September 12, 2008 - January 25, 2009
1st Floor, South Alcove
The year 2008 marks the 225th anniversary of the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution. To commemorate this event, on view are the earliest surviving full-length oil portraits of North American aboriginal people painted from life. In 1710, four men were chosen to represent the Iroquoian Confederacy of the Mohawk River Valley before Queen Anne to highlight the plight of the colonies in the English military offensive against the French. The men were presented to the Royal court as "kings." John Verelst was commissioned to paint a portrait of each of the visitors and he did so with all the decorum appropriate to royalty and to heads of state.
May 9, 2008 - February 8, 2009
2nd Floor, West Side
Featuring 61 pieces from the late 19th century to the present, this exhibition demonstrates how posters function as portraiture. Subjects as diverse as General Pershing, "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Joe Louis, Judy Garland, aviator Jimmy Doolittle, and labor leader Lane Kirkland all enhance the poster's mission to attract attention and persuade. Dramatic, colorful, and often enormous, these likenesses hardly seem subtle. But what a poster communicates about an individual is usually secondary to its principal message -- selling war bonds, announcing the arrival of the circus, advertising a product, or publicizing a concert or film. Posters invariably project the public image, enhancing, promoting, exploiting, or upgrading the information we subconsciously absorb about celebrity figures.
Catalogue: $19.95
May 2, 2008 - November 30, 2008
2nd Floor, West Side
On view are 44 of Herbert Lawrence Block's presidential cartoons that appeared in The Washington Post for 56 years and include depictions of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. The exhibition offers an opportunity for visitors to see how one of America's greatest political cartoonists viewed the American presidency for most of the 20th century. Block, who drew under the pen-name Herblock, appeared in American newspapers for more than seven decades.
An interactive kiosk allows visitors to view over 100 additional cartoons not in the exhibition.
April 11, 2008 - September 1, 2008
2nd Floor, North Side
This exhibition, drawn exclusively from the National Portrait Gallery's collection of Steichen's photographs, features 50 images from the years of his association with Vanity Fair as well as examples of Steichen's earlier portrait work. As chief photographer from 1923-36 for Vanity Fair, he used dramatic lighting, sharpened focus, and bold compositions to create compelling images of many celebrated personalities -- from Charlie Chaplin to Franklin D. Roosevelt -- setting a new standard for photographic portraitures.
April 11, 2008 - September 1, 2008
2nd Floor, North Side
This is the first exhibition to tell the story of photographer Zaida Ben-Yusuf's (1869-1933) extraordinary life and bring together 56 of her portraits. In these images she sought not only to portray the key figures in "new New York," but also to revitalize an artistic genre that had grown stale by the end of the 19th century. An important figure in the pictorialist photography movement in late 19th- and early 20th-century New York, she was the first woman to embark on building a "gallery of illustrious Americans" and attracted to her Fifth Avenue studio many of the most prominent artistic, literary, theatrical, and political figures of her day.
Catalogue: (cost TBA)
March 21, 2008 - January 25, 2009
1st Floor, North Side
This rotating exhibition highlights newly acquired objects in the National Portrait Gallery collection. New Arrivals displays paintings, drawings, sculptures, posters, prints, and photographs featuring such subjects as Henry Kirke Brown by Louis Lang, Louis and Annette Kaufman by Lawrence Lebduska, Judy Garland by Andy Warhol, Cunne Shote by James McArdell (copied after Francis Parsons), Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein by Alfred Eisenstaedt, and Carolina Herrera by Robert Mapplethorpe.
February 8, 2008 - October 26, 2008
1st Floor, South Side
This exhibition feature images of hip hop stars by 7 artists who have explored the hip hop phenomenon. Since its inception in the 1970s, hip hop has been arguably the most influential and popular musical form in America. Its popularity extends beyond the urban centers where it was born and pervades youth culture throughout the world. The 7 artists are: David Scheinbaum, who has taken photographs of hip hop artists since 2000 both in concert and off stage, including such celebrated groups as Public Enemy, Blackalicious, Phar Cyde, De La Soul, and Jurassic-5. Kehinde Wiley, who has done portraits of such hip hop artists as L. L. Cool J and Ice T, each based on a famous European or American painting from the 17th through 19th centuries. Nikki Giovanni, who wrote a poem, which is transcribed onto walls by artist Shinique Smith. Two graffiti artists based in D.C. who created 4 portrait murals for an installation, which also includes Jefferson Pinder's 3 video self-portraits.
