Past Exhibitions

In Memoriam: Leah Chase

June 5, 2019 - June 30, 2019

Leah Chase (1923–2019), dubbed the “Queen of Creole Cuisine,” was a restauranteur and world renowned chef, who championed civil rights.
In Memoriam: I.M. Pei

May 17, 2019 - June 5, 2019

The National Portrait Gallery recognizes the life and legacy of acclaimed architect I.M. Pei with a photograph by Armenian Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh. The portrait will be installed in the museum’s In Memoriam space on the first floor.
Daguerreotypes: Five Decades of Collecting

June 15, 2018 - June 2, 2019

The 2018 installation of the Daguerreian Gallery celebrates the National Portrait Gallery’s golden anniversary by highlighting fifty years of daguerreotype collecting by the museum.
IDENTIFY: Performance Art as Portraiture

May 22, 2019

Jeffrey Gibson: To Name an Other
May 22, 5:00 p.m. | Kogod Courtyard
One Year: 1968, An American Odyssey

June 29, 2018 - May 19, 2019

As part of a series of installations celebrating its golden anniversary, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will present “One Year: 1968, An American Odyssey,” a one-room exhibition that looks back at an extraordinarily important and memorable time in American history.
Lincoln's Contemporaries

May 13, 2016 - May 12, 2019
First floor, Meserve Corridor

Who were Abraham Lincoln’s contemporaries? They included many fascinating people beyond the politicians and military leaders of the Civil War.
Orchids: Amazing Adaptations

February 16, 2019 - April 28, 2019

Escape the winter cold and step into a floral oasis in the Kogod Courtyard with Orchids: Amazing Adaptations.