Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Mixing Messages: Graphic Design in Contemporary Culture

Explore graphic design over the past 15 years via some 300 works--magazines, posters, signs, typefaces, and electronic media.

September 17, 1996 – February 16, 1997

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Design on the Street: Mixing Messages in Public Space

Visit a collage of printed matter that illustrates the diversity of graphic design.

October 2, 1996 – November 23, 1996

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Help Design Frederick Douglass Circle

View drawings, models, and computer simulations that focus on the community effort to redesign Frederick Douglass Circle, located in the northwest corner of Central Park.

April 30, 1996 – June 23, 1996

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

The Avant-Garde Letterhead

See some 150 examples of writing paper, postcards, and envelopes that illustrate how the avant-garde movement affected letterhead design.

March 13, 1996 – May 8, 1996

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Six Bridges and the Making of the New York Megalopolis

Explore photographs, drawings, and maps that examine the 6 main New York City bridges designed by Othmar H. Ammann, which were erected between 1927 and 1964.

January 25, 1996 – April 19, 1996

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Body Language: Jewelry and Accessories at the National Design Museum

Enjoy over 100 items from ancient to modern that explore the cultural significance and history of jewelry design.

March 14, 1995 – August 20, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Redesigning Cooper-Hewitt: Drawings by James S. Polshek and Partners Architects

View a selection of presentation panels by Polshek and Partners, the architectural firm engaged in the Cooper-Hewitt's renovation project.

April 5, 1994 – August 20, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

The Structure of Style: Modernism in Dutch Applied Arts 1880-1930

Examine Dutch Modernism through decorative arts from Art Nouveau through functionalism (1880-1930) in this exhibit.

September 13, 1994 – August 20, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Kitsch to Corbusier: Wallpaper from the 1950s

See how post-WWII interests are expressed in over 50 wallpaper designs by Le Corbusier, Calder, Matisse, and Miro.

April 11, 1995 – August 20, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Field for Dreams: A Recently Acquired 18th-Century Bedcover

See a rare English embroidered bedcovering made between 1720 - 1740 and other related items from the museum's collection.

June 6, 1995 – August 20, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Art Deco New York: The Chanin Gates

Examine the Art Deco gates, designed by architect Irwin Chanin, acquired by Cooper-Hewitt when New York City's Chanin Building was sold.

April 5, 1994 – August 20, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

An Introduction to the Carnegie Mansion

Visit an exhibition that introduces the history of the mansion now housing the museum.

August 16, 1994 – August 20, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Elaine Lustig Cohen: Modern Graphic Designer

Visit books, stationery, signage, and other works that reveal Cohen's importance in the evolution of design.

February 7, 1995 – May 23, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Good Offices and Beyond: The Evolution of the Workplace

Visit an exhibit that shows how the physical world of the office has been altered in the past two decades in response to technology, new materials, and the changing nature of work.

October 4, 1994 – March 19, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

National Design Museum: A New Identity for Cooper-Hewitt

Explore Drenttel Doyle Partners' process of creating the museum's new identity from the new name National Design Museum to a new graphic identity and logo.

September 20, 1994 – March 19, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

A Royal Gift: The 1826 Porcelain Jewel Cabinet

Study the process of design through the 1826 Sevres cabinet, an example of fine French craftsmanship.

May 17, 1994 – January 22, 1995

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Images Against AIDS

View 36 posters by artists from around the world that pertain to the psychological, emotional, and social aspects of the AIDS epidemic.

November 29, 1994 – December 11, 1994

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Angles of Repose: A Garden Exhibition of Central Park Bench

Follow the evolving style of Central Park on the occasion of the reintroduction of the Central Park settee, the first mass-produced bench used in Central Park.

June 14, 1994 – October 24, 1994

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Toward Modern Design: Revival and Reform in Applied Arts 1850-1920

View more than 80 examples of ceramics, glass, furniture, wallpapers, books, and jewelry that are featured in this exhibit.

September 27, 1993 – September 11, 1994

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Packaging the New: Design and the American Consumer 1925-1975

Examine the ways in which design was marketed to the public before and after World War II in this exhibit.

February 8, 1994 – August 14, 1994

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Walter Crane: Design for Children

Follow the process of design as it relates to the work of the English book illustrator Walter Crane from 1867 to 1913.

November 2, 1993 – May 1, 1994

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

From Concept to Building: A Project in Singapore by Architect Paul Rudolph

Trace the evolution of the Concourse Building in Singapore through artist's drawings, blueprints, and photographs.

November 9, 1993 – February 20, 1994

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Fancy Fronts: Men's Waistcoats from the 18th Century

Visit 18th-century European waistcoats from the museum's textile collection that illustrate the technical expertise of the day.

October 19, 1993 – February 13, 1994

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Mechanical Brides: Women and Machines from Home to Office

Visit an exhibition that links machines for the home and office to their life in the popular imagination.

August 17, 1993 – January 2, 1994

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Choices

Learn how the 50 objects on view were selected to become a part of the museum's collection.

March 30, 1993 – October 17, 1993

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum