Past Exhibitions
Visit your favorite Walters' exhibitions again, or discover a new show you may have missed.
- Japanese Cloisonné Enamels from the Stephen W. Fisher Collection
- February 14, 2010 - June 13, 2010
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition celebrates the beauty and technical perfection of cloisonné enamels from Japan. The Stephen W. Fisher collection of Japanese cloisonné enamels is one of the finest in the world. Comprised largely of pieces created during Japan's "golden age" of decorative art production, this collection features many intricately adorned vases, boxes, and trays worked in gold, silver, and dazzling colored enamels.
- Beauty and the Brain: A Neural Approach to Aesthetics
- January 23, 2010 - April 11, 2010
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This collaboration between the Walters Art Museum and the Zanvyl Krieger Mind-Brain Institute at The Johns Hopkins University is a pioneering study in neuroesthetics, a new approach to the neural basis of the aesthetic experience.
Beauty and the Brain is both an exhibition and an experiment.
- The Christmas Story: Picturing the Birth of Christ in Medieval Manuscripts
- December 03, 2009 - February 28, 2010
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - As it is recounted in the Christian New Testament, the Christmas story is remarkably short on specifics. In rendering the story into pictures, it fell to medieval illuminators to supply the details. Even today, popular representations of these events are based on images that were first devised by the artists of the Middle Ages.
- Desire. Destruction. Transcendence
- October 31, 2009 - December 13, 2009
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Amita Bhatt is an Indian-American artist based on the East Coast of the United States. Ms. Bhatt's paintings explore a variety of ideas through the metaphors of tantric thought. These large-format paintings reinvent traditional Indian symbolism. Here they are installed in dialog with traditional tantric works of art drawn from the collection of John and Berthe Ford.
- Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece
- October 11, 2009 - January 03, 2010
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition explores the human need for heroes through the arts of ancient Greece. Statues, reliefs, vases, bronzes and jewelry illustrate the lives of heroes and heroines, including their tasks, adversaries, challenges, failures and private moments. The exhibition features over 100 objects from U.S. and European museums as well as pieces from the Walters' collection.
- Art On Purpose: Heroes in Our Midst
- September 16, 2009 - January 03, 2010
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Inspired by the Walters Art Museum's Heroes exhibition and its emphasis on the myths of Herakles, Odysseus, Achilles and Helen, Art on Purpose presents Heroes in Our Midst, a project
about modern-day Baltimore individuals who share attributes with the ancient Greek heroes highlighted in the Walters' exhibition.
- Shrunken Treasures: Miniaturization in Books and Art
- August 15, 2009 - November 08, 2009
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Miniature books have delighted and fascinated readers for centuries and continue to be avidly collected today. This exhibition will highlight over 30 small-scale manuscripts and rare books from the Walters' collection, ranging from religious texts, such as the Books of Hours and Korans, to almanacs and books of poetry.
- Herman Maril: An American Modernist
- June 28, 2009 - August 30, 2009
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - The Walters will present this exhibition of paintings by Baltimore artist Herman Maril (1908-86).
- Prayers in Code
- April 25, 2009 - July 19, 2009
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This Manuscript Gallery focus show presents a selection of unusual Books of Hours and explores artistic patronage at the court of King Francis I (1494-1547).
- Rembrandt Peale's Portrait of John Meer
- March 04, 2009 - August 23, 2009
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Rembrandt Peale's Portrait of John Meer: A New Addition to the American Art Collection
March 4?August 23, 2009
- The Saint John's Bible
- February 15, 2009 - May 24, 2009
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition features 22 bifolio openings from two new volumes of the Saint John's Bible, along with specially selected manuscripts and objects from the Walters collection.
- The Romance of the Rose
- January 24, 2009 - April 19, 2009
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Romance will be in the air at the Walters Art Museum this winter when Romance of the Rose: Visions of Love in Illuminated Medieval Manuscripts opens in January. The exhibition features lavishly illuminated copies of the Romance of the Rose, a book-length poem from the 13th century written in Old French.
- Portraits Re/Examined: A Dawoud Bey Project
- December 13, 2008 - February 16, 2009
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - The result of a Walters artist-in-residence program, this focus exhibition features portraits by celebrated American photographer Dawoud Bey, juxtaposed with selected works from the Walters collection.
