Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Jupiter and Its Moons

See 75 color and black-and-white photographs from transmissions sent back to Earth from the Voyager spacecraft, Including some of the most beautiful photographs taken from space.

November 1, 1980 – February 22, 1981

Air and Space Museum

Kabuki Dance

See musical instruments and kimonos worn in Kabuki Dance.

February 10, 1981 – February 22, 1981

Natural History Museum

The Art of Mali and Guinea

View a new segment of the permanent collection featuring ceremonial masks and figures of the peoples of Mali and Guinea, as well as photo-murals of Dogon villages by Eliot Elisofon.

November 15, 1980 – February 20, 1981

African Art Museum

The Avant-Garde in Russia, 1910-1930: New Perspectives

This is the second and final showing of this unprecedented exhibition including over 450 works by 40 artists, including Chagall, Exter and Malevich. The development of Russian avant-garde art is presented in chronological order.

November 20, 1980 – February 16, 1981

Hirshhorn Museum

Waiting for the Hour: The Emancipation Proclamation

This small exhibition takes its name from a painting on loan from the White House, Watch Meeting--December 31, 1862--Waiting for the Hour. The oil by William Tolman Carlton portrays slaves waiting for the appointed hour of their liberation on New Year's Eve.

March 3, 1980 – February 8, 1981

Portrait Gallery

Jan Matulka, 1890-1972

Enjoy 71 paintings, drawings, watercolors, and prints by a major figure in the art world of the Twenties and Thirties.

November 21, 1980 – February 8, 1981

American Art Museum

The Nation's Attic

This wide-ranging exhibit, set in a simulated attic, features 100 legendary technological oddities and near misses from the national collections.

April 1, 1980 – February 8, 1981

American History Museum

Webfoots and Bunchgrassers: Folk Art of the Oregon Country

See 209 objects that reflect Oregon's ethnic diversity and ranching traditions.

October 3, 1980 – February 1, 1981

Renwick Gallery

The Year of the Monkey

Enjoy different representations of the monkey as seen in 13 Japanese and Chinese screens, scrolls, and lacquerware from the 16th and 19th centuries.

April 1, 1980 – February 1, 1981

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Treasures of Ancient Nigeria: Legacy of 2,000 Years

See approximately 100 objects that comprise the first comprehensive exhibition of Nigerian art in the U.S.

December 18, 1980 – February 1, 1981

African Art Museum

Western Views and Eastern Visions

View 170 photographs and 15 paintings and drawings of the "Western Wilderness" executed by early U.S. Geological Survey explorer-photographers, artists, and their predecessors.

July 31, 1980 – February 1, 1981

American History Museum

The Compton Collection of Political Americana

See 21 rare and unusual campaign objects, many types of which were previously not represented in Smithsonian collections.

September 1, 1980 – January 31, 1981

American History Museum

Coastal Archeology

See tools and other artifacts of the Maritime Archaic Indian cultures of the Labrador Coast.

December 31, 1980 – January 31, 1981

Natural History Museum

A Caravan of Crafts from the Sahel

View and purchase Tuareg jewelry, handwoven textiles, Botswana baskets, wooden sculpture, and Boklafani print ties.

November 15, 1980 – January 31, 1981

African Art Museum

Prints: Recent Acquisitions

Included in a selection of recent print acquisitions are six caricatures of Benjamin Butler (by Adalbert Volck); lithographs of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Paul Robeson; and a wood block print of Albert Einstein (by Frasconi).

July 1, 1980 – January 26, 1981

Portrait Gallery

Photographs of Guatemalan Weavers and Craftsmen

See 50 black-and-white photographs of weavers and craftsmen of Guatemala by Marilyn Anderson,

November 29, 1980 – January 25, 1981

Natural History Museum

Silver

View some 80 silver objects representing the work of major silversmiths and goldsmiths from the 17th through 20th centuries, including tea kettles and caddies, salvers, jewelry, and small boxes.

October 28, 1980 – January 18, 1981

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Central Park

View some 50 drawings selected from the newly discovered cache of original plans of Central Park, including watercolor renderings, working drawings, and construction details.

October 28, 1980 – January 18, 1981

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Season's Greetings

See approximately 52 cards in two cases including 26 Christmas cards and 17 New Year's cards.

December 1, 1980 – January 15, 1981

American History Museum

Mamie (Eisenhower)

View articles given to the Museum of American History by Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower, from her days at the White House.

January 1, 1980 – January 15, 1981

American History Museum

George C. Marshall, Soldier-Statesman, 1880-1980

This small display marks the 100th anniversary of General Marshall's birth.

January 1, 1981 – January 13, 1981

American History Museum

Great Historical Clock of America

See an American version of the astronomical clock of Strasbourg Cathedral.

October 1, 1980 – January 12, 1981

American History Museum

The World of David Gilmour Blythe (1815-1865)

See 73 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture by the 19th-century social and political satirist. Several works by his contemporaries are also included.

October 17, 1980 – January 11, 1981

American Art Museum

Why Not a Woman (for President)?

Meet Belva Ann Lockwood, the first woman candidate for President on the Equal Rights Party ticket in 1884, and the subject of a small exhibit.

August 22, 1980 – January 4, 1981

Portrait Gallery

New York: The Artist's View

See 32 paintings, 7 drawings, and 2 sculptures by 33 artists from the HMSG collection. They range from late 19th century to the present and vary in style from realism to abstract.

August 21, 1980 – January 4, 1981

Hirshhorn Museum