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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Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ
Closed July 18, 1999
A group of four men with pale skin, shown from the waist up, almost fill this square painting. Light pours onto the scene from the upper left and falls across the upturned face of the bearded, bare-chested man, Saint Bartholomew, who is situated with his back facing us and his arms spread wide. In the top right corner, his right wrist is lashed to a pole that extends off the top edge of the painting. His other arm is bent at the elbow near the lower left corner, and he holds that hand palm up. His profile, facing our left, is bright against the shadowed background. His mouth is slightly agape, and his eyebrows are raised as he looks up toward the light that bathes his lithe, muscular body. His long beard is streaked with gray, and he has receding black hair. A second, broad-shouldered man, draped in a brown cloak, stands facing us behind and just to our left of Saint Bartholomew. The younger man holds a knife in one hand resting against a black, rod-like sharpener held in the other. He turns his head to gaze at Saint Bartholomew, his eyes deep in shadow. He also has a furrowed brow and a craggy, ruddy complexion. Two more men stand behind him, to our left, filling the left side of the painting. The man on the far left has smooth skin, a trimmed beard, and short brown hair. He stands in profile looking to our right and wears a cranberry-red cloak. Barely visible beyond him, to our right, is a man wearing a gray-green hood hiding half his face. His features are loosely painted and faint, but he also looks up, either toward the young man or the light from above. All four are surrounded by deep shadows against a brown background.
Portraits by Ingres
Closed August 22, 1999
This drawing features a seated woman, her body turned to the right and her head facing us. Her hands are in her lap, holding an object resembling a book. The woman has dark curly hair styled under a lace-adorned bonnet. She has deep-set eyes, thin eyebrows, and a small mouth. The woman's face and neck are drawn in detail, but her clothes and accessories are roughly sketched. She wears a dark dress under a shawl with patterns and tassels that covers her shoulders and arms. In the background, there is a faint sketch of a scene with architectural structures, including an obelisk and steps leading to a building with domes or towers.
Faces and Figures
Closed November 7, 1999
Five sketches in brown ink are spaced around a vertically oriented sheet of paper. In the top left quadrant, a bearded man faces our right in profile. He has short, curly hair, a deeply lined face, a pronounced underbite, and the tip of his long nose points down. Two independent, wrinkle-lined eyes are sketched in the top right quadrant of the page. Below are two drawings of women with their shoulders angled away from us to the right. Near the bottom left and smaller in scale, a woman looks over her shoulder at us with a slight smile on her lips. In the bottom right quadrant, a woman with her hair pulled back under a snood looks to our right in profile with her chin tipped up. The neckline of both women’s bodices dip across the shoulder blades in the back. The paper is speckled with faint brown stains and spots.
Photographs from the Collection
Closed July 5, 1999
The image shows a stream surrounded by dense woods. A fallen tree trunk crosses the stream, with a man seated on a chair nearby. Trees frame the scene, and the overall color palette is earthy with browns and greens blending into the background.
John Singer Sargent
Closed May 31, 1999
From Botany to Bouquets
Closed May 31, 1999
A profusion of flowers in shades of white, orange, blue, and deep pink, with earthy-green leaves, burst from the narrow opening of a glass vase in this vertical still life painting. Shown against a dark brown background, the vase sits on a caramel-brown ledge. The flowers in the center of the arrangement draw the eye. On our right two tulips are streaked with cream white and dark pink. A flower above it, perhaps an anemone, has white ruffled petals with flame-red tips around a denim-blue center. A small snail in a rust-orange shell rests on a curling green leaf nearby. On our left is a partly opened tulip with scarlet-red streaks next to an ivory-white hydrangea with clusters of tiny petals. Trumpet-shaped, sea-blue morning glories and an amber-orange bloom surround the white hydrangea. The top third of the arrangement has a tall, white peony with feathery petals at the center. Queen Anne’s lace nestles alongside small blooms in muted purples and blues, sage-green peapods, and a carrot-orange flower that resembles a daisy. A slender stalk of wheat extends off the right side while another bends to meet the ledge. The lower third of the arrangement is filled with pink roses, more green pea pods, two closed, plum-purple flowers, and another feathery peony, this one crimson red, which droops to meet the ledge near the bottom right corner of the painting. A few blackberries lie on the ledge nearby. Leaves in various sizes and shades of green fill in among the blooms. More insects and creatures are scattered throughout the composition. For example, a caterpillar clings to the underside of the white peony at the top while a brown and black butterfly flies toward it. A bee sits on the white and red anemone, and a snail, salamander, and spider gather on the ledge to the left of the vase. Stems and the water line are visible within the glass vase, which swells from a narrow opening into a wide base. Panes of a window off to our left reflects in the belly of the vase. The artist signed the front face of the ledge near the lower left: “J.D. De Heem f.”
American Impressionism and Realism: The Margaret and Raymond Horowitz Collection
Closed May 9, 1999

49 American impressionist and realist paintings and works on paper from the Margaret and Raymond Horowitz collection were presented, including works by William Merritt Chase, Childe Hassam, George Bellows, Maurice Prendergast, William Glackens, and Theodore Robinson.

This painting depicts a white house in a lush green setting. The house has dark windows and a red chimney, partially obscured by trees that cast dappled shadows on the house's facade. The front door appears to be open. A light brown path runs parallel to the house at the bottom of the image, and small gray steps lead up the grass towards the house. The color palette includes vibrant greens for the foliage and a light blue for the sky behind the house. The brushstrokes are loose and impressionistic, creating a soft and textured appearance in the trees, grass, and building.
Edo: Art in Japan 1615-1868
Closed February 15, 1999
Figure Studies and Compositional Drawings from the Armand Hammer Collection
Closed May 9, 1999
Love and War
Closed January 31, 1999
This is a drawing of a scene with various figures engaged in different activities. The image shows a detailed depiction of a medieval or renaissance gathering with elegantly dressed figures. The figures are clothed in long, flowing garments or robes with intricate patterns and textures. The setting appears to be a large hall or courtyard with architectural elements such as arches and columns. In the center, there are three individuals playing musical instruments on a raised platform, surrounded by others dancing or socializing. The floor is checkered, with small dogs in the foreground. The composition features animated figures engaged in conversation or activities, conveying a sense of festivity and community in monochrome tones.
Gifts to the Nation from Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney
Closed January 3, 1999
The painting depicts a coastal scene. A rocky shore in warm tones of orange, brown, red, and purple is closest to us, with two boats and a simple structure visible near the center of the painting. There is another boat closer to us, by the water near the bottom edge of the painting. The horizon line is almost at the top of the painting, with a range of mountains faintly visible against a strip of pale-purple sky, past the large body of water. The water is a light blue color, stretching from the rocky shore on the right to the distant mountains. The paint has been applied with small dot-like brushstrokes of reds, oranges, blues, and purples.
Bernini's Rome
Closed January 18, 1999

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