Past Exhibitions

Christmas Tree Decorated by Associates in 1984

See holiday decorations in the Great Hall including the Christmas tree decorated with handcrafted ornaments made locally, and collected from the U.S. and abroad.

December 9, 1984 – January 1, 1985

Smithsonian Castle

Islamic Manuscript Illumination

Admire the decoration of religious and secular manuscripts in 19 folios produced in Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan between the 10th and 16th centuries.

January 27, 1984 – December 31, 1984

Early Flight: 1900-1911 (Wright's Photography Collection)

Take in 56 photographs from the Wright brothers' personal photograph collection of their flying machine, many of which were taken by the brothers themselves,

November 28, 1984 – December 30, 1984

Werner Drewes, Sixty-Five Years of Printmaking

See 110 woodcuts, intaglios, and lithographs drawn from NMAA's extensive holdings in an exhibition that celebrates the artist's 85th birthday.

October 5, 1984 – December 24, 1984

American Art Museum

Autumn Colors

View artworks from the Kamakura and Edo periods that bring together the colors that Japanese artists have used to describe a variety of autumnal subjects.

October 19, 1984 – December 14, 1984

Prints 1960-1970/Selections from Collection

Marvel at 38 works that document a new involvement in printmaking by prominent painters, many of them associated with the "pop" and "Op" movements, as well as a spirit of experimentation that characterized the period.

May 25, 1984 – December 9, 1984

American Art Museum

Gold in Miniature

View a 4-inch gold pendant in the form of a mask, a fine example of the goldsmith's art from the Ivory Coast.

July 13, 1984 – December 2, 1984

African Art Museum

James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art

Visit nearly 300 paintings, watercolors, pastels, drawings, and prints by James McNeill Whistler as part of the observance of the 150th anniversary of his birth.

May 11, 1984 – December 2, 1984

G. Arthur Cooper and Richard E. Grant: Mining a Texas Treasure Trove of Fossils

This Research in Natural History Case highlights the field work of the two MNH paleobiologists in the Glass Mountains of southwest Texas.

April 1, 1983 – December 2, 1984

Natural History Museum

Treasures from the Shanghai Museum: 6,000 Years of Chinese Art

This exhibition spans Chinese art history from prehistoric to modern times. All 232 masterpieces, never before seen in the Western world, are from the Shanghai Museum.

August 11, 1984 – November 30, 1984

Natural History Museum

1984 Friends of the National Zoo Photography Contest

See some 30 photographs by the winners of the Friends of the National Zoo1984 contest.

November 1, 1984 – November 30, 1984

National Zoo

Running Fun (Campaign Humor)

See examples of 19th- and 20th-century campaign humor, including political cartoons and campaign novelties marking the emergence of the donkey and the elephant as symbols of the Democratic and Republican parties.

August 2, 1984 – November 30, 1984

Golden Lion Tamarin Project

See photographs, text, and objects used by field biologists who are captive rearing this endangered species and re-introducing it to Brazil's tropical rain forests.

September 1, 1984 – November 30, 1984

National Zoo

Aerial Aircraft Carriers

See photographs and a film telling the story of aircraft (mother-ships) that carry other aircraft (parasites)--for example, the Space Shuttle traveling cross-country perched atop a 747.

November 23, 1981 – November 18, 1984

Women in the Navy

Several articles of military dress, accompanied by photographs, portray the evolution of the role of women in the Navy.

September 14, 1984 – November 15, 1984

Korean Influences in Japanese Ceramics

Visit some 25 objects from the Freer's ceramics collection that examine the enduring appeal in Japan of Punch'ong ware--Korean ceramics introduced in the 16th century.

February 17, 1984 – November 11, 1984

Traditional Architecture of Saudi Arabia

See 22 graphite drawings by Syrian architectural historian/artist Professor Wahbi Al-Hariri-Rifai that document diversity of architectural styles, building materials, and geographic regions in Saudi Arabia today.

October 10, 1984 – November 7, 1984

Smithsonian Castle

The Americanization of California Missions: George Sims Collection

Some 15 objects and illustrations tracing the California Missions from their origins as Christian missions and colonial posts to modern symbols of history and romance.

September 14, 1984 – November 6, 1984

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Thirty Years of Scientific Illustrations Drawn in the Museum of Natural History

Visit a selection of 80 works created by Carolyn Bartlett Gast, an illustrator in the NMNH Dept. of Invertebrate Zoology.

September 7, 1984 – November 4, 1984

Natural History Museum

American Politics and the Presidency

Admire and purchase mostly one-of-a-kind objects, conveying some 20 artists' conceptions of past, present, and future politics, as well as presidents both real and imagined.

September 7, 1984 – November 4, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Damask

View a selection of historic and contemporary silk, linen, and wool fabrics in damask weave.

August 14, 1984 – November 4, 1984

The Tibetan Yak in Art and Craft

See 29 objects associated with the yak, a long-haired bovine that occupies an important position in Tibetan life. Included are items used in the preparation of yak-butter tea, a Tibetan staple, as well as an 18th-century painting of a yak by British artist George Stubbs.

June 23, 1984 – November 4, 1984

Renwick Gallery

Faris and Yamna Naff Family Arab-American Collection

Some 40 objects and 30 photographs and documents in this recent acquisition illustrate the Arab-American experience.

July 13, 1984 – October 31, 1984

Energy Awareness Week

See some 20 mini-exhibits from government agencies and private entities on various aspects of energy.

October 19, 1984 – October 28, 1984