Exhibitions

Photographers seeking customers during the medium’s early years often urged the public to “Secure the shadow, ere the substance fade.” Hinting at life’s fragility, this tagline underscored photography’s ability to capture a fleeting likeness .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work sheds new light on a beloved body of work by Anna Mary Robertson ​“Grandma” Moses (1860 – 1961). Grandma Moses used creativity, hope, and togetherness as tools for shaping a life that she metaphorically likened .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

At the Vanguard weaves together stories of ingenuity, artistry and resistance—through collections from Clark Atlanta University, Florida A&M University, Jackson State University, Texas Southern University, and Tuskegee University. Explore .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

As part of Art of Noise, opening in full in February 2026, the installation HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 3 presents a large scale, handmade, audio system by multi-disciplinary artist Devon Turnbull. Known under his creative pseudonym .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

Assembled from the museum’s extensive twentieth-century holdings, Artist to Artist features eight pairings: Yayoi Kusama and Joseph Cornell, George Tooker and Paul Cadmus, Loïs Mailou Jones and Elizabeth Catlett, Frank O'Hara and Grace Hartigan.... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

The tallest mountains on earth rise from the plains of northern India in a series of steep hills, snowy peaks, and narrow valleys. From the same Himalayan region arose some of the world’s most beautiful—yet least understood—works of art. .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

For nearly 250 years, Americans have been inspired by the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence. American Aspirations brings together for the first time some of the Smithsonian’s most treasured objects to commemorate this founding.... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

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