Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Jim Dine: Five Themes

View 5 sculptures (2 that have been especially constructed for HMSG show) and 63 paintings, drawings, and mixed-media works, in a mid- career retrospective.

February 20, 1985 – April 28, 1985

Hirshhorn Museum

Affordable Frills

Admire and purchase jewelry created by 20 contemporary American craftsmen -- necklaces, pins, and earrings made of silk, plastic, glass, titanium, ceramic, and silver.

January 10, 1985 – April 28, 1985

Renwick Gallery

From the Hand of Mani: Iranian Paintings from the Freer

See 32 pages representing the Freer's finest Iranian manuscripts that show the development of an Iranian idiom in manuscript painting between the 14th and 16th centuries.

January 19, 1985 – April 28, 1985

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Kyoto Ceramics

See 25 pieces of ceramic ware from Kyoto, characterized by witty design, refined workmanship, and colorful enamel decoration.

November 15, 1984 – April 21, 1985

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Chinese Gold and Silver from the Tang Dynasty

See more than 70 masterworks, selected from American collections, created between 618 and 907 A.D., a "Golden Age" marked by growth and prosperity and the opening of China's doors to the outside world.

February 5, 1985 – April 21, 1985

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Recent Acquisitions (1984-85)

View approximately 55 works of art--prints and drawings, sculpture and paintings--in a selection of portraits of influential Americans acquired for the permanent collection during the past year.

December 8, 1984 – April 21, 1985

Portrait Gallery

Peace and Friendship: Indian Peace Medals in the United States

View 86 medals that trace their use as essential instruments of U.S. policy and as a notable facet of American portraiture.

January 18, 1985 – April 21, 1985

Portrait Gallery

A Constellation of Black Sports Stars

See memorabilia and artifacts from prominent black athletes, along with baseball, football, and basketball cards.

January 1, 1985 – April 18, 1985

American History Museum

People and Places, Selections from the Collection

Visit a selection of 60 works from the permanent collection including lithographs, woodcuts, paintings on paper, drawings, and etchings.

November 16, 1984 – April 14, 1985

American Art Museum

Akan Funerary Commemorative Head

See a head, a figurative pottery piece made by the Akan peoples of southern Ghana, possibly used at the formal funeral of a member of royalty.

December 14, 1984 – April 14, 1985

African Art Museum

Edison Papers

View inventions, notebooks, and graphics marking publication of the first portion of the Edison papers on microfilm.

February 8, 1985 – April 8, 1985

American History Museum

Chicago Furniture: Art, Craft, and Industry, 1833-1983

See 165 pieces of furniture and smaller decorative objects that document the contributions made by Chicago furniture designers and manufacturers to the artistic and cultural development of the U.S.

October 12, 1984 – April 7, 1985

Renwick Gallery

Presentation Swords

See approximately 18 swords,dating from the early 19th century to World War II, many of which belonged to prominent military officers.

January 1, 1985 – April 7, 1985

American History Museum

Sharing Traditions: Five Black Artists in 19th-Century America

Visit 49 oil paintings and sculptures by artists who contributed significantly to the mainstream of American art.

January 15, 1985 – April 7, 1985

American Art Museum

European Roots of American Pharmacy (Squibb Collection)

See prints, jars, and other objects from the Squibb collection of pharmaceutical artifacts, which was assembled in Germany during the early years of the 20th century.

October 10, 1984 – April 2, 1985

American History Museum

White House Families: Life Magazine Photographs of Presidential Children

Survey the photographs of the 23 surviving offspring of Presidents of the United States taken by photographer Harry Benson for LIFE magazine's November 1984 issue.

February 15, 1985 – April 1, 1985

Portrait Gallery

American Pilots' Association: 100 Years

This exhibition marks the centennial of the American Pilots' Association, a trade association of licensed marine pilots.

January 1, 1985 – March 31, 1985

American History Museum

Jacqueline Cochran: World Record Holder

Learn about the career of Jacqueline Cochran, who held more speed, altitude, and distance records than any pilot in history.

February 11, 1982 – March 31, 1985

Air and Space Museum

Conservation of Modern Art

See 17 modern works from the collection, including paintings, works on paper, and sculpture, which have undergone conservation treatments.

February 2, 1985 – March 31, 1985

Hirshhorn Museum

Views of a Vanishing Frontier (Karl Bodmer Indian Watercolors)

This exhibition commemorates the 150th anniversary of the expedition conducted by the German naturalist Prince Maximilian and Swiss artist Karl Bodmer, who explored the Western frontier.

January 4, 1985 – March 31, 1985

Natural History Museum

A Temple Playground: Nepal Photographs by Heidi Larson

See some 20 black-and-white photographs of Nepal, where Larson recently worked with UNICEF.

February 1, 1985 – March 13, 1985

Natural History Museum

Birds of Galapagos Islands: Traditional Watercolors by Lee Mark Steadman

Admire some 30 watercolor illustrations and field sketches of birds of land, shore, and sea.

January 11, 1985 – March 10, 1985

Natural History Museum

Embellished Calendars: An Illustrated History

View more than 100 picture calendars, dating from the 13th century to the present, that show how their embellishment has been affected by changing tastes, styles, and technologies.

November 20, 1984 – February 24, 1985

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Praise Poems: The Katherine White Collection

View a major exhibition including 50 objects, primarily figural sculptures and masks from major cultural regions in West and Central Africa.

October 31, 1984 – February 24, 1985

African Art Museum

Homage to Franz Kline: Photographs by Aaron Siskind

Celebrate the friendship between Siskind and Kline through 48 photographs, selected from The Homage to Franz Kline series.

December 7, 1984 – February 24, 1985

American Art Museum