Art & Design

An exhibition of all new work spanning seven galleries highlights the dynamic portraiture practice of leading contemporary artist Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke).

Gold powder falls gently onto wet lacquer, shimmering. There, it transforms into plants, birds, and even scenes from stories. This Japanese art form is called maki-e (literally, “sprinkled picture”). Artists have used this method since the .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

In 2026, the National Portrait Gallery will observe the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of its photographs collection, which now accounts for nearly half of the museum’s total holdings. Encompassing more than one hundred works, from the .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

Handwork: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery features objects from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection that explore the meaning and relevance of craft in American culture. The installation includes several new .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

Carlotta Corpron: Light Is a Plastic Medium surveys work by the American abstract photographer and educator Carlotta Corpron whose investigations into the poetics of light and form and innovative use of technology supported the establishment of.... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

From the California coast to the Kansas heartland to the streets of New York City, the photographs in Much Here is Beautiful: Photography Surveys of the U.S. Bicentennial present an expansive and evocative portrait of America with a focus on .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.

In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the nation, two additions join the museum’s Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900 exhibition: a freshly conserved diorama depicting the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and a new .... Shortened snippet. View full page for more details.