Exhibitions
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I Dream a World: Selections from Brian Lanker's Portraits of Remarkable Black Women: Part II
February 10, 2023 – September 10, 2023Portrait GalleryThe Portrait Gallery recently acquired all 75 portraits from the Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer’s series and is celebrating the acquisition with a two-part exhibition.
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One Life: Maya Lin
September 30, 2022 – April 16, 2023Portrait GalleryOne Life: Maya Lin is the first biographical exhibition of the architect, sculptor, and environmentalist.
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I Dream a World: Selections from Brian Lanker’s Portraits of Remarkable Black Women: Part I
July 8, 2022 – January 29, 2023Portrait GalleryThis exhibition features more than 25 photographs by Brian Lanker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer.
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Hung Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands, 1968-2020
August 27, 2021 – May 30, 2022Portrait GalleryThe National Portrait Gallery presents the first major large-scale retrospective of work by Hung Liu, the internationally acclaimed Chinese-born American artist.
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Welcome Home: A Portrait of East Baltimore, 1975-1980
July 16, 2021 – January 23, 2022American Art MuseumOf the more than seventy projects funded by the NEA, the East Baltimore Survey was unique for having been conceived, led, and carried out by women photographers.
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Every Eye Is Upon Me: First Ladies of the United States
November 13, 2020 – May 23, 2021Portrait GalleryEvery Eye Is Upon Me is the first major exhibition to explore the historical significance of this prominent position through the mode of portraiture.
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Her Story: A Century of Women Writers
September 18, 2020 – January 23, 2022Portrait GalleryThis exhibition drawn from the NPG collection highlights twenty-four noted women writers from the past one hundred years.
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Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists
February 21, 2020 – March 13, 2020Renwick GalleryHearts of Our People: Native Women Artists, organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, is the first major thematic exhibition to explore the artistic achievements of Native women.
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One Life: Marian Anderson
June 28, 2019 – March 13, 2020Portrait GalleryThis exhibition examines the ways in which artists, concert promoters, and others wielded Marian Anderson's iconic likeness as a powerful symbol in the pursuit of civil rights.
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In Memoriam: Leah Chase
June 4, 2019 – June 30, 2019Portrait GalleryThe Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life and legacy of Leah Chase with a painting by Gustave Blache III.
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Portrait of Julie Packard by Hope Gangloff
April 23, 2019 – February 24, 2020Portrait GalleryOn display is a newly commissioned painting of Julie Packard, a leading figure in science and ocean conservation and the executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
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Tiffany Chung: Vietnam, Past is Prologue
March 15, 2019 – September 2, 2019American Art MuseumInternationally acclaimed artist Tiffany Chung is known for her multimedia work that explores migration, conflict, and shifting geographies in the wake of political and natural upheavals.
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Portraits of the World: Korea
December 14, 2018 – November 17, 2019Portrait GalleryPioneering feminist artist Yun Suk Nam (born 1939) uses portraiture to gain insights into the lives of women, past and present.
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In Memoriam: Aretha Franklin
August 17, 2018 – August 22, 2018Portrait GalleryThe Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life of acclaimed singer and musician Aretha Franklin.
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Henrietta Lacks
May 15, 2018 – March 31, 2019Portrait GalleryThe Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life of Henrietta Lacks with the installation of a 2017 portrait by Kadir Nelson.
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Diane Arbus: A box of ten photographs
April 6, 2018 – January 27, 2019American Art MuseumThis exhibition traces the history of A box of ten photographs between 1969 and 1973, telling the crucial story of the portfolio that established the foundation for Arbus’s posthumous career.
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Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
October 20, 2017 – January 28, 2018Renwick GalleryMurder is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death explores the unexpected intersection between craft and forensic science.
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One Life: Sylvia Plath
June 30, 2017 – May 20, 2018Portrait GalleryThe exhibition reveals how Plath shaped her identity visually as she came of age as a writer in the 1950s. Visitors will get a look into Plath’s personal life and her dualistic nature.
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Marlene Dietrich: Dressed for the Image
June 16, 2017 – April 15, 2018Portrait GalleryThe biggest Hollywood star at a time when “talkies” were still new, Dietrich captured men’s hearts and women’s admiration on screen and off.
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Celebrate: Ella Fitzgerald
April 13, 2017 – May 14, 2017Portrait GalleryApril 25 marks the 100th birthday of American jazz and popular song vocalist Ella Fitzgerald. The museum is recognizing the anniversary by displaying her photograph by William Gottlieb for the first time in the museum.
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