- Salviati and the Antique
- October 20, 2008 - November 02, 2008
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Drawing on several examples from the ancient world, this Focus Exhibition explores the work of 19th-century glass artists and their antique inspirations.
- Bedazzled: 5,000 Years of Jewelry
- October 19, 2008 - January 04, 2009
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Spanning 50 centuries, and including examples from throughout the collection, this exhibition features more than 200 selections from the Walters spectacular jewelry holdings.
- Autumn Colors
- September 27, 2008 - November 30, 2008
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Celebrate the beauty of autumn with selections from the Feinberg collection of Japanese paintings from the Edo period.
- Faces of Ancient Arabia
- July 20, 2008 - September 07, 2008
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Celebrating a recent gift to the Walters, this exhibition brings to life the art and history of the kingdoms of South Arabia--the legendary land of the Queen of Sheba.
- Sonya Clark: Loose Strands, Tight Knots
- June 28, 2008 - September 21, 2008
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Featuring approximately 20 works by contemporary artist Sonya Clark, this focus exhibition explores the concepts of personal adornment, the creative process, and shifting cultural notions of beauty.
- Maps: Finding Our Place in the World
- March 16, 2008 - June 08, 2008
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - The most ambitious American exhibition devoted to maps in more than 50 years, this special exhibition features some of the world's greatest cartographic treasures.
- Maps on Purpose
- March 01, 2008 - June 08, 2008
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Working with Baltimore community organizations, schools, and artists, Art on Purpose participants will use a selection of maps from the Walters to inspire mapping projects in Baltimore city neighborhoods.
- Mapping the Cosmos
- February 02, 2008 - July 27, 2008
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Scheduled to coincide with the exhibition Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, this focus show will present images from space taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
- Déjà Vu? Revealing Repetition in French Masterpieces
- October 07, 2007 - January 01, 2008
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Featuring works by many of the greatest artists of the 18th-20th centuries, this exhibition explores the changing significance of repetition and copying within the French painting tradition.
- Recurrence
- September 19, 2007 - January 20, 2008
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Selections from the Walters permanent collection of Egyptian, ancient Greek, and Asian art come together for a special look at the repetition of imagery across cultural boundaries.
- The Repeating Image in Renaissance and Baroque Art
- September 08, 2007 - February 17, 2008
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This focus show, featuring works of art in various media, presents a survey of the various methods of artistic copying popular in the 16th and 17th centuries.
- Linda Day Clark: The Gee's Bend Photographs
- June 15, 2007 - September 02, 2007
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - In conjunction with the special exhibition, Gees Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt, the Walters will feature Linda Day Clark: The Gees Bend Photographs, a stunning exhibition of 25 photographs by Baltimore resident, Linda Day Clark.
- Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt
- June 15, 2007 - August 26, 2007
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition celebrates the distinctive and beautiful quilts made by African American women living in the isolated community of Gee's Bend, Alabama.
- Ottoman Embroideries and Other Ornament
- May 05, 2007 - September 09, 2007
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition includes several rarely seen Ottoman textiles and objects dating from the 18th- and 19th centuries.
- Floral Still Lifes from the Collection of Robert and Jane Meyerhoff
- March 29, 2007 - June 10, 2007
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - The selection of around twenty-three watercolors, pastels, and drawings includes works by Delacroix, Cezanne, Redon, Klee, Schiele, Mondrian, Matisse, Magritte, Nolde, and Dali among others.
- Untamed: The Art of Antoine-Louis Barye
- February 11, 2007 - May 06, 2007
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Organized by the Walters, this exhibition is devoted to the works of Antoine-Louis Barye (1796-1875), the foremost animal sculptor of the 19th century.
- Speaking the Word of God: Illuminated Korans from the Walters Art Museum
- February 03, 2007 - April 29, 2007
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Showcasing a stunning array of 22 manuscripts from the collection of the Walters Art Museum, this exhibition will present Korans from different regions of the Muslim world, following the development of calligraphy from the ninth to the 19th century.
- Daily Magic in Ancient Egypt
- December 02, 2006 - November 25, 2007
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This small exhibition of 46 objects illustrates the important role played by magic in ancient Egypt.
