Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Words Cannot Express: Death in the Archives

See how the art world responds to the death of one of their own—from letters of condolence and drafts of eulogies to firsthand accounts of artists’ funerals and expressions of personal loss.

October 31, 2011 – December 31, 2011

Archives of American Art

Wish You Were Here: Artists on Vacation

View snapshots, sketchbooks, and postcards -- to name a few -- that illustrate artists on vacation.

June 28, 2007 – September 21, 2007

Archives of American Art

What Is Feminist Art?

On view are more than 75 vibrant and varied personal statements from artists from 1976 and now that elucidate the contours of feminist art.

November 26, 2019 – December 31, 2021

Archives of American Art

The Six Degrees of Peggy Bacon

See how many degrees separate illustrator Peggy Bacon and others in the art world in this exhibition.

June 27, 2012 – November 25, 2012

Archives of American Art

The Art of Handwriting

See how the handwriting of influential artists can offer new insights into his or her artistic style and personality.

July 2, 2013 – November 17, 2013

Archives of American Art

Summer School: Selections from the Archives of American Art

View letters, photographs, and sketchbooks that reveal the importance of summer art schools to artists' lives and careers.

June 20, 2008 – September 28, 2008

Archives of American Art

Staff Picks: Our Favorite Things from the Collection

This exhibition introduces staff members from the Archives of American Art and items they find special, sometimes for very personal reasons.

June 1, 2023 – September 1, 2024

Archives of American Art

Sketchbooks from the Archives of American Art

View sketchbooks by selected artists that provide a snapshot of their visual thinking.

October 5, 2007 – January 6, 2008

Archives of American Art

Season's Greetings: Holiday Cards from the Archives of American Art

Kindle your holiday spirit with this exhibition of artist's hand-made holiday cards from the collections of the Archives of American Art.

November 20, 2009 – January 10, 2010

Archives of American Art

SPANS: Photographs from the Esther McCoy Papers at the Archives of American Art

Artist Terence Gower uses archival photographs in the Esther McCoy Papers and his own drawings in this innovative, site-specific installation in dialogue with the glass canopy of the Kogod Courtyard.

March 9, 2011 – June 5, 2011

Archives of American Art

Robert Motherwell: A Centennial Celebration

This exhibition, guest curated by the artist Tim Clifford, marks the 100-year anniversary of the birth of painter Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), through letters, photographs, and rare printed material from collections in the Archives of American Art.

November 21, 2015 – March 27, 2016

Archives of American Art

Pushing the Envelope: Mail Art from the Archives of American Art

This exhibition provides an overview of the international mail art movement, and features visually complex examples of mail art.

August 10, 2018 – January 4, 2019

Archives of American Art

Off the Beaten Track: A Road Trip through the Archives of American Art

The photographs, sketches, diaries, correspondence, and video recordings on view reveal how artists have shaped and are shaped by their surroundings, from the 1830s to the 2000s.

December 8, 2017 – June 3, 2018

Archives of American Art

Of the Moment: A Video Sampler from the Archives of American Art

See video highlights from the Archives' collections that document scenes from the lives of selected artists.

April 4, 2009 – July 27, 2009

Archives of American Art

Monuments Men: On the Frontline to Save Europe's Art, 1942-1946

Learn about the Monument Men, the U.S. Army unit charged with protecting European cultural sites from Allied bombing during World War II, and with recovering art looted by the Nazis after the war.

February 7, 2014 – April 21, 2014

Archives of American Art

Memories Arrested in Space

See family photographs, letters, writings, and scrapbooks related to artist Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) to celebrate the centennial of his birth.

January 28, 2012 – June 4, 2012

Archives of American Art

Lost and Found: The Lesbian and Gay Presence in the Archives of American Art

Get a glimps into the sometimes private, sometimes "out" lives, careers, and communities of gay American artists through letters, photographs, unpublished writings, and rare printed materials.

October 29, 2010 – February 13, 2011

Archives of American Art

Little Pictures, Big Lives: Snapshots from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art

See snapshots of celebrated and famous artists that offer new insights into their intimate lives.

July 1, 2011 – October 3, 2011

Archives of American Art

Little Black Books: Address Books from the Archives of American Art

This exhibition showcases a selection of personal address books of influential American artists, from Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner to Joseph Cornell and Ad Reinhardt. Like diaries, these pocket-sized books, their dog-eared pages grimy with tangled ink and pencil marks, reveal much about their owners.

August 7, 2015 – November 1, 2015

Archives of American Art

Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Archives of American Art, Part 2

This exhibition celebrates a common document -- the "list" -- as a key to the habits and thinking of some of the most celebrated artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

June 9, 2010 – September 27, 2010

Archives of American Art

Handmade Holiday Cards from the Archives of American Art

See how artists imagined the holidays—through whimsical watercolors, quirky collages, and cheerful prints and drawings.

November 27, 2013 – January 5, 2014

Archives of American Art

Finding: Source Material in the Archives of American Art

In this exhibition, the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art reveals how artists find inspiration. The ways in which artists draw on source materials provides a glimpse into the twists and turns of their creative practices

April 22, 2016 – August 21, 2016

Archives of American Art

Exquisite Surprise: The Papers of Joseph Cornell

This exhibition reveals artist Joseph Cornell's sense of wonder and illuminates his creative process.

November 17, 2006 – February 28, 2007

Archives of American Art

Expanding the Legacy: New Collections on African American Art

The Archives of American Art presents selections from recently acquired collections highlighting the cultural contributions and the personal stories of African Americans in the art world.

September 23, 2016 – March 21, 2017

Archives of American Art

Bloom: Flowers from the Archives of American Art

Sketches and drawings of flowers from our collections provide a fascinating opportunity to examine flowers from both an artistic and scientific point of view.

March 2, 2019 – October 6, 2019

Archives of American Art