Exhibitions
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Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900–1939
April 26, 2024 – February 23, 2025Portrait GalleryBrilliant Exiles illuminates the accomplishments of sixty unconventional women who pursued their personal and professional aspirations in Paris.
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Commissioned Portrait of Oprah Winfrey
December 13, 2023 – December 15, 2024Portrait GalleryChicago-based artist Shawn Michael Warren painted Winfrey in a purple taffeta dress amidst a lush garden at her California home.
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In Memoriam: Rosalynn Carter, 1927–2023
November 21, 2023 – January 3, 2024Portrait GalleryRosalynn Carter was the first lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
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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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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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In Memoriam: Jessye Norman, 1945-2019
October 3, 2019 – November 3, 2019Portrait GalleryThe National Portrait Gallery commemorates the life of Jessye Norman, one of the twentieth century's greatest sopranos.
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In Memoriam: Toni Morrison
August 6, 2019 – November 7, 2019Portrait GalleryToni Morrison, the first black woman to become a Nobel laureate, wrote about the experiences of African Americans.
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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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Women of Progress: Early Camera Portraits
June 14, 2019 – June 13, 2021Portrait GalleryThis exhibition of daguerreotypes and ambrotypes from the 1840s and 1850s features portraits of early feminist icons.
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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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Storied Women of the Civil War Era
May 24, 2019 – March 20, 2022Portrait GalleryThis intimate exhibition includes portraits of Civil War era women who captivated the public while becoming sought-after subjects for Mathew Brady’s camera.
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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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Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence
March 29, 2019 – January 5, 2020Portrait GalleryTo commemorate the centennial anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, NPG presents the story of the historic crusade for American women’s rights.
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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.