Past Exhibitions

Learn about past exhibitions going back as far as 1941 when the National Gallery of Art first opened to the public.

Filter Results

1221 results found

Results

Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop
Closed May 5, 2013

In the first major exhibition devoted to the history of manipulated photographs before the digital age, some 200 works will demonstrate that today's digitally altered photographs are part of a tradition that extends back to the beginning of photography. Featuring visually captivating photographs, the exhibition will trace photographic manipulation from the 1840s through the 1980s and show that photography is—and always has been—a medium of fabricated truths and artful lies.

Pre-Raphaelites and the Book
Closed August 4, 2013
Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design, 1848–1900
Closed May 19, 2013

The first major survey of the art of the Pre-Raphaelites to be shown in the United States features some 130 paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and decorative art objects. The young members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, formed in 1848, shook the art world of mid-19th-century Britain by rejecting traditional approaches to painting. Combining scientific precision, an innovative approach to subject matter, and brilliant, clear colors, Pre-Raphaelitism was Britain's first avant-garde art movement.

Michelangelo's David-Apollo
Closed March 7, 2013
Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective
Closed January 13, 2013

In the first major exhibition since Roy Lichtenstein's death in 1997, more than 100 of the artist's greatest paintings from all periods of his career will be presented along with a selection of related drawings and sculptures.

The Disney cartoon characters, Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse, fish off a dock in this horizontal painting. The scene and characters are painted entirely flat areas of canary yellow, cobalt blue, tomato red, and white. To our left, Donald leans over the edge of the dock with his feet spread and duckbill hanging open. He has a white body outlined in blue, big eyes filled with a pattern of tiny blue dots, and yellow feet and duckbill. He wears a blue sailor’s hat and jacket with a red bow tie and yellow circles indicating buttons. He holds a fishing pole with an oval, red bobber near the fishhook high over his head. The pole has bent back with the fishhook snagged on the back hem of Donald’s jacket. A white speech bubble over Donald’s head is outlined in blue, and blue text inside reads, “LOOK MICKEY, I’VE HOOKED A BIG ONE!!” Mickey stands to our right, covering his smiling mouth with his left hand, on our right, and holding an upright fishing pole with the other hand. His round face is filled with a pattern of tiny red dots, and his curving hairline and ears are blue. He wears blue pants, a red shirt and shoes, and white gloves. The dock is mostly yellow with a white area on the right. Its planks and three white, round posts supporting it are outlined in blue. Rippling water surrounding the dock is defined by wavy lines and undulating bands of blue against a yellow background. The artist signed his initials in the lower left, “rfl.”
Pissarro on Paper
Closed March 31, 2013
The image shows a cluster of trees creating a lattice. In the background, there are structures, possibly cottages or farmhouses, and hills in the distance. The brushstrokes are loose and impressionistic, creating a soft, misty quality. The scene is in muted tones of grayscale, with varying shades from dark shadows to light highlights. In the foreground, there is rough-textured ground with foliage and a figure with their back turned. The background merges with the trees.

Loading Results