Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Sporting Invention

In this showcase, items from drawings and prototypes to final products trace the development of sports inventions and highlight aspects of universal design in sports technology development.

January 7, 2009 – October 30, 2009

American History Museum

Treasures from the William H. Gross Collection

In honor of National Stamp Collecting Month, the museum features three great stamp rarities on loan from William H. Gross.

October 1, 2009 – October 31, 2009

Postal Museum

Sunset Song, an 8-minute sound installation by Susan Philipsz, confronts visitors with questions about how an artist can deliver narrative and the ways an artist can sculpt space with sound rather than tactile materials.

July 1, 2009 – October 31, 2009

Hirshhorn Museum

Earl Shaffer and the Appalachian Trail

Focus on the American environmentalist, naturalist, and activist Earl Shaffer (1918-2002), who in 1948 became the first person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail more than 2,000 miles -- in one continuous hike.

July 10, 2009 – November 1, 2009

American History Museum

Jamestown, Québec, Santa Fe: Three North American Beginnings

Explore the first permanent English, French, and Spanish settlements in the New World -- Jamestown, Virginia (1607); Quebec, Canada (1608); and Santa Fe, New Mexico (1609) -- and the societies that emerged to approximately 1700.

May 18, 2009 – November 1, 2009

Ripley Center

Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America

View rare and archival photographs and film of Native American skateboarders, as well as skatedecks from Native companies and contemporary artists, that celebrate the vibrancy, creativity, and controversy of American Indian skate culture.

June 12, 2009 – November 1, 2009

American Indian Museum DC

Moving Perspectives: Shahzia Sikander/Xun

See works by Shahzia Sikander and Sun Xun, shown continuously as part of the year-long series Moving Perspectives, focusing on contemporary Asia.

July 18, 2009 – November 8, 2009

Asian Art Museum Sackler Gallery

Strange Bodies: Figurative Works from the Hirshhorn Collection

This exhibition brings together some of the most praised and popular examples of figuration.

December 11, 2008 – November 15, 2009

Hirshhorn Museum

Addison Scurlock's Portrait Studies of Women

See 14 photographic portraits of young women taken by African American photographer Addison Scurlock (1883-1964) during the 1920s.

August 3, 2009 – November 29, 2009

American History Museum

Golden Seams: The Japanese Art of Mending Ceramics

See ceramics from China, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan that were mended and enhanced by a unique method of 'gold' lacquer repair created by Japanese craftsmen.

November 8, 2008 – November 29, 2009

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Moonlight and Clouds: Silver and Gold in the Arts of Japan

View artworks that showcase the distinctive repertoire of techniques for applying gold and silver on a variety of materials that Japanese artists developed beginning in the 17th century.

November 8, 2008 – November 29, 2009

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

One Life: Thomas Paine, The Radical Founding Father

This exhibition features Thomas Paine, whose pamphlet Common Sense fired up Americans to get on with a declaration of independence.

August 7, 2009 – November 29, 2009

Portrait Gallery

Seals

Visit with gray seals and California sea lions.

October 1, 1978 – November 30, 2009

National Zoo

Bats on Exhibit

Hang out with some 15 bats of 3 species -- Big Fruit, Short-tailed, and Hammerhead -- in this recently opened exhibit.

October 1, 1984 – December 31, 2009

National Zoo

1934: A New Deal for Artists

See 56 paintings created by artists from across the United States working under the Public Works of Art Program, a federal New Deal program that lasted only six months from mid-December 1933 to June 1934.

February 27, 2009 – January 3, 2010

American Art Museum

Anne Truitt: Perception and Reflection

This is the first major survey spanning Anne Truitt's 40-year career since her death in 2004.

October 8, 2009 – January 3, 2010

Hirshhorn Museum

Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964

Through freestanding, illustrated banners with text, this bilingual (English and Spanish) exhibition examines the experiences of bracero workers and their families while providing insight into Mexican American history and historical context to today's debates on guest worker programs.

September 9, 2009 – January 3, 2010

American History Museum

Presidents in Waiting

If some still remain unconvinced about the significance of the vice president and those who occupied the office, this exhibition shows that most of the vice presidents who succeeded to the presidency were highly capable political figures with the experience and aptitude to be president.

January 20, 2009 – January 3, 2010

Portrait Gallery

Staged Stories: Renwick Craft Invitational 2009

This exhibition features works by four contemporary artists.

August 7, 2009 – January 3, 2010

Renwick Gallery

Design for a Living World

Follow ten leading designers commissioned to develop new uses for sustainably grown and harvested materials in order to tell a unique story about the life cycle of materials and the power of conservation and design.

May 14, 2009 – January 4, 2010

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Accelerate: A National Juried Exhibition for Emerging Artists with Disabilities, Ages 16-25

View works by 15 award-winning emerging artists with disabilities, ages 16 to 25.

September 10, 2009 – January 6, 2010

Ripley Center

Graphic Masters II: Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Visit watercolors, pastels, and drawings from the 1920s to the 1960s to celebrate the extraordinary variety and accomplishment of American artists' works on paper.

June 19, 2009 – January 10, 2010

American Art Museum

Season's Greetings: Holiday Cards from the Archives of American Art

Kindle your holiday spirit with this exhibition of artist's hand-made holiday cards from the collections of the Archives of American Art.

November 20, 2009 – January 10, 2010

Archives of American Art

Dig It! The Secrets of Soil

This exhibition introduces the study of soil science and demonstrates the vital role soil plays in sustaining human welfare, assuring future agricultural productivity, and environmental sustainability.

July 19, 2008 – January 10, 2010

Natural History Museum

Sant Ocean Hall Focus Gallery: Going to Sea

This first rotating exhibit in The Sant Ocean Hall Focus Gallery highlights the many reasons people have gone to sea throughout history.

September 27, 2008 – January 10, 2010

Natural History Museum