Past Exhibitions

The Evolution of Dental Articulators

An articulator is an apparatus used by a dentist when preparing false teeth or dentures.

March 20, 1981 – June 1, 1981

Traditional Costumery and Jewelry in Africa

View costumes from Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Kenya as well as jewelry of the Berber people of Algeria and Morocco, the Masai of Tanzania, the Zulu of southeastern Africa, the Baule of the Ivory Coast, and the Bobo of Upper Volta

February 27, 1981 – May 31, 1981

African Art Museum

Pressed on Paper: Fish Rubbings and Nature Prints

See approximately 40 plant, fish, and marine animal rubbings made by an ancient Japanese technique, Gyotaku.

April 4, 1981 – May 31, 1981

Traditional Art of Angola and Cameroon

View selections from the permanent collection.

December 18, 1980 – May 31, 1981

African Art Museum

David Anderson Gift

Included among approximately 40 paintings, sculptures, and mixed media objects are works by Sam Francis, Alma Thomas, and Antonia Tapies. Anderson of Buffalo, N.Y., recently presented his collection of contemporary art as a gift to the HMSG.

April 15, 1981 – May 30, 1981

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

John Henry Belter and the Rococo Revival

Admire rare examples of laminated hardwood furniture made by Belter between 1844 and 1863 as well as pieces attributed to him and examples of the work of his contemporaries.

March 10, 1981 – May 24, 1981

Black Baseball: Life in the Negro Leagues

In this Case of the Month, recent donations commemorating the black baseball leagues and the players are on view. Included are uniforms, baseballs, bats, shoes, tickets.

April 1, 1981 – May 13, 1981

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Innovative Furniture in America

Marvel at furniture that folds, retracts, reclines, changes form, and combines two or more forms through mechanical gadgetry in some 50 examples, supplemented by photographs and drawings.

March 10, 1981 – May 10, 1981

Art for All: American Print Publishing Between the Wars

Visit 71 works published in large editions as part of a movement to foster interest in American art.

December 4, 1980 – May 10, 1981

American Art Museum

Electrical Glass Insulators

Telegraph and telephone service insulators have been selected to display the variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and manufacturers.

March 4, 1981 – May 7, 1981

Art from the Vice President's House

Initiated by Joan Mondale at the Vice President's House, these 59 works include paintings, prints, watercolors, photographs, sculpture, and crafts.

February 20, 1981 – May 5, 1981

American Art Museum

Traditional Costumes and Jewelry of Egypt

View embroidered dresses, cloaks, veils, belts, footwear, necklaces, bracelets and other items from all sections of Egypt, including the eastern desert, the Sinai, Nubia and oases of the south.

March 16, 1981 – May 3, 1981

African Art Museum

Directions 1981

A major group exhibition spotlights new directions in contemporary American art through works by younger artists from Europe and North America.

February 12, 1981 – May 3, 1981

John Wesley Powell

Books, memorabilia, and pictures feature John Wesley Powell's work as an anthropologist. Powell, better known as a geologist, worked to found the U.S. Geological Survey and served as director.

November 30, 1980 – May 3, 1981

Postage Stamp: Chilkat Indian Mask

Displayed is a Chilkat Tlingit Indian mask from Smithsonian collections, which is featured in a new set of stamps in the American Folk Art series.

October 3, 1980 – April 30, 1981

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Art of the Arab World

View ceramics, glass, and painting, that represent the cultural heritage of the Arabic peoples.

September 1, 1980 – April 30, 1981

On the Beach

This Research in Natural History case features the work of Dr. James Mead, particularly his research on beached whales and dolphins.

September 1, 1980 – April 30, 1981

Mahmoud Moukhtar: 1891-1934

Visit several pieces by Mahmoud Moukhtar (1891-1934), on loan from the Moukhtar Museum of Cairo. He is considered to be the first modern Egyptian sculptor.

March 16, 1981 – April 26, 1981

Arts of Ancient Egypt: Treasures in Another Scale

See 50 small-scale antiquities dating from the pre-dynastic period through the age of the Ptolemies, on loan from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

March 16, 1981 – April 26, 1981

Smithsonian Castle

Jacques Lipchitz from the Collection

See 14 sculptures and 3 works on paper by the painter- sculptor, whose works range from abstract to surrealistic.

January 15, 1981 – April 19, 1981

Photographs: Selections from the Permanent Collection

Appreciate the likenesses on view of John Steinbeck, Sherwood Anderson, Grandma Moses, and an 1865 series of four Union generals.

January 31, 1981 – April 19, 1981

Portrait Gallery

The Code Duello in America

Explore the controversial practice of resolving personal disputes between gentlemen by dueling in this exhibit.

December 18, 1980 – April 19, 1981

Portrait Gallery

Egypt in America

View illustrations of the book, Description de L'Egypte, prepared by artists who accompanied Napoleon on his Egyptian campaign.

March 16, 1981 – April 15, 1981