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Ancient Art of the American Woodland Indians

March 17 – August 4, 1985
East Building, Ground Floor, Northwest, Pod II (3,500 sq. ft.)

Installation view of Ancient Art of the American Woodland Indians, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gallery Archives

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: 132 works made of mica, wood, ceramic, copper, shell, and stone were exhibited to explore the artistic achievements in the Late Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian periods (3000 B.C.-1500 A.D.) of North American Woodland Indians.

Organization: The exhibition was organized by David W. Penney, Detroit Institute of Arts, and was coordinated at the National Gallery by D. Dodge Thompson. Gaillard Ravenel and Mark Leithauser designed the exhibition, and Gordon Anson designed the lighting for the National Gallery.

Sponsor: The exhibition was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Stroh Foundation, and the Founders Society of the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Attendance: 107,032

Catalog: Ancient Art of the American Woodland Indians, by David S. Brose, James A. Brown, and David W. Penney. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., in association with Detroit Institute of Arts, 1985.

Brochure: Ancient Art of the American Woodland Indians. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1985.

Other Venues: Detroit Institute of Arts, September 3–November 11, 1985
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, December 21, 1985–March 9, 1986