Collectors Barbara and Aaron Levine recently made a gift to the Hirshhorn encompassing more than 50 historical artworks—including 35 by French-American icon Marcel Duchamp, who pioneered the use of everyday objects in 20th-century art. This exhibit of Duchamp’s most famous ready-made sculptures, drawings and prints shares space with works by contemporaries whom he inspired.
More than 150 contemporary artists from across the country will gather in Main Street Station’s renovated train shed in downtown Richmond to showcase their ceramic, wood, metal, glass, mixed-media and wearable crafts.
While celebrated Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai is best known for his iconic woodblock print The Great Wave off the Coast of Kanagawa, he created thousands of works during his long life. Charles Lang Freer assembled the world’s largest collection of Hokusai’s prints, paintings and drawings, many of which will be on view in this yearlong […]
Japanese American artist Chiura Obata married East and West by depicting American landmarks like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite using Japanese calligraphic brushstrokes and washes of color. More than 100 of Obata’s sketches, woodblock prints, hanging scrolls and personal effects will be on display, many for the first time.
Ongoing • This unique exhibit celebrates African heroes through tales of human accomplishment that reflect the continent’s trials and triumphs. Pulled from the museum’s permanent collection, each of the nearly 50 works of art on display is paired with an historic African individual who embodies the values reflected in the selected work. africa.si.edu
In 19th- and 20th-century sub-Saharan Africa, artistic expression was divided by gender, with men glorifying leaders in wood and metalwork while women employed textiles, beads, jewelry and more for everyday creations. This exhibit of 24 pieces from the BMA’s collection demonstrates the critical role women played in shaping African social identity. artbma.org
The museum hosts its 14th annual market, displaying crafts by more than 30 Native American artists. Visitors can purchase silver and semi-precious jewelry, ceramics, apparel, woven baskets, traditional beadwork, dolls, paintings, prints and sculpture, made by hand in traditional and contemporary styles.
The Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore taps into its archive of costumes, clothing and accessories for an exhibit spanning four centuries. Hermès, Pierre Cardin and “Project Runway” alum Christian Siriano are among the designers featured; fashion pieces, rooted in the state’s history, have connections to former slaves, presidents and royalty. mdhs.org
Through February 9 • Six women photographers chronicle Iran’s social and political realities in this timely show. On view are images by Hengameh Golestan, who documented women protestors following the 1979 revolution; work by Newsha Tavakolian, Shadi Ghadirian, Malekeh Nayiny, Gohar Dashti and Mitra Tabrizian explores themes of defiance, memory, home and displacement in modern […]
Known for tonal compositions featuring solitary female figures, turn-of-the-20th-century American painter Thomas Wilmer Dewing was part of a bustling network of collectors and art dealers. This exhibition explores the influence of Dewing’s friendships and social life, supplementing his art with archival photography. asia.si.edu
In the 17th and 18th centuries, wealthy families decorated banquet tables with extravagant centerpieces made of sugar and fine porcelain. Displayed in the Hillwood House dining room, an elaborate centerpiece by present-day Dutch artist Bouke de Vries reinterprets these sculptures with seven vignettes made of sugar, porcelain and pieces of plastic toys—all ironically depicting an […]
The 20th century marked a shift in studio craft from practical to avant-garde. This display of embroidery, ceramics and jewelry by innovative mid-century American artists includes pieces by such craftspeople as Baltimore-based metalsmith Betty Cooke and the multinational textile artist Mariska Karasz.
More than 40 dealers from the U.S. and Europe will display their wares during this annual antiques show. Dubbed “Iconic George!,” the event includes an exhibit of George Washington-themed decorative arts from the Winterthur Museum. A preview gala, designer panels and dealer talks will also take place. washingtonwintershow.org
Fashioned out of jade, agate, onyx, amethyst, lapis and other semiprecious stones, about 100 decorative objects from the Marjorie Merriweather Post estate will be on display at Hillwood. The collection includes a chalice commissioned by Catherine the Great, a Fabergé snuff box and a Florentine mosaic tabletop.
Influential Washington, DC, artist Robert Franklin Gates (1906-1982) was a muralist, painter, printmaker, draftsman—and an American University professor of art for more than 40 years. This exhibit, featuring works in watercolor, oil-on-canvas and more, spans Gates’ career.
A solo show of American artist Ellen Lesperance’s work features gouache paintings based on clothing worn by women activists, warriors and cultural figures. The exhibit reveals seven pieces from the artist’s ongoing “Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp” series, inspired by garments worn at the end of the last century by feminists protesting U.S. nuclear weapons […]
Organized by the Arab World Institute and UNESCO, this virtual exhibition takes viewers to three Middle Eastern cities: Palmyra and Aleppo in Syria and Mosul in Iraq. All three have been recently devastated by war; this exhibit intends to preserve them for future generations via large-scale projections and digital reconstructions of iconic monuments and ancient […]
Painting en plein air was a popular trend during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when intrepid artists journeyed to breathtaking European spots to practice their craft outdoors. This collection of around 100 oil sketches from the period includes works by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, John Constable and more. nga.gov
GWU undergraduate students curated this exhibit of letters, prints, maps and other artifacts from the Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection. Their selection showcases George Washington’s life through the places that shaped him: Mount Vernon, Alexandria and Washington, DC. museum. gwu.edu
Before becoming an artist, modernist Moira Dryer was a set designer for the avant-garde theater company Mabou Mines. This exhibition of 26 of her paintings and sculptures considers how Dryer’s theatrical roots influenced her work; photographs and personal notes provide context. phillipscollection.org
More than 600 jewelry, clothing, furniture and home-décor artisans from across the country gather at this annual juried marketplace to showcase their contemporary, handcrafted wares. craftcouncil.org
This landmark exhibition spotlights the artistic achievements of more than 115 Native American women from the U.S. and Canada. The collection of 81 works spans antiquity to the present and features a variety of media including textiles, beadwork, sculpture, paintings and photography. americanart.si.edu
This extensive exhibit brings together thousands of textile fragments, garments, rugs and other works of art assembled over a lifetime by the prolific collector and philanthropist Lloyd Cotsen, who was fascinated by indigenous cultures and vanishing artistic traditions around the world.
For the past 50 years, influential Latin American photographer Graciela Iturbide has employed black-and-white gelatin silver prints to create powerful, visceral images of her native Mexico. This exhibit of 140 photographs documents indigenous Mexican cultures and customs, from exuberant fiestas to processions honoring the dead. nmwa.org
This exhibit showcases works by 20th- and 21st-century African American artists alongside those of early-20th-century European modernists with whom they engaged, exploring the friction and connections among them. Pieces by Romare Bearden, Renee Cox and Carrie Mae Weems, for example, are juxtaposed with works by Kandinsky, Matisse and Picasso, among others. 76.137
