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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Harry Callahan
Closed May 22, 1996
The Art of Louis-Léopold Boilly
Closed April 28, 1996
Italian Drawings from the Armand Hammer Collection
Closed May 5, 1996
Drawn with brown ink and shaded with tan washes on cream-white paper, two bearded men wearing robes, with a smaller, nude, winged boy between them, fill this vertical drawing. At the center top of the paper, the angel faces us, gazing down to our left with open mouth and eyebrows drawn together. He has curly hair and lifts his muscular right arm, on our left, with his index finger pointed upward. Crosshatched lines define his body, and quick, curved lines shade his outstretched wings. To our right, one man stands with his body facing the center of the sheet but he turns his head to look up off the top right corner. He has curling hair, a wide mustache, and perhaps a goatee, though his chin is partially hidden by a dark spot on the paper. He has broad shoulders, a thick neck, large hands, and a hint of a muscular leg under his flowing, voluminous robes. He holds a flat, oblong object, possibly a stone tablet, perched on his slightly bent left knee. Seated to our left, the other man faces and looks at us. He also grasps a flat, tablet-like object but holds it up, braced on his right thigh, to our left, and points to it with his other hand. This man also is solidly built and swathed in robes, with a hood over his curly hair. He leans forward, knees apart, and stares out with his brows deeply furrowed. His downturned mouth is set in a bushy, curly beard. Near the bottom of the picture, the bare feet of the two men emerge from the folds of their robes. Touches of white washes on the folds of the robes create a sense of light coming from above and to our right, and charcoal lines reinforce the shadows. A grid is lightly drawn in red chalk lines over the composition. A black stamp in the lower left has the letters “E.C” and another at the center reads, “H de T. STAT.”
Johannes Vermeer
Closed February 11, 1996
Shown from the elbows up, a young person with pale skin and brown hair wearing a wide, scarlet-red hat sits in front of a tapestry in this vertical portrait painting. She sits with her body facing our right in profile but she turns her face to look at or toward us with dark eyes. She has a rounded nose, rather flat cheeks, and a sliver of teeth is visible through parted coral-pink lips. The wide brim of the red hat seems to be made of a soft, almost feathery material, and it casts a shadow across her face. She wears a high-collared white garment that catches the light, a royal-blue, possibly velvet, robe or overcoat, and large, teardrop pearl earrings. Her arm runs along the bottom edge of the panel in front of two carved, wooden lion finials that could be the arm or back of the chair. The tapestry behind her is painted in tones of pale caramel brown and pine green. The painting has a soft, hazy look, and light glints with bright white specks off the pearl earrings, the tip of her nose, her lips, and the lion finials.
Winslow Homer
Closed January 28, 1996
This painting shows a pastoral landscape from a slightly elevated viewpoint. Closest to us, two sheep are lying down on a shaded green slope next to a person on the right, who is wearing a dark red garment with a blue headscarf. The person lays in the grass, resting one head on their hand, looking to the right. The person seems to have peach-toned skin, although details of their face are hard to discern. There appears to be a brown basket next to them. In the background, more white sheep graze across rolling green hills illuminated with light. On the left are a grove of tall trees, which cast shadows on the grassy ground. There are more green trees near the top right corner, below a cloudy blue sky. The brushstrokes in the painting are thick and visible.
John Singleton Copley in England
Closed January 7, 1996
A knight in armor strides toward two women wearing long gowns in a balustraded terrace in this horizontal painting. The three people all have smooth, pale skin with flushed cheeks. To our left, the man’s entire body is covered in armor except for his face under a raised visor. He has blue eyes, and his rose-red lips are slightly parted. His helmet is topped with a plume of white feathers. There is a red cross on his chest and red fabric wraps over his far shoulder and billows down his back to his shins. He holds a round shield edged in red up over his head with his far arm, and holds a lance down by his side with the hand closer to us. A sword hangs from his far hip, and he strides forward onto his other leg. He gazes to our right. In the right half of the composition, the two women stand facing each other. Both have long, curly gray hair, delicate noses, gray eyes under arched brows, and their coral-pink lips are parted. At the center of the painting, one woman, Fidelia, wears a long-sleeved, floor-length white gown tied at the waist with a butter-yellow sash. White cloth wraps around her head and through her hair, and it flutters behind her. She turns her head to look up and to our left, and her head is surrounded by a vibrant, yellow glow. In her right hand, closer to us, she holds up a gold chalice with a snake curling from the cup, its mouth open and tongue flicking out near her hair. She holds a brown book in her other hand, down in front of her hips. The second woman, Speranza, faces Fidelia but she looks up and to our left. Speranza’s topaz-blue, satin dress has a gauzy white collar and cuffs, and the skirt pools around her feet. A sky-blue ribbon wraps through Speranza’s hair. With her far hand, Speranza touches Fidelia’s wrist near the book. With her other hand, closer to us, Fidelia gathers her dress and braces the curving prongs of a silver anchor across that arm. The trio is framed by tall trees on the left and columns swathed with burgundy-red curtains on the right. A balustrade between the man in armor and woman in white is silhouetted against a salmon-pink sky along the horizon. A screen of white clouds float against the aquamarine-blue sky above.
A Great Heritage
Closed December 31, 1995
The Touch of the Artist
Closed January 28, 1996
This drawing is a sketch of several people facing the left, depicted from the chest up. The individuals are standing together in a group. Their hair is in a variety of styles, and they are dressed in draped garments. The person at the front of the group has their hands clasped together in front of their chest. The background is plain beige paper, and the lines of the drawing have been done in red.
Adriaen Brouwer
Closed February 11, 1996
The First Century of Photography
Closed December 31, 1995
Marc Chagall's Early Prints and Drawings
Closed December 31, 1995
This painting features a series of angular and curved lines that create an abstract representation of a village scene. In the left part of the painting, dark, triangular and rectangular shapes form what appear to be a collection of houses, one with a bright yellow roof, and an industrial area with chimneys in the background. The red and beige hues cover the majority of the painting with vibrant, swirling lines adding texture. Behind the buildings, a person appears to ride on horseback against a bright blue section. Closer to us are three people depicted with flat, abstract features. Near the bottom-left corner, a woman in a patterned dress with a dark headscarf appears to carry a tray or bowl. In the center, a person in pale gray clothing is walking to the left, holding an indistinct white object. Behind them, on the right, a person sits on a chair, wrapped in white clothing. Their chair appears to be held up by another person.
Recent Acquisitions of Works of Art on Paper
Closed December 31, 1995
The image shows an array of shapes and lines in an abstract scene. In the foreground, there are dark angular shapes resembling hat silhouettes with faintly sketched faces. The background consists of a pattern of scattered green brushstrokes on a light backdrop. A rich blue border at the top hints at a sky or horizon. The composition blends familiar objects like hats, leaves, and faces with an abstract quality.

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