Past Exhibitions

The Lazzaroni

See 19 portraits, assembled from throughout the country, of a small group of intelligentsia--mostly scientists--who dominated the American scientific community in the mid-19th century and whose efforts resulted in the establishment of the National Academy of Science.

December 27, 1972 – May 6, 1973

Portrait Gallery
Noted American Authors

See 26 portraits of writers from the permanent collection; organized to coincide with National Library Week, which begins April 9.

April 8, 1973 – May 13, 1973

Portrait Gallery
Recent Acquisitions

View 25 new portraits, including the only known painting of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and also a painting of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts.

February 1, 1973 – May 30, 1973

Portrait Gallery
Sargent on Sargent

View some 150 items, mostly letters, written by Dr. Fitzwilliam Sargent, a prominent surgeon who spent most of his life in Europe, to relatives in America about the personal and artistic development of his artist son, John Singer Sargent.

September 1, 1973 – September 15, 1973

Portrait Gallery
The Black Presence in the Era of the Revolution, 1770-1800

View portraits, prints, broadsides, petitions, poems, letters and related objects—about 150 in all—assembled from public and private collections around the country that show the participation of black men and women in the Revolutionary War and the early years of the Republic.

July 4, 1973 – December 25, 1973

Portrait Gallery
Portrait of Pearl Buck

See a 1968 oil portrait of the author Pearl S. Buck, added to the permanent collection at a presentation ceremony January 21, 1974.

January 21, 1974 – February 3, 1974

Portrait Gallery
American Self-Portraits

View about 100 works illustrating 300 years of changing taste and fashion in portraiture, in this International Traveling Exhibition Foundation show.

February 1, 1974 – March 15, 1974

Portrait Gallery
Portrait of Senator Hubert Humphrey

View a portrait of Senator Hubert Humphrey by Iowa artist Robert Templeton, presented to the Portrait Gallery last month.

March 1, 1974 – April 15, 1974

Portrait Gallery
President Monroe's Message: An Exhibition Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine

See portraits of 21 key figures involved in formulating the Doctrine, including Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Simon Bolivar.

October 2, 1973 – May 26, 1974

Portrait Gallery
Portraits of House Speakers

Visit two portraits of the Speaker of the House; current Speaker Carl Albert and the first Speaker, Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg.

May 10, 1974 – May 28, 1974

Portrait Gallery
Bust of Lyndon Baines Johnson

Visit a bust of Lyndon Baines Johnson by Jimilu Mason.

May 29, 1974 – June 30, 1974

Portrait Gallery
Portrait Prints and Drawings

See a newly installed, continuing exhibit of the Portrait Gallery's finest prints and drawings. Likenesses of Alexander Hamilton, Horace Greeley, Albert Einstein and Enrico Caruso are included.

May 1, 1973 – August 31, 1974

Portrait Gallery
Abraham Lincoln: The White House Years

Mark the anniversary of the assassination of Lincoln through photographs, cartoons and other associative items show how he changed during the Civil War years.

April 14, 1974 – September 15, 1974

Portrait Gallery
Portrait of Dean Acheson

See a portrait of Dean Acheson, painted by Gardner Cox, that is a replica of the artist's earlier work that hangs in the State Department building.

September 18, 1974 – October 20, 1974

Portrait Gallery
In the Minds and the Hearts of the People: Prologue to the American Revolution 1760-1774

The first of three NPG Bicentennial exhibitions dealing with the Revolution, this show includes 65 paintings, associative objects and documents, and is installed in galleries with Georgian architectural detailing.

June 14, 1974 – November 17, 1974

Portrait Gallery
Gilbert Stuart "Lansdowne" Portraits

For the first time since they left his studio in 1796, see two full-length portraits of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart displayed together side by side.

August 9, 1974 – November 30, 1974

Portrait Gallery
Portrait of Walt Whitman

View Thomas Eakins' portrait of Walt Whitman, created to mark the publication of Whitman's celebrated collection of poems, Leaves of Grass.

October 1, 1974 – November 30, 1974

Portrait Gallery
Portrait of Dolley Madison

Painted by William Elwell in 1848, see Dolley as the grand dame she appeared in her later years, upon her return to Washington following her husband's death.

November 25, 1974 – January 5, 1975

Portrait Gallery
Winston Spencer Churchill

See a portrait, photographs and cartoons that are used to illustrate the multi-facets of his long career.

November 27, 1974 – January 30, 1975

Portrait Gallery
William Spencer Churchill

View a portrait, photographs and cartoons that are used to illustrate the multi-facets of his long career.

November 27, 1974 – January 30, 1975

Portrait Gallery
John Brown: Madman or Martyr?

See the only known life portrait of the famed abolitionist, featured in a small exhibit exploring Brown's pivotal role in polarizing pro- and anti-slavery feelings.

October 16, 1974 – January 31, 1975

Portrait Gallery
Portrait of Frederick Douglass

See a portrait of Black leader Frederick Douglass, as painted by Elisha Hammond.

February 6, 1975 – February 28, 1975

Portrait Gallery
Portraits of Two Chief Justices

View portraits of two Chief Justices: John Marshall by William Hubard, and John Jay by Gilbert Stuart and John Trumbull.

February 1, 1975 – February 28, 1975

Portrait Gallery
Portraits of George and Martha Washington

View two portraits by Rembrandt Peale, done in his 'porthole' style: the portraits are seen through a painted oval, which simulates stonework.

February 21, 1975 – March 30, 1975

Portrait Gallery
Conflict at Dayton: The Scopes Trial, July 1975

Visit a small exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the famous trial, re-created through a slide tape with narration, photographs, documents and portraits.

July 10, 1975 – September 30, 1975

Portrait Gallery

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