Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

In Memoriam: I. M. Pei

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life and legacy of acclaimed architect I.M. Pei with a photograph by Armenian Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh.

May 17, 2019 – June 5, 2019

Portrait Gallery

Daguerreotypes: Five Decades of Collecting

The 2018 installation of the Daguerreian Gallery celebrates the National Portrait Gallery’s golden anniversary by highlighting fifty years of daguerreotype collecting by the museum.

June 15, 2018 – June 2, 2019

Portrait Gallery

One Year: 1968, An American Odyssey

One Year: 1968 looks back at an extraordinarily important and memorable time in American history.

June 29, 2018 – May 19, 2019

Portrait Gallery

This exhibition features Mathew Brady’s portraits of twenty celebrities—from showman P.T. Barnum and inventor Samuel Morse to musician Teresa Carreño and clergyman Henry Ward Beecher—who reflect the diversity of American intellectual and cultural life during Lincoln’s presidency.

May 13, 2016 – May 12, 2019

Portrait Gallery

Henrietta Lacks

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life of Henrietta Lacks with the installation of a 2017 portrait by Kadir Nelson.

May 15, 2018 – March 31, 2019

Portrait Gallery

Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now

The exhibition explores this relatively unstudied art form by examining its rich historical roots and considering its forceful contemporary presence.

May 11, 2018 – March 17, 2019

Portrait Gallery

UnSeen: Our Past in a New Light, Ken Gonzales-Day and Titus Kaphar

The exhibition highlights the work of two leading contemporary artists who grapple with the under- and misrepresentation of certain minorities in portraiture and American history.

March 23, 2018 – January 6, 2019

Portrait Gallery

Celebrating Fifty Years

In 1968, following major renovations, the Old Patent Office Building opened as the permanent home for two Smithsonian museums, the National Collection of Fine Arts (since renamed the Smithsonian American Art Museum) and the National Portrait Gallery.

August 11, 2017 – January 6, 2019

Portrait Gallery

In Memoriam: George Herbert Walker Bush

In memory of George Herbert Walker Bush, the National Portrait Gallery has added a drape to his portrait in the America's Presidents gallery. Visitors may pay their respects and record their thoughts in a journal next to the portrait.

December 1, 2018 – January 1, 2019

Portrait Gallery

Portraits of the World: Switzerland

Portraits of the World: Switzerland is the inaugural exhibition of a series that will highlight the global context of American portraiture.

December 15, 2017 – November 12, 2018

Portrait Gallery

Recent Acquisitions

This annual exhibition features 27 objects that tell the story of America through the art of portraiture and showcase some of the newest additions to the museum’s collection.

November 17, 2017 – November 4, 2018

Portrait Gallery

Celebrate: Leonard Bernstein's 100th Birthday

The National Portrait Gallery recognizes the the 100th birthday of the late American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist, Leonard Bernstein by displaying a portrait of Bernstein.

August 23, 2018 – September 23, 2018

Portrait Gallery

In Memoriam: Senator John S. McCain III

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life and legacy of late Senator and former presidential nominee John S. McCain III with a photograph by the British-born photographer Steve Pyke.

August 27, 2018 – September 9, 2018

Portrait Gallery

The Sweat of Their Face: Portraying American Workers

The Sweat of Their Face combines art and social history with representations of American laborers across genres and centuries of art.

November 3, 2017 – September 3, 2018

Portrait Gallery

In Memoriam: Aretha Franklin

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life of acclaimed singer and musician Aretha Franklin.

August 17, 2018 – August 22, 2018

Portrait Gallery

Remembering Robert F. Kennedy

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery celebrates the life and legacy of Robert (“Bobby”) Kennedy with a portrait created by Roy Lichtenstein in 1968, commissioned for the cover of Time magazine.

June 6, 2018 – July 8, 2018

Portrait Gallery

Antebellum Portraits by Mathew Brady

This Daguerreian Gallery exhibition traces the trajectory of Brady’s early career through portrait daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and salted-paper prints in the National Portrait Gallery’s collection.

June 16, 2017 – June 3, 2018

Portrait Gallery

RECOGNIZE

The National Portrait Gallery turns 50 this year, and so does Marc Anthony. His portrait by Puerto Rican photographer ADÁL is on display.

May 3, 2018 – June 3, 2018

Portrait Gallery

One Life: Sylvia Plath

The exhibition reveals how Plath shaped her identity visually as she came of age as a writer in the 1950s. Visitors will get a look into Plath’s personal life and her dualistic nature.

June 30, 2017 – May 20, 2018

Portrait Gallery

In Memoriam: Barbara Bush

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life of Barbara Bush with a photograph by Diana Walker taken in 1989.

April 18, 2018 – April 29, 2018

Portrait Gallery

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery celebrates the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by displaying his likeness by Jack Lewis Hiller.

April 4, 2018 – April 17, 2018

Portrait Gallery

Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image

The biggest Hollywood star at a time when “talkies” were still new, Dietrich captured men’s hearts and women’s admiration on screen and off.

June 16, 2017 – April 15, 2018

Portrait Gallery

In Memoriam: Reverend Billy Graham

The National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life and accomplishments of Rev. Billy Graham with a photograph by Yousuf Karsh taken in 1972.

February 22, 2018 – March 25, 2018

Portrait Gallery

In Memoriam: Mathilde Krim

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life and accomplishments of AIDS research pioneer Dr. Mathilde Krim with a photograph by Annie Leibovitz.

January 22, 2018 – February 22, 2018

Portrait Gallery

The Face of Battle, Americans at War, 9/11 to Now

The Face of Battle documents the first attempts by artists to assess the human costs of modern war through portraiture.

April 7, 2017 – January 28, 2018

Portrait Gallery