- "For This Is My Body": The Medieval Missal
- November 04, 2006 - January 28, 2007
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition of manuscripts, printed books, and altar furnishings coincides with the celebrations marking the reopening of Baltimore's historic Basilica of the Assumption.
- Courbet and the Modern Landscape
- October 15, 2006 - January 07, 2007
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - Featuring 37 landscape paintings, this exhibition demonstrates how Courbet was a radical innovator both in the motifs he chose to paint and in the dramatic brushwork of his paintings.
- Courbet/Not Courbet
- September 16, 2006 - March 11, 2007
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - As a companion to the special exhibition Courbet and the Modern Landscape, this small installation includes landscape paintings whose attribution to Gustave Courbet continues to be debated by specialists.
- Schatzkammer: Henry Walters' German Manuscripts
- July 22, 2006 - October 29, 2006
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition introduces visitors to 25 German manuscripts dating from the 9th through the 16th century, many of which have rarely been on display.
- Portrait Miniatures of the Napoleonic Era
- June 16, 2006 - June 25, 2006
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - These eight miniatures executed during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte's reign in the early 19th century included portraits of Empresses Josephine and Marie-Louise.
- Louise Bourgeois: Femme
- February 11, 2006 - May 21, 2006
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - In a joint venture of the Walters and the Contemporary Museum, Louise Bourgeois--an important and influential living artist--installed 39 sculptures throughout the Walters' galleries, setting her works in dialogue with like-themed cultural artifacts from the museum's collection.
- The Art of Law
- January 14, 2006 - April 09, 2006
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition showcased manuscripts and rare books pertaining to the study, practice, and administration of the law from the 12th to 15th century.
- The Ashcan School
- January 07, 2006 - March 19, 2006
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This small exhibition featured 29 drawings, watercolors, and etchings borrowed from the collection of Mrs. Sigmund Hyman were featured in this focus exhibition.
- Sacred Arts and City Life
- November 19, 2005 - February 12, 2006
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - The exhibition featured approximately 290 objects--including 35 icons--that traced the material and artistic culture of Novgorod from the 9th century, through its golden age in the 14th century, to its eclipse by Moscow in the 16th century.
- Dressed in Gold
- October 15, 2005 - January 08, 2006
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - In conjunction with the reopening of the Walters' magnificent Italian paintings collections, this exhibition showcased the museums impressive collection of Italian Renaissance manuscripts.
- Things with Wings
- October 12, 2005 - November 26, 2006
11:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This small exhibition of 31 objects, including bronze and marble statuettes, vases, and gems, explores the various winged gods and hybrid creatures in ancient Greek art.
- The Walters American Collection
- June 29, 2005 - January 01, 2006
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This small exhibition presented a selection of American paintings collected by William and Henry Walters.
- The Essence of Line
- June 19, 2005 - September 11, 2005
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition displayed 75 French works on paper from the Walters; at the same time, a similar number were on display at The Baltimore Museum of Art.
- Pearls of the Parrot
- June 19, 2005 - September 11, 2005
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition featured one of the most sumptuous manuscripts ever produced at the Mughal court of India: an illustrated edition of the Khamsa (Quintet of Tales) by Amir Khusraw.
- The Closed Book
- May 07, 2005 - September 18, 2005
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition explored how certain markings on, or materials of, book bindings reveal fascinating details about the people who owned and used them.
- Stubbs and the Horse
- March 13, 2005 - May 29, 2005
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This major exhibition featured over 40 paintings and 35 drawings by George Stubbs, known for his large-scale paintings of horses. On view was his famous painting Whistlejacket, considered the finest depiction of an individual animal ever painted.
- The Early History of the Bible
- January 22, 2005 - May 01, 2005
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition showcased a recently donated Torah scroll and examined Old and New Testament scripture in different religious traditions.
- Carved for Immortality
- November 06, 2004 - October 02, 2005
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This small exhibition highlighted ancient Egyptian statues carved from wood.
- The Road to Impressionism
- October 03, 2004 - January 17, 2005
10:00 AM - 05:00 PM - This exhibition explored the wide range of work produced by the artists of the Barbizon school.
