Exhibitions
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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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Althea Gibson
June 3, 2016 – June 5, 2016Portrait GallerySmithsonianmag.com voters choose between portraits of Gibson, Eleanor Holm and Helene Madison, and Duke Kahanamoku to go on view. Gibson’s photograph received the most votes.
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One Life: Dolores Huerta
July 3, 2015 – May 15, 2016Portrait GalleryOne Life: Dolores Huerta highlights the significant role of this Latina leader in the California farm workers movement of the 1960s and 70s.
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Elaine de Kooning: Portraits
March 13, 2015 – January 10, 2016Portrait GalleryElaine de Kooning’s gestural portraits of friends and family were much admired during her lifetime, and included many well-known Americans.
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Cupcake Katy
June 18, 2014 – July 6, 2014Portrait GalleryOn view is a portrait of pop singer Katy Perry by distinguished New York academic portrait painter Will Cotton.
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In Memoriam: Maya Angelou
May 29, 2014 – June 12, 2014Portrait GallerySee a portrait of writer, poet, and activist Maya Angelou (1928-1914) by painter Ross Rossin.
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A Will of Their Own: Judith Sargent Murray and Women of Achievement in the Early Republic
April 20, 2012 – September 2, 2013Portrait GalleryLearn about the achievements of women in the late 18th century and see portraits of eight prominent American women of the period.
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Portrait of Alice Waters
January 21, 2012 – November 30, 2012Portrait GallerySee Dave Woody's portrait of chef Alice Waters, founder of the restaurant Chez Panisse and the Edible Schoolyard and champion of the Slow Food Movement.
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Juliette Gordon Low and the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts
January 13, 2012 – January 6, 2013Portrait GalleryCelebrate the centennial of the Girl Scouts of the United States, founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912. The Girl Scouts has grown from 18 members in 1912 to 3.3 million today.
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Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories
October 14, 2011 – January 22, 2012Portrait GalleryMore than 50 artifacts and 100 works of art reveal Gertrude Stein in her many roles.
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One Life: Katharine Graham
October 1, 2010 – May 30, 2011Portrait GalleryThe exhibition narrates key moments in the Washington Post publisher's extraordinary life during extraordinary times.
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Women of Our Time: Twentieth-Century Photographs
October 10, 2008 – February 1, 2009Portrait GalleryWomen of Our Time is a photographic celebration of 91 women who have challenged and changed America.
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Zaida Ben-Yusuf: New York Portrait Photographer
April 11, 2008 – September 1, 2008Portrait GalleryPhotographer Zaida Ben-Yusuf (1869-1933) was an important figure in the pictorialist photography movement in late 19th and early 20th century New York.
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One Life: KATE: A Centennial Celebration
November 2, 2007 – September 28, 2008Portrait GalleryThis exhibition is dedicated to Hepburn, who carefully constructed and maintained her own myth through more than 50 years on stage, screen, and television.
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Portraits of Sandra Day O'Connor
March 30, 2007 – October 8, 2007Portrait GalleryThe exhibition examines how a group of artists, The Painting Group, interprets the same subject—Justice Sandra Day O’Connor—at the same time.
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Josephine Baker: Image and Icon
November 24, 2006 – March 18, 2007Portrait GalleryThe exhibition celebrates Baker’s life during the 100th anniversary year of her birth.
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Women of Our Time: Photographs from the National Portrait GalleryAugust 22, 2003 – January 2, 2005Portrait Gallery
This wide-ranging survey featured 75 of the most important American women of the 20th century, as seen by many of the finest photographers of our time.
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Marilyn Monroe in Korea: Newly Discovered Photographs by David Geary
April 1, 1998 – January 30, 1999Portrait GalleryDavid Geary, a navy medic, created several memorable portraits of the Hollywood star when she entertained the troops in Korea in 1954.