Exhibitions

Explore the creative practice of Amish quilters in the United States.

This focused exhibition pairs two projects by Carrie Mae Weems that explore the relationship of memory to history and of memory as it is mediated through performance, photography, or video.

This exhibition provides an intimate view of Thomas’ evolving artistic practices during her most prolific period from 1959 to her death in 1978.

Shelley Niro: 500 Year Itch celebrates more than a half century of Shelley Niro’s paintings, photographs, mixed-media works, and films.

The 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.

One Life: Maya Lin is the first biographical exhibition of the architect, sculptor, and environmentalist.

This exhibition features more than 25 photographs by Brian Lanker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer.

The National Portrait Gallery presents the first major large-scale retrospective of work by Hung Liu, the internationally acclaimed Chinese-born American artist.

Of 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.

Every Eye Is Upon Me is the first major exhibition to explore the historical significance of this prominent position through the mode of portraiture. 

This exhibition drawn from the NPG collection highlights twenty-four noted women writers from the past one hundred years.

Hearts 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.

On view are more than 75 vibrant and varied personal statements from artists from 1976 and now that elucidate the contours of feminist art.

This 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.

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life and legacy of Leah Chase with a painting by Gustave Blache III.

On 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.

Internationally 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.

Pioneering feminist artist Yun Suk Nam (born 1939) uses portraiture to gain insights into the lives of women, past and present.

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life of acclaimed singer and musician Aretha Franklin.

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life of Henrietta Lacks with the installation of a 2017 portrait by Kadir Nelson.