Past Exhibitions

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

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Michelangelo's David-Apollo
Closed March 7, 2013
Modern Lab: The Box as Form, Structure, and Container
Closed October 27, 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.”
Imperial Augsburg: Renaissance Prints and Drawings, 1475–1540
Closed December 31, 2012
The image shows a mounted knight in ornate armor on a horse. The knight holds a lance and wears a full-face helmet with decorations. The armor is detailed, and the knight sits confidently. The horse is also armored, and both have matching coverings. The background has architectural elements, emblems, and an inscription reading “IMP-CAES-MAXIMIL-AVG.”
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.
The Serial Portrait: Photography and Identity in the Last One Hundred Years
Closed December 31, 2012
The image shows the upper body of a person holding a camera and capturing their reflection in a mirror. The person has sharp eyes, dark, straight medium-length hair, and is wearing a dark sweater with a circular patch on the shoulder. The background consists of a plain wall, a piece of fabric to the right, and another mirror on the left reflecting the person with the camera. There is a reflective surface below and blurred objects at the bottom right corner, suggesting an indoor setting.
Shock of the News
Closed January 27, 2013
John Cage: Rocks, Paper, Fire
Closed September 16, 2012

Featuring six prints from the Gallery's collection, this exhibition explores Cage’s experimental approach to creating visual art. The selection of prints highlights his unconventional utilization of fire as a printmaking medium and his systematic employment of stones as templates for tracing.

The image includes circular shapes and brushstroke lines arranged in a seemingly random manner. The abstract composition features colors like blue, brown, red, and yellow, with some shapes resembling overlapping rings or loops. The scattered arrangement of elements may evoke a playful jumble of bubbles or soap suds. The soft, muted background contrasts with the defined, colorful shapes in the foreground, enhancing the abstract nature of the piece.
From the Library: Citizens of the Republic Portraits from the Dutch Golden Age
Closed February 3, 2013
Elegance and Refinement: The Still-Life Paintings of Willem van Aelst
Closed October 14, 2012

The first exhibition devoted solely to Willem van Aelst brings together 28 paintings and his only known drawing. His renowned still lifes are remarkable for their fine finish, carefully balanced composition, jewel-toned palette, and elegant subject matter.

Two roosters, a rabbit, and three small birds hang from the top of this vertical still life painting, so the heads of one white rooster and the rabbit come to rest on a dark stone ledge, about a third of the way up the composition. To our left, the tawny-brown rabbit’s nose faces us as the head rests on an azure-blue purse with silver lining. A pair of scissors is tucked behind the strap, which falls down over the ledge. To our right, the head of the rooster curves away with its red coxcomb coming toward us. A black fly rests on the rooster’s comb. The black tail feathers of another rooster arc out behind it, near the upper right corner of the painting. In front of the rabbit's bound, hind legs is a small bird with puffed, silvery-gray feathers, and one black leg tied up with a dark cord. To our left are two more small birds, one with gray, cream, and tan feathers, the other with cream, golden orange, and lapis blue. These two are secured with their beaks pointing upward. Two white and scarlet-red caps, falcon’s hoods, are strung up by white ribbon near the pair of birds. Below the ledge is a carved scene with nude or nearly nude people, but this area is mostly in shadow. Behind the animals is a dark, nearly black wall.
The McCrindle Gift: A Distinguished Collection of Drawings and Watercolors
Closed November 25, 2012
The image shows a low angle view looking across a calm body of water towards a distant cityscape. The horizon is placed just below the middle of the composition, featuring a skyline with a prominent tall bell tower and architectural structures spread across the view. The painting's technique uses soft, fluid brushstrokes that blend seamlessly into one another. The color palette is composed of muted tones, with grays and blues predominating, while soft pastel hues of peach, pink, and orange highlight the buildings and sailboats along the waterline, creating a subtle contrast against the dusky sky.
Exhibition: George Bellows
Closed October 8, 2012
From a darkened arena around a boxing ring, we look up at two bare chested men, one with pale, white skin and the other with brown skin, who lock arms in a boxing match in this horizontal painting. The brushstrokes are loose and visible throughout, making some details difficult to make out. The boxer to our left wears drooping, forest-green trunks and black shoes. He leans back on his bent right leg, closer to us, and tilts his face up. His mouth gapes open and his nose, chin, and neck are smeared with scarlet red, suggesting blood. His pale skin has a green cast, and his chest, arms, and legs are sinewy and muscular. His right arm is raised or pulled up overhead by the boxer to our right. Wearing dark briefs, the second boxer hunches over with head lowered toward the other man’s shoulder. He surges forward onto his deeply bent left knee, closer to us, pushing powerfully off his back leg. His face is lost in shadow and his body has less detail than his opponent, though light glints off his arching back to create gold highlights against his brown skin along his spine, ribs, and muscles of the shoulder. The men’s bodies nearly span the height of the canvas. The black ropes of the boxing ring pass in front of and behind the boxers, and the space around the ring in the top half of the painting is nearly black. Heads and faces of the spectators in the first few rows are lit by the main event and are crowded into the bottom third of the painting. Two spectators on our far left have climbed up and lean on and through the ropes, their mouths open. The crowd, which appears to be all light-skinned men and boys, are painted loosely but their mouths widen in toothy grins or are agape. The artist signed the work in yellow letters against black in the lower right corner: “Geo Bellows.”

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