Exhibitions

Newsroom of the Smithsonian

View news releases below or see all of our publicly released upcoming exhibitions.

Front of envelope printed in red with “Official Election War Ballot – Via Air Mail” and election oath signed by hand.
National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution
National Postal Museum - Voting By Mail, US Army ballot return

Ballot return envelope sent by US Army Nurse Teckla H. Jacobson to Washington Secretary of State, 1944.

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Postcard printed in red with “Official Election War Ballot Via Air Mail” and addressed by hand.
National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution
National Postal Museum - Voting By Mail, Navy Reserve postcard

​​​​​Ballot request

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Envelope with printing, handwriting, postal marking, and postage stamp.
National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution
National Postal Museum - Voting By Mail, Civil War envelope

Civil War envelope for mailing soldiers’ votes on a tally sheet for the Ohio state election in 1864.

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Color photograph of two Black women in military uniforms at a table with absentee voter paperwork.
US Army photo by Dustin Senger
National Postal Museum - Voting By Mail, Army Voters

US Army Pfc. Chyna Williams (left) helps Staff Sgt. Janeen Butler at a voter assistance drive, Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, 2008.

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Photograph of a brick street, lined with trees, people walking, and string lights in a zig-zag pattern.
Photo: Roberto Ruiz, Image courtesy of Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona. Installed on Las Ramblas, Barcelona, as part of Felix Gonzalez-Torres: The Politics of Relation. Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), Barcelona, Spain. 26 Mar. – 19 Se
“Untitled” (America) (1994).

Credit: “Untitled” (America) (1994), Twelve parts, each: 42 light bulbs, waterproof rubber light sockets, and waterproof electrical cord. Overall dimensions vary with installation. Copyright Estate Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Courtesy Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation.

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Man wearing glasses and long-sleeved button-down with pants leans over back tire of motorcycle.
Courtesy of Wendy Pirsig
Pirsig and his 1966 Honda Super Hawk Motorcycle
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Bound papers with blocks of green and blue and large stamped text saying Shop Manual.
Jaclyn Nash, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Honda Super Hawk maintenance manual owned by Robert Pirsig
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Book with black cover, graphic of wrench, and grey text.
Jaclyn Nash, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
First edition cover of Robert M. Pirsig "Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values."
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Side view of black and silver motorcycle, with kickstand down, against white background.
Jaclyn Nash, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Pirsig Motorcycle Profile
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Close-up image of circular dial with numbers indicating speed on a motorcycle.
Jaclyn Nash, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Pirsig Motorcycle close-up
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Black motorcycle with two books and a leather bag on ground next to it.
Jaclyn Nash, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Pirsig Motorcycle, book and manuscript
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Motorcycle with high handles and rearview mirrors, kickstands, and black paint.
Jaclyn Nash, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Robert Pirsig 1966 Honda Super Hawk Motorcycle
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Oblong paper craft with lime green feathers fanning out of the top.
Paper - Rain Scott

This vessel was constructed out of metallic copper paper giving it a shimmer that emulates micaceous-style Pueblo pottery. Sleeping beauty and Persian turquoise are inlaid into the front and back of the olla and a lid decorated with Amazon macaw feathers.

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Turquoise ceramic with small orange koi fish and lime slices painted on side, small ceramic bird on top.
Ceramics - Lucy V Dierks

Wheel thrown porcelain altered. Bird hand sculpted. Multiple glazes fired to cone 7 in electric kiln.

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Painting of woman with black, short, curly hair in a red top and blue jacket sitting in front of an easel with paintbrushes near
Self-Portrait

“Self-Portrait” by Loïs Mailou Jones, casein on board, 1940. Smithsonian American Art Museum; bequest of the artist.

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Painting in dark grays and blues, woman wearing black jacket and top hat with white button-up shirt underneath looks forward.
Self-Portrait

“Self-Portrait” by Romaine Brooks, oil on canvas, 1923. Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of the artist.

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Woman dancing on stage bends over with hands on opposite knees.
Josephine Baker

“Josephine Baker” by Waléry, gelatin silver print, 1926. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

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Graphic with blue background, title in center, and various smaller objects including purple dress, microscope, and journal.
Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Launches First Digital Exhibition
Lynda Carter Joins for a Virtual Look Inside the Exhibition March 14
03.07.2024
American Women's History Museum Exhibitions
Full body portrait of woman wearing hair covering in broad swaths of color.
William H. Johnson’s “Fighters for Freedom” Series Reunited for the First Time in More Than 75 Years at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Exhibition Is Drawn From the Museum’s Extensive Collection of Works by the Black Modernist Painter and Important Figure of the Harlem Renaissance
03.07.2024
American Art Museum Exhibitions
Multiple images of various objects including a wooden chair, green floor lamp, map of New York City, granite side table.
Exhibition at Cooper Hewitt to Celebrate Recent Acquisitions to the Collection
"Acquired! Shaping the National Design Collection" On View March 16 Through Sept. 2, 2024
02.27.2024
Cooper Hewitt Exhibitions
Close-up photograph of gold surface with bumpy texture and repeating pattern.

Embossed gold jar (detail), Ōnuma Chihiro (b. 1950), Japan, Shōwa era, 1988, hammered copper with amalgam gilding (kinkeshi), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Bequest of Shirley Z. Johnson, S2022.8.37a–c Copyright Ōnuma Chihiro.

National Museum of Asian Art Announces Its Newly Acquired Shirley Z. Johnson Collection of Contemporary Japanese Metalwork
Objects From This Unprecedented Gift Will Be on View in the Upcoming Exhibition “Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork”
02.26.2024
Exhibitions New Acquisitions
Image of two paintings side by side, woman on left wears a black dress in dark room and woman on right wears blue dress.

Left: John Singer Sargent, “Mrs. Kate A. Moore,” 1884. Oil on canvas; 71 5/8 x 45 3/4 in. (181.9 x 116.2 cm). Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1972 (72.257). Photo: Lee Stalsworth.

Right: Amoako Boafo, “Cobalt Blue Dress,” 2020. Oil on canvas; 78 3/8 x 60 1/2 in. (199.1 x 153.7 cm). Gift of Sandra and Howard Hoffen, 2022 (2022.016). Photo: Rob Blunt.

“Revolutions: Art from the Hirshhorn Collection, 1860–1960” Inaugurates the 50th Anniversary of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Exhibition of 270 Artworks Charts the Development of the National Collection
02.21.2024
Hirshhorn Museum Exhibitions
A man embraces a woman from behind in a black and white image.

Clark Gable and Joan Crawford by George Hurrell, gelatin silver print, 1936. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquired in part through the generosity of an anonymous donor.

National Portrait Gallery Presents “Star Power: Photographs From Hollywood’s Golden Age by George Hurrell”
On View March 1–Jan. 5, 2025
02.01.2024
Portrait Gallery Exhibitions
Computer-generated mockup of multiple people, of various ages and appearance, in museum gallery looking at real planes.

World War I: The Birth of Military Aviation Gallery Rendering. Smithsonian Institution.

National Air and Space Museum Provides Update on Renovation Project
Museum Shares Names and Renderings of Final 12 Galleries To Open
01.30.2024
Air and Space Museum Exhibitions

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