Exhibitions

The first comprehensive survey of the richly layered work of Simone Leigh, among the most respected artists of her generation.

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.

Put It This Way is devoted to the work of nearly 50 women and nonbinary artists in the Hirshhorn’s collection.

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

The exhibition features a recent body of work in the form of a monumental cycle of 40 large-scale, monochromatic drawings that chronicle a myth conceived by the artist.

Laurie Anderson: The Weather is the largest-ever U.S. exhibition of artwork by celebrated multimedia artist Laurie Anderson. 

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

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.

The Hirshhorn hosts the largest site-specific exhibition to date by the acclaimed abstract painter Pat Steir.

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.

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.