Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

One Life: Dolores Huerta

One Life: Dolores Huerta highlights the significant role of this Latina leader in the California farm workers movement of the 1960s and 70s.

July 3, 2015 – May 15, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Mathew Brady's Photographs of Union Generals

Studio portraits of Union military leaders from George McClellan and Ambrose Burnside to William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses Grant by photographer Mathew Brady are on view.

March 30, 2012 – May 8, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Celebrate: Gregory Peck

In honor of the 100th anniversary of his birth, the Portrait Gallery honors his life and legacy with his portrait by Everett Raymond Kinstler on our “Celebrate” wall.

April 1, 2016 – April 10, 2016

Portrait Gallery

In Memoriam: Nancy Reagan

A photograph by Aaron Shikler (1922–2015) taken for the January 14, 1985 cover of Time magazine is on view.

March 7, 2016 – March 28, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Dark Fields of the Republic: Alexander Gardner Photographs 1859-1872

Alexander Gardner created dramatic and vivid photographs of battlefields, which included images of the recently dead. After the war, Gardner went west, creating unforgettable pictures of western landscape and portraits of American Indians. This exhibition also includes the iconic cracked-plate portrait of President Abraham Lincoln taken on February 5, 1865.

September 18, 2015 – March 13, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Elaine de Kooning: Portraits

Elaine de Kooning’s gestural portraits of friends and family were much admired during her lifetime, and included many well-known Americans.

March 13, 2015 – January 10, 2016

Portrait Gallery

Recognize: Roberto Clemente

The museum’s historians and curators selected three players’ portraits for the public to choose from: Roberto Clemente, Babe Ruth or Sandy Koufax. Thousands of votes were cast on Smithsonianmag.com, and Charles “Teenie” Harris’ photograph of Clemente received the most votes for dipslay.

August 25, 2015 – November 1, 2015

Portrait Gallery

Recent Acquisitions

New additions to the Portrait Gallery’s collection are installed in the hall leading from the G Street museum entrance.The pieces include paintings of Ted Turner, Maya Angelou, Marvin Hamlisch and William Dunlap, and photographs of B. B. King, Quincy Jones, and others.

November 7, 2014 – November 1, 2015

Portrait Gallery

TIME Covers the 1960s

See how Time magazine covered the people, trends, and happenings that defined the 1960s.

September 26, 2014 – August 9, 2015

Portrait Gallery

George Carlin

Our “Recognize” wall seeks to commemorate Americans who have influenced politics, history, and culture. The public voted to honor comedian George Carlin for the Portrait Gallery’s most recent Recognize selection.

March 27, 2015 – July 5, 2015

Portrait Gallery

Mr. Lincoln's Washington: A Civil War Portfolio

Photographs, prints, drawings, and maps reveal how the Civil War affected life in the District of Columbia.

December 13, 2013 – May 25, 2015

Portrait Gallery

One Life: Grant and Lee: "It is well that war is so terrible..."

Paintings, photographs, documents, and objects reveal the personal lives and professional rivalries of Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

July 4, 2014 – May 25, 2015

Portrait Gallery

Portrait of Stephen Colbert

In recognition of the end of Stephen Colbert’s decade-long persona for Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, the museum has borrowed Colbert’s portrait, which was created for the final season of the show.

December 20, 2014 – April 20, 2015

Portrait Gallery

Portraiture Now: Staging the Self

Discover how Latino artists approach portraiture and how they contribute to telling the full American story.

August 22, 2014 – April 12, 2015

Portrait Gallery

3-D Portrait of President Obama

In 2014, President Barack Obama became the first President to be scanned using 3-D technology. Data from the scan were used to create his portraits, and a 3-D printed bust will be on view for Presidents Day weekend Friday, Feb. 13, through Monday, Feb. 16, 2015.

February 13, 2015 – February 16, 2015

Portrait Gallery

"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

Portrait Gallery

Face Value: Portraiture in the Age of Abstraction

See how mid-20th century artists reinvented portraiture as a progressive art form for a new generation.

April 18, 2014 – January 11, 2015

Portrait Gallery

Yousuf Karsh: American Portraits, Part II

Photographic portraits by Yousuf Karsh (1908–2002) include those of Georgia O'Keeffe, Jonas Salk, Marian Anderson, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Arden, I.M. Pei, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

May 2, 2014 – November 2, 2014

Portrait Gallery

"Out of Many, One" by Jorge Rodriquez-Gerada

Rodríguez-Gerada will use several images of people photographed in Washington, D.C., to create a composite portrait that will not only be an interactive walk-through experience for visitors but will also be viewable from the newly reopened Washington Monument and from space.

October 1, 2014 – October 31, 2014

Portrait Gallery

In Memoriam: Robin Williams

A photograph of Robin Williams (1951-2014), taken for Time magazine by Michael Dressler in 1979, is on view.

August 12, 2014 – September 9, 2014

Portrait Gallery

American Cool

What do we mean when we say someone is "cool"? Find out in this exhibition.

February 7, 2014 – September 7, 2014

Portrait Gallery

Dancing the Dream

Explore the relationship between the art of dance and the evolution of a modern American identity through images of performers, choreographers, and impresarios.

October 17, 2013 – July 13, 2014

Portrait Gallery

Cupcake Katy

On view is a portrait of pop singer Katy Perry by distinguished New York academic portrait painter Will Cotton.

June 18, 2014 – July 6, 2014

Portrait Gallery

In Memoriam: Maya Angelou

See a portrait of writer, poet, and activist Maya Angelou (1928-1914) by painter Ross Rossin.

May 29, 2014 – June 12, 2014

Portrait Gallery

Meade Brothers: Pioneers in American Photography

Learn about the lives and careers of Charles R. Meade and Henry W. M. Meade, who are recognized as leading members of the first generation of American studio photographers.

June 14, 2013 – June 1, 2014

Portrait Gallery