Exhibitions

William H. Johnson, Harriet Tubman, ca. 1945, oil on paperboard.

How Painting Portraits of Freedom Fighters Became William H. Johnson’s Life’s Work

A new exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum brings together the Black Modernist painter’s most famous series for the first time in more than 75 years

Hazel Fellows sews pieces of an Apollo A7L spacesuit on the production line at International Latex Corporation (ILC) in 1968.

From the Inventor of Mass-Market Paper Bags to a Scientist Who Unraveled the Mysteries of Polio, Meet Five American Women Whose Remarkable Achievements Have Long Been Overlooked

The inaugural exhibition at the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum seeks to shine light on lesser-known historical figures

To construct her sculptures, artist Phaan Howng used 3-D prints of plants in the Smithsonian Gardens collection, then mounted them onto a steel armature and base. They were then modified and finished with resin, resin foam, foam air dry clay, EVA foam and acrylic paint.

Fantastical Art Joins Hundreds of Blooming Orchids to Shed Light on Conservation Efforts

Smithsonian Gardens’ 28th annual orchid exhibition is underway at the Kogod Courtyard

For the year 2024, here are 24 things to look forward to at the Smithsonian.

Twenty-Four Smithsonian Shows to See in 2024

Election-year items, truth serum, Nigerian art and a pioneering self-driving car are on display this year

On the morning of September 11, 2001 when the Twin Towers in New York City came under attack Univision's senior national correspondent Blanca Rosa Vílchez was one of the first journalists on the scene.

Seven Trailblazing Latina Journalists Anchor a New Museum Exhibition

Covering war, hosting presidential debates and conducting uncomfortable interviews, these women speak truths to their community

The visionary British stage designer and artist Es Devlin is herself the creator of a multimedia exhibition now on view at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City.

Meet the Woman Who Set the Stage for Beyoncé, the Olympics and the Royal Opera House

The award-winning set designer Es Devlin explores the art of creating spectacle

“Whistler: Streetscapes, Urban Change” is on view through May 4, 2024, in the Freer Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. (above: The Steps by James McNeill Whistler, 1880).

How James McNeill Whistler Captured Life in the Big City

The painter’s streetscapes and neighborhood scenes mesmerize, but now he is being recognized for documenting a changing urban landscape

The traveling exhibition "Simone Leigh" is now on view at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden through March 3, 2024, before traveling to Los Angeles next summer (above: the artist in 2021).

The World Is Running to Catch Up With Simone Leigh

The celebrated artist’s crusading works, now on view at the Hirshhorn Museum, upend the stereotypes too often foisted on Black women

John Akomfrah at his London studio, 2016

Artist John Akomfrah Is Having a Moment

The works of the recently knighted filmmaker address contemporary issues in two different Smithsonian museums

Frederick Douglass, Unidentified Artist, Sixth-plate daguerreotype c. 1841

Why We Need to Understand Frederick Douglass Now More Than Ever

The great orator was a branding genius, and a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery showcases his motivations

Nam June Paik’s 1995 Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii—a pulsing map of the 50 states lined with 575 feet of multicolored neon tubing, with each state defined by flickering video from 336 televisions and 50 DVD players—is one of the museum’s most popular pieces.

With Renovated Galleries, the Smithsonian Expands Its Approach to Contemporary American Art

The historic hall in the American Art Museum where President Abraham Lincoln held his second inaugural ball welcomes more diverse voices and visions

Alma Thomas, Autumn Leaves Fluttering in the Breeze, 1973, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 1980.36.9

Alma Thomas' Signature Style Is Full of Color and Tiled Brushstrokes

After a career as a schoolteacher, the Washington, D.C.-based painter flourished, creating vibrant patterns inspired by nature, the cosmos and music

Installation view of Jessica Diamond: Wheel Of Life at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 2023. Acrylic and latex paint on wall.

The Painted Poetry of Jessica Diamond

The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum hosts the artist’s largest installation yet

Installation photography of Musical Thinking: New Video Art and Sonic Strategies, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2023.

Video Artists Set the American Experience to Music

The Smithsonian American Art Museum brings its latest time-based media art to the widest possible audience, including the deaf and hearing impaired

In 1963, standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. waves to the largest crowd ever to participate in a civil rights demonstration in Washington, D.C. where he delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech.

To Mark the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington, Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' Speech Goes on Display

The draft on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture was produced a few hours before King took to the podium

Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke/Crow), Four Seasons series: Summer, 2006, archival pigment print, edition 27, 23 x 26 inches

These Artists Are Redefining the American West

A new Smithsonian American Art Museum show surveys the work of Black, Asian American, Indigenous, LGBTQ+ and Latinx artists who have lived in the region

Musicians Cindy Campbell and DJ Kool Herc take center stage in a 2013 celebration of the 40th anniversary of hip-hop. The brother and sister duo threw a "Back-to School Jam" in August, 1973 and launched a lasting music genre.

How Hip-Hop Was Born 50 Years Ago in a Block Party in the Bronx

Arising out of New York's close-knit Black communities, the genre revolutionized the music industry and gave rise to a new generation of sounds and stars

The "1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions" exhibition is on display at the National Portrait Gallery through February 25, 2024.

How the War of 1898 Changed History Forever—in the United States and Beyond

When the nascent naval power invaded Puerto Rico, three artists captured the moment, each explaining its significance in their own way

Robert Houle. Red is Beautiful, 1970. Acrylic on canvas, 45.5 x 61 cm. Canadian Museum of History.

Making Strong Points Through Vivid Color Has Been Artist Robert Houle's Life Work

The first major retrospective of the Anishinaabe artist in the United States shows how he combines ancestral design and abstract painting

"1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions" exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

See a Life-Size Portrait of Queen Lili‘uokalani, the Last Reigning Monarch of Hawai‘i

The William Cogswell painting, now on display at the National Portrait Gallery, was likely a means for the ruler to assert her right to the throne

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