Past Exhibitions

The Inedible Renwick Birthday Cakes

Commemorate the Renwick's 10th anniversary with the icon of all birthdays--the cake--executed in stuffed fabric, porcelain, crochet cotton, earthenware, steel, neon, and glass.

January 29, 1982 – April 25, 1982

Steuben: Secret Aid for the Americans

This exhibition commemorates the 250th birthday of Baron Von Steuben, hero of the American Revolution.

December 12, 1981 – April 18, 1982

Vanishing Race and Other Illusions: A New Look at the Work of Edward Curtis

Edward Curtis has long been considered the leading documentary photographer of the North American Indian. While acknowledging his contribution to art photography, this exhibition offers new evidence that Curtis presented a highly romanticized view of the American Indian in the early 20th century.

March 4, 1982 – April 15, 1982

Deep Ocean Photography

Explore a two-mile-high volcanic seamount deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean through 24 black-and-white photographic murals.

January 22, 1982 – April 13, 1982

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

City Dwellings and Country Houses: Robert Adam and His Style

View more than 100 original drawings, as well as furniture and silver created by Robert Adam, Scottish architect/designer and his circle.

January 19, 1982 – April 11, 1982

Orchid Paintings by Regina Hughes

Enjoy 37 watercolor paintings of orchids from the National Orchid Collection and from private collections.

February 13, 1982 – April 11, 1982

Images of Women in India

See textiles, fans, jewelry, a statue of a goddess, and a musical instrument traditionally played by women in India.

February 1, 1982 – April 5, 1982

Lighting Up America: From Candle to Kerosene

Enjoy approximately 60 lighting devices, including candle holders and grease and oil lamps from the recently acquired collection of Preston R. Bassett.

October 1, 1981 – March 31, 1982

1982 Zoo Employee Art Show

Enjoy animal-oriented works in a variety of media--from pottery to pencil through photography--submitted by Zoo and FONZ personnel and volunteers.

March 1, 1982 – March 31, 1982

National Zoo

Be My Valentine

Enjoy approximately 40 Valentine cards from the mid-19th to the early 20th century.

January 1, 1982 – March 31, 1982

The Art of the Fine Press Book

See Fine Press books and examples of fine printing, including limited editions

January 25, 1982 – March 31, 1982

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Japanese Prints (Ukiyo-e School)

See 18th- and 19th-century works from the Ukiyo-e school that includes landscapes and scenes of everyday life in Tokyo.

December 21, 1981 – March 31, 1982

Antoine Sevruguin: Photographer of Qajar Iran

Follow a rich visual record of the late Qajar period (from approximately 1885 to approximately 1930) through 24 photographs selected from the Freer collection.

August 1, 1981 – March 31, 1982

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Starfishes of the Atlantic Ocean

Take in the first comprehensive study of starfish found in the Atlantic Ocean with starfish, photographs, maps, and related publications.

September 15, 1981 – March 31, 1982

Good As Gold: Alternative Materials in American Jewelry

View 180 brooches, necklaces, and other body decorations made from glass, plastic, paper, wood, "found objects," and metals -- aluminum, brass, steel, bronze, niobium, and titanium.

December 3, 1981 – March 28, 1982

Recent Trends in Collecting: 20th-Century Painting and Sculpture from NMAA

This major exhibition of 130 contemporary works is designed to show the range and breadth of the museum's collection of 20th-century works.

February 12, 1982 – March 28, 1982

American Art Museum

Alternatives to Gold

Admire and purchase jewelry created by artists whose work is included in current exhibit, Good as Gold: Alternative Materials in American Jewelry.

December 2, 1981 – March 28, 1982

Venini Glass

See a retrospective exhibition of 150 glass works, supplemented by color photographs, a set of glassblower's tools and bench, and panels illustrating processes made famous by Paolo Venini, founder of the glass manufactory on the island of Murano.

August 21, 1981 – March 21, 1982

A Life in Art: Alma W. Thomas, 1891-1978

The 47 paintings, sculpture, and works on paper survey the career of Alma Thomas who, following many years as a teacher in the Washington public schools, began to paint when she was in her sixties and became nationally known for her abstractions.

November 26, 1981 – March 21, 1982

American Art Museum

Five Enamelists from Tallahassee

Admire and purchase bowls created by Patricia Bergstraesser, Teresa Coates, Edward Deren, Michael Williams, and Mary Kautz.

February 1, 1982 – March 14, 1982

The American Red Cross: A Century of Humanitarian Progress 1881-1981

This commemorative exhibition features an ambulance used by Clara Barton, her desk, Florence Nightingale's shawl, and other historical artifacts from SI collections and on loan from the National Archives and the American Red Cross.

May 15, 1981 – March 14, 1982