Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

We Were But a Handful

Pay tribute to the early suffragettes who brought about the ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 26, 1920 in this anniversary exhibit.

August 26, 1977 – May 26, 1978

Portrait Gallery

See 6 applications of the modern stencilling process, including its use in French illustrations of the 1920s; in French wallpaper; in American printmaking; in photography and in work from a modern portrait studio.

July 1, 1977 – May 31, 1978

American History Museum

Wooden Carvings of North American Birds

View some 15 carvings, realistically painted and in natural poses, by James Eddleman of Lubbock, Texas.

January 1, 1978 – May 31, 1978

Natural History Museum

Sales Exhibition: Tribal Pottery of the Catawba Indians

Admire and purchase a selection of bowls and pitchers made in their traditional way by women of the South Carolina Indian tribe.

April 4, 1978 – May 31, 1978

Renwick Gallery

French Folk Art

Revisit the 18th- and 19th-centuries in France with this collection of tools and equipment, accoutrements of festivals and religious ceremonies, objects from daily life, and costumes and wearing apparel.

October 28, 1977 – June 11, 1978

Renwick Gallery

American Eagle: Symbol for Survival

See more than 80 photographs and texts that explain why the eagle was chosen as our national emblem, examine its place in other cultures and discuss its current survival prospects.

May 16, 1978 – June 14, 1978

Natural History Museum

Els Quatre Gats: Art in Barcelona Around 1900

See more than 50 paintings, prints and drawings by 14 artists that introduce the visitor to modernismo, a distinctively Catalan art movement developed by patrons of Els Quatre Gats (The Four Cats) cafe.

April 13, 1978 – June 25, 1978

Hirshhorn Museum

Adrian Fashions

A hat, an intricately cut suit, an embroidered silk gown and photographs of other costumes represent the work of Gilbert Adrian, the most influential and best known American clothing designer of the 1930s and 1940s.

April 5, 1978 – June 30, 1978

American History Museum

The Decorative Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright

Visit the first comprehensive survey of Wright's decorative designs, where the objects which he considered an integral part of his architecture are shown with interior and exterior photographs of the buildings.

December 16, 1977 – July 30, 1978

Renwick Gallery

The Celebration of Water

Take a look at the design of facilities for the use and enjoyment of water: bathrooms, swimming pools, fountains, and water tanks atop buildings.

June 13, 1978 – August 6, 1978

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Maria Martinez: Five Generations of Potters

Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso pueblo, New Mexico, has long been the most famous American Indian potter, known best for her black-on-black pottery.

March 31, 1978 – August 6, 1978

Renwick Gallery

Kids as Architects

Enjoy 13 imaginative drawings by elementary school students that represent their ideas for such projects as an "Energy House", a "Snug-a-Bug House", "Hideaway for Two", and "Kids Only Town".

December 16, 1977 – August 13, 1978

Renwick Gallery

Buildings Reborn: New Uses, Old Places

Learn about the recycling of 53 buildings in American cities, including the Fine Arts/Portrait Gallery building and the Renwick Gallery, documented through photographs and models.

April 6, 1978 – August 19, 1978

Renwick Gallery

Phil Ratner's Washington

Artist and art teacher Phil Ratner creates drawings, sculptures, and portraits to honor his hometown of Washington, DC. His students at Anacostia High School contribute drawings and a mural to the exhibition.

April 16, 1978 – August 27, 1978

Anacostia Community Museum

Aspects of Art and Science

Some 70 objects illustrate that long before scientists explained the principles involved, artists and artisans created articles of beauty and utility, and, conversely, discoveries of scientists provided inspiration for other works by artists and artisans.

February 14, 1978 – August 30, 1978

American History Museum

Suiting Everyone

This exhibition explores 200 years of the change in the design and manufacture of American clothing.

September 21, 1974 – August 31, 1978

American History Museum

Sales Exhibition: Dolls

Admire and purchase various type of handcrafted dolls and doll houses made by American craftsmen.

June 6, 1978 – August 31, 1978

Renwick Gallery

Embroidery through the Ages

See a two-part exhibition of 14th-20th century embroidered items from Europe.

June 6, 1978 – September 3, 1978

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

The Noble Buyer: John Quinn, Patron of the Avant-Garde

Through 79 works by 26 artists, this major exhibition recreates the essence of Quinn's art collection, considered the most important assembled in the U.S. prior to the Depression.

June 15, 1978 – September 4, 1978

Hirshhorn Museum

Past and Present: A Century and a Half of a National Collection

Examine the history of the NCFA and its expanding collection in this major exhibition of more than 200 works.

June 11, 1978 – September 4, 1978

American Art Museum

Recent Acquisitions

See about 55 prints and drawings selected from those acquired during the past two years.

May 5, 1978 – September 10, 1978

American Art Museum

Inner Dimension

Each of about 60 sea shells are presented both in color photographs of their exteriors and x-rays or radiographs of the internal structures.

July 15, 1978 – September 10, 1978

Natural History Museum

Instrument of the Lord (Harriet Beecher Stowe and her Great Novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin)

Visit an in-depth study of the Civil War novelists and her greatest work, Uncle Tom's Cabin, including portraits, documents, the first American edition, artist's proofs and gifts to Stowe.

October 7, 1977 – September 17, 1978

Portrait Gallery

Looking at L.A., An Exhibition Organized by Environmental Communications

Visit a slide and video presentation of Los Angeles' life style.

July 18, 1978 – September 17, 1978

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Contemporary Art from Alaska

Enjoy the first survey of contemporary Alaskan art in the 'lower 48' with 57 paintings, watercolors, prints, drawings and sculpture

June 23, 1978 – September 17, 1978

American Art Museum