Upcoming Exhibitions

  • A daguerreotype of a balding man in profile wearing a suit

    From Shadow to Substance: Grand-Scale Portraits During Photography’s Formative Years

    June 20, 2025 - June 7, 2026

    Drawing on the National Portrait Gallery’s extensive early photography collection, this exhibition traces the evolution of the grand-scale, whole-plate format from the high-end daguerreotype to the mid-range ambrotype to the more affordable tintype.

  • A painted portrait of an African-American man in jeans, an American flag shirt, and cowboy hat.

    Amy Sherald: American Sublime

    September 19, 2025 - February 22, 2026

    Opens September 19, 2025
    The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will present Amy Sherald: American Sublime, the largest, most comprehensive exhibition of the artist’s work to date. Organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), “American Sublime” is the artist’s first major museum survey, bringing together paintings made from 2007 to the present.

  • A promotional flier for the 2025 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.

    The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today

    October 18, 2025 - August 30, 2026

    “The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today” will present the latest in contemporary portraiture selected from the museum’s triennial Outwin Boochever Portraiture Competition in an exhibition dedicated to the genre’s ability to engage history and illuminate contemporary experience.