "Delaware 350": Commemorating New Sweden, 1638-1988

Marking the 350th anniversary of the first Swedish settlement in the U.S., this exhibition looks at the contributions of Swedish and Finnish settlers in the Delaware River Valley and their relationship with the Algonquin Indians.

October 21, 1988 – January 31, 1989

"There's No Business Like Show Business": Irving Berlin's Centennial

The exhibition commemorates the 100th birthday of the American composer, who during his career has written some 800 songs.

July 23, 1988 – January 31, 1989

...and They Called Us 'colored'

See 30 photographs of early 20th-century Seward, Oklahoma, taken by African American photographers Opal Childs-Glover and Fred Younger.

January 24, 1995 – July 30, 1995

100 Years of American Mathematics

The exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the American Society of Mathematics and explores the aspects of the practice of mathematics in the U.S. in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.

May 1, 1988 – August 31, 1988

100th Anniversary of Count Gianni Caproni

Commemorate the birth of this leader in Italian aviation, who designed Italy's 1st successful aircraft, and see his 1911 wood-and-fabric monoplane, the Caproni CA-9, used in Italy for passenger and military transport.

September 12, 1986 – August 10, 1987

10th Anniversary of Apollo 11

Celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first landing of astronauts on the moon with videotape, photographs, and items from the mission.

Late 1979 – March 31, 1980

150th Commemoration of the Civil War: The Death of Ellsworth

The National Portrait Gallery marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War through a series of four alcove exhibitions. The first of these exhibitions recounts the death of Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, a friend of President Lincoln, in Alexandria, Virginia.

April 29, 2011 – March 18, 2012

1812: A Nation Emerges

Learn about key people who influenced the outcome of the War of 1812, which transformed and unified the United States.

June 15, 2012 – January 27, 2013

1846: Portrait of the Nation

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Smithsonian, this exhibition looks back at the America of 1846.

April 12, 1996 – August 18, 1996

1848: New Border, New Nation

This showcase reviews the history surrounding the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Feb. 2, 1848), which ended the Mexican War of 1848.

May 16, 1998 – March 7, 1999

1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta

The world's rarest postage stamp, the 1856 British Guiana One-Cent Magenta, is prominently displayed in the museum’s William H. Gross Stamp Gallery.

June 4, 2015 – December 22, 2019

Postal Museum

1876 Centennial

See mementos and souvenirs of the Philadelphia event.

December 1, 1974 – January 31, 1975

Arts and Industries Building

1876: A Centennial Exhibition

See materials acquired from the nation's 1876 Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, which recapture the atmosphere and spirit of the original Exposition.

May 11, 1976 – August 10, 1996

1905 - 1985: 80 Years of Aerospace History

See 10 photographs portraying great events in aerospace history, including the flight of the 1st seaplane, the 1st spacewalk (by a Russian), and the 1stAmerican spacewalk.

January 16, 1985 – June 30, 1985

1934: A New Deal for Artists

See 56 paintings created by artists from across the United States working under the Public Works of Art Program, a federal New Deal program that lasted only six months from mid-December 1933 to June 1934.

February 27, 2009 – January 3, 2010

American Art Museum

1939

This small exhibition reveals how Americans used entertainment to distract themselves during a turbulent year when the country was recovering from the Great Depression and World War II loomed -- 1939.

November 24, 2010 – October 21, 2012

1977 Trees of Christmas

See 12, 8-foot tall Christmas trees, decorated with ornaments made by Smithsonian and area volunteers.

December 16, 1977 – January 2, 1978