Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Roy Wilkins: Mr. Civil Rights

View a two-case exhibition of objects from a group recently donated by Roy Wilkins, former executive director of the NAACP.

February 10, 1981 – March 19, 1981

American History Museum

The Chase Manhattan Bank Money Collection

See highlights of the 24,000 items in the collection, which includes rare primitive currencies, American colonial coins and paper currencies, and checks signed by nearly every president.

February 8, 1979 – March 20, 1981

American History Museum

Elizabeth Gwillim, 1763-1807: Artist and Naturalist

See 60 paintings of Indian birds by British naturalist/artist Lady Elizabeth Gwillim (1763-1807) on loan from the collections of the Civic Center of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.

January 31, 1981 – March 29, 1981

Natural History Museum

Ephemeral Images: Recent American Posters

View a selection of 50 to 75 posters that show the diverse ways in which American designers emphasize and enhance a product or attract an audience.

January 27, 1981 – March 29, 1981

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Admire and purchase appliqued wall hangings, wool coverlets, pewter salad sets, silk scarves and mufflers, sterling silver and gold jewelry, and utilitarian and sculptural pottery, from the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.

January 8, 1981 – March 30, 1981

Renwick Gallery

Buckaroos in Paradise: Cowboy Life in Northern Nevada

This exhibition is composed of four sections, providing insight into the distinctive lifestyles of today's cowboys in North Central Nevada.

October 1, 1980 – March 31, 1981

American History Museum

East and West: Paintings/Poems by Sheila Isham

See 20 works on paper and two acrylics on canvas executed following the Washington-area artist's study of traditional Chinese calligraphy and it's associated poetry in Hong Kong and Japan.

January 30, 1981 – April 5, 1981

American Art Museum

Romaine Brooks (1874-1970)

Brooks, an expatriate who died in France at the age of 96, was known for her penetrating and unorthodox portraits executed in sober colors--black, white, and gray. See 18 of them in this exhibit.

August 29, 1980 – April 12, 1981

American Art Museum

Matchsafes

See about 500 matchsafes in a myriad of styles and in a range of materials, a necessity after the invention of the friction match in the 1820s.

February 3, 1981 – April 12, 1981

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Egypt in America

View illustrations of the book, Description de L'Egypte, prepared by artists who accompanied Napoleon on his Egyptian campaign.

March 16, 1981 – April 15, 1981

American History Museum

Our Beautiful Earth: The View from Air & Space

View photographs taken from the vantage point of airplane, spacecraft, or satellite.

May 5, 1979 – April 15, 1981

Air and Space Museum

Jacques Lipchitz from the Collection

See 14 sculptures and 3 works on paper by the painter- sculptor, whose works range from abstract to surrealistic.

January 15, 1981 – April 19, 1981

Hirshhorn Museum

Photographs: Selections from the Permanent Collection

Appreciate the likenesses on view of John Steinbeck, Sherwood Anderson, Grandma Moses, and an 1865 series of four Union generals.

January 31, 1981 – April 19, 1981

Portrait Gallery

The Code Duello in America

Explore the controversial practice of resolving personal disputes between gentlemen by dueling in this exhibit.

December 18, 1980 – April 19, 1981

Portrait Gallery

Mahmoud Moukhtar: 1891-1934

Visit several pieces by Mahmoud Moukhtar (1891-1934), on loan from the Moukhtar Museum of Cairo. He is considered to be the first modern Egyptian sculptor.

March 16, 1981 – April 26, 1981

Hirshhorn Museum

Arts of Ancient Egypt: Treasures in Another Scale

See 50 small-scale antiquities dating from the pre-dynastic period through the age of the Ptolemies, on loan from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

March 16, 1981 – April 26, 1981

Smithsonian Castle

Postage Stamp: Chilkat Indian Mask

Displayed is a Chilkat Tlingit Indian mask from Smithsonian collections, which is featured in a new set of stamps in the American Folk Art series.

October 3, 1980 – April 30, 1981

Natural History Museum

Art of the Arab World

View ceramics, glass, and painting, that represent the cultural heritage of the Arabic peoples.

September 1, 1980 – April 30, 1981

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

On the Beach

This Research in Natural History case features the work of Dr. James Mead, particularly his research on beached whales and dolphins.

September 1, 1980 – April 30, 1981

Natural History Museum

Traditional Costumes and Jewelry of Egypt

View embroidered dresses, cloaks, veils, belts, footwear, necklaces, bracelets and other items from all sections of Egypt, including the eastern desert, the Sinai, Nubia and oases of the south.

March 16, 1981 – May 3, 1981

African Art Museum

Directions 1981

A major group exhibition spotlights new directions in contemporary American art through works by younger artists from Europe and North America.

February 12, 1981 – May 3, 1981

Hirshhorn Museum

John Wesley Powell

Books, memorabilia, and pictures feature John Wesley Powell's work as an anthropologist. Powell, better known as a geologist, worked to found the U.S. Geological Survey and served as director.

November 30, 1980 – May 3, 1981

Natural History Museum

Art from the Vice President's House

Initiated by Joan Mondale at the Vice President's House, these 59 works include paintings, prints, watercolors, photographs, sculpture, and crafts.

February 20, 1981 – May 5, 1981

American Art Museum

Electrical Glass Insulators

Telegraph and telephone service insulators have been selected to display the variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and manufacturers.

March 4, 1981 – May 7, 1981

American History Museum

Innovative Furniture in America

Marvel at furniture that folds, retracts, reclines, changes form, and combines two or more forms through mechanical gadgetry in some 50 examples, supplemented by photographs and drawings.

March 10, 1981 – May 10, 1981

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum