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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American Naive Paintings from the Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch Collection
Closed February 10, 2002
The painting features a scene showing men in a boat landing on a shore. The horizon is low, with larger sailing ships seen in the distance on the right, floating on the dark green water. The central boat has around eight men in it, all with tan skin and dark hair, dressed in bright garments in shades of red, blue, and gold. Many of them wear plumed helmets and have jewelry or badges adorning them. The boat is heading towards land on the left, and one man stands at the front of the boat, holding a white flag. The land on the left is green, with tall palm trees and a rocky gray mountain. People with dark skin can be seen in on the land in the distance, some climbing the mountain and others standing beneath trees. The sky is a gradient from pinkish-orange near the horizon to light blue at the top of the painting, with a few faint gray clouds.
The Unfinished Print
Closed October 7, 2001
The image displays intricate, swirling lines and textured shading to create an abstract scene. On the left side are fine lines resembling branches and leaves, with a small figure nearby. On the right side is a large, densely shaded form reminiscent of mountains or a rock formation. The elements come together to suggest landscapes and nature through imaginative shapes and line work.
Faces and Figures
Closed November 4, 2001
Cy Twombly
Closed July 29, 2001
Modern Art and America
Closed April 22, 2001
Italian Drawings from the Armand Hammer Collection
Closed May 13, 2001
Prints Abound
Closed February 25, 2001
Art Nouveau, 1890-1914
Closed January 28, 2001

This comprehensive exhibition of the international art nouveau style included some 380 paintings, works of sculpture, graphics, ceramics, glass, textiles, furniture, jewelry, and architectural structures and designs.

A baby nestles in a mass of frilly white fabric atop a colorful patchwork, perhaps a pile of quilts, against a sage and spring-green background in this square painting. The baby’s face and right hand peeks out from the mountain of fabric at the top center of the composition. The infant has ash-white skin with pink cheeks and lips, and looks down toward us with large dark eyes. The pile of fabric creates a mosaic-like mix of pattern and color with vibrant royal and baby blue, sage green, turquoise, butter yellow, and shell and salmon pink. Some patterns are outlined in black while brushstrokes swirl together in other areas. The background is mottled with cool mint and asparagus-green strokes against pale beige.
Art for the Nation
Closed February 4, 2001
Small Northern European Portraits from The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore
Closed December 21, 2000
Prints and Drawings from the Permanent Collection
Closed October 15, 2000
The drawing shows a reclining figure on a flat surface, positioned on their side with a slightly arched back, head leaned back, and facing upwards. The figure has a outlined face with closed mouth and defined chin, and loose hair. The body is unclothed, with attention to form and shading. The background is simple and sketched lightly. There are no visible accessories. The artwork is on textured paper, using charcoal or graphite for shading and white highlights for depth.
The Impressionists at Argenteuil
Closed August 20, 2000
A sun-dappled dirt road runs away from us, parallel to a shimmering body of water under a blue sky dotted with white clouds in this horizontal landscape painting. The scene is loosely painted with visible brushstrokes, so some details are difficult to make out. The road moves back in space from the lower right corner of the canvas. It is lined with tall thin trees with narrow, dark green canopies to our right and with marshy grasses to our left. The road ends or curves in front of a row of terracotta-orange and gray buildings and smokestacks along the horizon, which comes about a third of the way up this composition. Two women and a child stand and sit in the shadows at the base of the trees to our right. Two sailboats drift on the glassy surface of the water. A row of celery-green trees on the horizon to our left and the sails of the boats reflect in the water. The artist signed the lower right corner, “Claude Monet.”

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