Related booklet
November 18, 2007 - New Permanent
1st Floor
The enclosed Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard -- a year-round gathering space with a new glass canopy designed by renowned British architect Norman Foster of Foster + Partners in London and interior landscape design by Kathryn Gustafson -- is unveiled today. Its completion marks the final phase of a major renovation of this National Historic Landmark. The courtyard will provide a dynamic year-round public gathering space that can accommodate a variety of functions for the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which both share in this historic building.
November 17, 2007 - New Permanent
Historic Fabric Room, 1st Floor, S. of F St. Lobby, near lockers
This small exhibition commemorates the opening of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard, the final phase of a major renovation of the National Historic Landmark building that houses the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. It highlights aspects of the renovation with photographs, architectural artifacts from the building, and objects discovered during the excavation of the courtyard. Also included are historic images of the building, a 7-foot segment of one of the 19th-century cast iron fountains from the courtyard, and an architect's model of the building.
Related publication: Temple of Invention: History of a National Landmark by Charles Robertson, who is also the guest curator of the exhibition: $19.95 (paper)
November 2, 2007 - September 28, 2008
1st Floor, East Side
The One Life gallery within the museum is devoted to the exploration of the life of one individual.
This exhibition is dedicated to 20th-century icon Katharine Hepburn (May 12, 1907 - June 29, 2003), who carefully constructed and maintained her own myth from her earliest days in the studio system through more than 50 years on stage, screen, and television. The exhibition of 43 objects will also include her four Oscar statues -- the most won by anyone for best actress -- images from her life and career, and clips from a selection of her films, interviews, and television appearances.
- Permanent
2nd Floor
This exhibition displays multiple images of the 42 presidents of the United States, including the greatest historical painting in our nation's history, Gilbert Stuart's "Lansdowne" portrait of George Washington. Also included are the famous "cracked plate" photograph of Abraham Lincoln by Alexander Gardner and whimisical sculptures of Presidents Johnson, Carter, and Nixon by caricaturist Pat Oliphant. Five presidents are given expanded attention because of their significant impact on the office: Washington, Andrew Jackson, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Audio and video interpretive materials augment the exhibition.
- Permanent
1st Floor
In 17 galleries and alcoves, this exhibition chronologically arranged starts from the days of contact between Native Americans and European explorers through the struggles of independence to the Gilded Age. Major figures from Pocahontas to Chief Joseph, Sam Adams to Henry Clay, and Nathaniel Hawthorne to Mark Twain are included. Three of the galleries are devoted to the Civil War, examining this conflict in depth. Complementing this section is a group of modern photographic prints produced from Mathew Brady's original negatives. Highlights from its daguerreotype collection -- the earliest practical form of photography -- also are on view.
- Permanent
2nd Floor, North and Northwest
On view are 14 bronze and terra-cotta portraits made by renowned American sculptor Jo Davidson between 1908 and 1946, including depictions of Gertrude Stein, Franklin D. Roosevelt, artist John Marin, and Lincoln Steffens.
- Permanent
3rd Floor, South Side and Mezzanines
Six galleries focus on 20th-century Americans:
3rd Floor, south side: Four galleries showcase the major cultural and political figures of the 20th century. The exhibition also traces the unceasing struggle to achieve the American goal of justice for all from the reform movement of the first two decades to the social justice and civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s, and from World War I through the Persian Gulf War.
3rd Floor, mezzanines: Two additional exhibitions relating to the 20th century are featured:
• BRAVO! showcases individuals who have brought the performing arts to life, beginning with P.T. Barnum, who raised the curtain on modern entertainment in the late 19th century and continuing to the present.
• Champions showcases American sports figures whose impact has extended beyond the ring, the court, and the field to become a part of the larger story of the life and culture of our nation.
Note: A lively combination of portraits, artifacts, memorabilia, and videos enhances both exhibitions.
- Permanent
3rd Floor Mezzanine & 4th Floor, West
The Lunder Conservation Center -- shared with the Smithsonian American Art Museum -- is the first facility that provides a unique opportunity for the public to view through glass walls conservators at work in several labs examining, treating, and preserving art.
Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits
The inaugural show of the National Museum of African American History and Culture focuses on people who battled injustice, whether from the boxing ring, the bandstand or Congress. Read >>
Aerosol Art
Largely dismissed as vandalism, graffiti migrates from city streets and subway cars into major galleries. Read >>
The Courtyard Cafe´ (open daily, 11:30 to 6:30), located in the Kogod Courtyard, offers specialty sandwiches, panini, soups, salads, desserts and coffee.
The Portico Cafe´ (open weather permitting, 11:30 to 5), located on the second floor, is a charmed spot to enjoy an espresso, wine or pastry.
