Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Edward Colonna, American Art Nouveau Designer

See approximately 134 examples of furniture, glass, jewelry, textiles, and design drawings, highlighted by pieces he created in the 1890s in Paris.

April 27, 1984 – August 19, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Artisans in Metal: New Work from Boston University

Admire and purchase approximately 40 objects created by both students and faculty of the school.

May 10, 1984 – July 22, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Fanfare, Part I

See 31 examples from the 18th century, "the Golden Age of Fans," in the first of 3 consecutive installations.

February 14, 1984 – July 8, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Clay for Walls: Surface Reliefs by American Artists

View 39 works by 20 contemporary artists who create decorative or sculptural ceramic wall reliefs.

September 16, 1983 – June 17, 1984

Renwick Gallery

The North Carolina Glass Community

Admire and purchase works selected by noted glass artist Harvey Littleton, who has a studio in North Carolina. Both one-of- a-kind and production pieces of 12 craftsmen are included.

March 8, 1984 – May 6, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Capital Assets: Jewelry by Washington Area Artists

Admire and purchase works in silver, gold, plastic, titanium, and cloisonne created by 21 artists.

January 6, 1984 – March 4, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Russel Wright: American Designer

Survey the work of one of the first industrial designers to break away from European dominance in design in these 250 examples of furniture, flatware, ceramics, glassware, serving pieces, fabrics, period photographs, and archival material.

November 4, 1983 – March 4, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Contemporary Australian Ceramics

See 78 works by 38 artists that illustrate the diversity of styles prevalent in Australian ceramics today.

December 16, 1983 – February 26, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Lafayette Square 1963-83: Architecture, Preservation & the Presidency

Trace President John F. Kennedy's intervention to preserve the historic character of the square opposite the White House. The evolution of architect John Carl Warnecke's design is documented as well as the project's influence on architecture that combines old buildings with new construction.

October 21, 1983 – January 15, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Selections from the First Annual Washington Craft Show

Admire and purchase works created by 18 artists who work in ceramics, fiber, glass, leather, metal, paper, and wood.

October 6, 1983 – January 2, 1984

Renwick Gallery

American Artists and their Craft

Admire a changing exhibition of the work of American artists and craftmen.

May 6, 1983 – October 30, 1983

Renwick Gallery

Scandinavian Modern 1880-1980

Document the history of Scandinavian design during the last century with more than 330 works—furniture, ceramics, glass, metalwork, and textiles—from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

July 8, 1983 – October 10, 1983

Renwick Gallery

Crafts from Maine

Admire and purchase jewelry, utilitarian ceramics, and textiles.

July 7, 1983 – October 2, 1983

Renwick Gallery

Celebration: A World of Art and Ritual

View a 2-part exhibition with some 600 objects used in celebrations among 62 cultural groups around the world. The exhibition draws from the collections of nine Smithsonian museums.

March 17, 1982 – July 10, 1983

Renwick Gallery

The Washington Bowl

Admire and purchase bowls created of glass, clay, and turned wood by 10 artists from the Washington metropolitan area.

April 7, 1983 – July 4, 1983

Renwick Gallery

Threads: 7 American Artists and Their Miniature Textile Pictures

View 26 works conceived on a small scale which use the smallest component of the textile process, the thread, as their principal element.

November 25, 1982 – May 8, 1983

Renwick Gallery

Ohio Designer Craftsmen

Admire and purchase decorative objects created by 26 artists; included are wood decoys, woven wire beads, enamel bowls and wall sculpture, glass scent bottles and paperweights, ceramic bowls, and gallery trays.

January 6, 1983 – April 3, 1983

Renwick Gallery

Synthetic Blues

See a hand-built, colored porcelain bowl created by Curtis and Suzan Benzle of Cleveland.

January 7, 1983 – February 27, 1983

Renwick Gallery

Rochester Folk Art

Admire and purchase objects created by members of the Rochester Folk Art Guild of New York, including musical instruments, turned bowls, toys and games, hats and vests, scarves, porcelain and stoneware teapots and containers, and one-of-a-kind glass bowls, vases, and paperweights.

November 1, 1982 – January 2, 1983

Renwick Gallery

Needlework by Ethel Mohamed

Enjoy an elaborately stitched scene by Ethel Mohamed of Belzoni, Mississippi, entitled Me at the Renwick, a reference to the Gallery's 1976 exhibition of her colorful, storytelling needlework pictures.

December 3, 1982 – January 2, 1983

Renwick Gallery

Windows

See a small smoked glass sculpture created in 1969 by Robert Fritz of San Jose State College in California. Dr. Fritz has made important contributions to the techniques of glass blowing.

October 1, 1982 – November 28, 1982

Renwick Gallery

Posters for a Picnic

See 12 posters, featuring large-scale details of traditional foods and festivities, designed by Stephen Frykholm for the annual Herman Miller, Inc., picnic celebrations in Zeeland, Michigan.

March 13, 1982 – November 14, 1982

Renwick Gallery

Piedmont Craftsmen

Admire objects created in North Carolina, including silk lapel pins, puzzles, fabric pencils, serving boards, porcelain jewelry, spatulas, and copper plates.

September 2, 1982 – October 24, 1982

Renwick Gallery

The Grand Renwick Gallery Souvenir Show

See 17 objects that are the work of American craftsmen and were selected by the Renwick to commemorate the gallery's 10th anniversary - chosen in part for their souvenir-like characteristics,

June 11, 1982 – October 11, 1982

Renwick Gallery

Bowl #804

See a work by June Schwarcz, a leader in experimental enameling, who uses the electroplating technique to achieve a bold texture.

July 3, 1982 – September 26, 1982

Renwick Gallery