Past Exhibitions

1227 results found

Bronze and Boxwood

Closed May 4, 2008

Faces and Figures

Closed May 1, 2008

The Baroque Woodcut

Closed March 30, 2008

Let the World In

Closed March 30, 2008

The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson

Closed December 31, 2007

249 images by unknown photographers were shown in this survey of snapshots from the time the Kodak camera and roll film were introduced in 1888 through the 1970s. Works in the exhibition were selected from the collection of Robert E. Jackson and from his recent gifts to the National Gallery of Art.

The image is a collage of twelve circular photographs, each featuring different scenes from a picnic in 1889. In the top row, the first photograph displays an outdoor setting with a horse-drawn carriage and a group of people. The second and third photographs show individuals framed within a porch area; one is sitting upright while the other is lounging on a chair. Moving to the middle row, group scenes feature women and men in outdoor, grassy areas, with women wearing long white dresses and wide-brimmed hats, typical of late 19th-century fashion. The men are sporting hats and dark suits. The backgrounds depict open fields with clear skies. The bottom row includes people engaging in outdoor activities, such as riding a bicycle and climbing over a wooden fence. The countryside provides a serene backdrop for these activities.

J.M.W. Turner

Closed January 6, 2008

We look across a glittering waterway lined with long, low boats and sailboats at an ivory-white church in the distance to our right in this horizontal landscape painting. The horizon line comes about a third of the way up the composition, and wispy white clouds sweep across the brilliant azure-blue sky above. A row of buildings comes into view lining the canal to our right, with a terracotta-orange building followed by a cream-white building beyond, both angled toward the church. The church has a high dome rising over the temple-like front, which has columns supporting a triangular pediment. A tall bell tower rises to the left of the church. The low boats, gondolas, to our left are packed with people while a few gondolas floating in the center of the canal appear occupied only by their gondoliers who stand holding their poles. Painted in tones of ivory and peach, the sails of boats behind the gondolas to our left billow in the breeze while the sails of vessels docked to our right are furled. The structures, boats, and people cast shimmering reflections on the gently rippling surface of the water in the canal. Rows of boats and buildings lining the canal extend into the deep, hazy distance to our left.

British Picturesque Landscapes

Closed February 24, 2008

Exhibition: Edward Hopper

Closed January 21, 2008

48 paintings, 34 watercolors, and 12 prints were presented in this survey of the career of American artist Edward Hopper. The exhibition was arranged chronologically and thematically in seven sections: prints, early work and Gloucester, the city, Maine, Truro, figures, and late work.