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Two women standing and smiling in front of a framed painting in a gallery. One has curly gray hair, wearing a patterned skirt; the other has straight brown hair, wearing a sleeveless top.
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National Museum of Women in the Arts

Current Exhibitions

Close-up detail of an abstract painting with very thick and gestural brushstrokes of mostly orange paint.

Featured Current Exhibition

Feb 27 to Jul 26, 2026
Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection illustrates women artists’ vital role in abstraction, showcasing work by some of the most important artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Drawn entirely from the contemporary art collection of Komal Shah and Gaurav Garg, the exhibition considers historical contributions, formal and material breakthroughs, and intergenerational relationships among women artists over the last eight decades.
View Exhibition: Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection
A painting featuring colorful geometric forms. Bowling-pin shaped forms with blue, red, pink, and yellow patterns line the lower half of the composition. A large abstract yellow form and black-and-white chevron stripes fill the background.
Charline von Heyl, Dunesday, 2016; Acrylic on linen, 62 x 60 in.; Shah Garg Collection; © Charline von Heyl; Courtesy of the artist and Petzel, New York; Photo by Ian Reeves

All Current Exhibitions

  • Shirley Gorelick: Figuring It Out

    Mar 27 to Jun 28, 2026
    Through the 1960s and 1970s, Shirley Gorelick (b. 1924, Brooklyn; d. 2000, Washington, DC) created soulful portrayals of her circle of close friends. Nearly 40 paintings, drawings, and prints by the artist reveal her bold realist aesthetic. Her partnerships in the 1970s with New York’s pioneering women-run galleries also position her as an inspiring feminist role model for a new generation.
    Two depictions of the same woman are shown in a room with an orange-tiled floor. One stands with a hand on her hip, while the other sits on a striped chair draped in green fabric. Both cast shadows on the plain wall behind them.

    Shirley Gorelick, The Bensons II, 1979; Acrylic on canvas, 71 x 71 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts; Gift of Jamie Gorelick and Steven Gorelick

  • Ruth Orkin: Women on the Move

    Dec 12, 2025, to Apr 19, 2026
    From the Second World War through the 1970s, renowned photojournalist Ruth Orkin portrayed women breaking free from rigid gender roles. This presentation of 21 vintage photographs from NMWA’s collection tells the story of artists, military servicewomen, mothers, couples, teachers, and travelers forging new paths in the changed world around them.
    A black-and-white photograph of a young woman with light skin tone and brown hair wearing a black dress and a scarf and clutching a book and a bag walks down a city sidewalk. Several men watch her walk by, some standing against the wall of a nearby building, some sitting on chairs or motorcycles. A few men seem to be catcalling her.

    Ruth Orkin, American Girl in Italy, 1951 (printed 1980 by Ruth Orkin Estate); Gelatin silver print, 23 x 28 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Promised gift of Steven Scott, Baltimore, in honor of NMWA Director Susan Fisher Sterling; © Ruth Orkin Photo Archive

  • Remix: The Collection

    Oct 21, 2023, to Oct 25, 2026
    Remix showcases familiar collection favorites as well as never-before-exhibited recent acquisitions. Artworks are grouped around themes, in some cases anchored by a medium and in others by an idea, that resonate among global artists across time, including photography, fiber works, the colors red and purple, nature, domesticity, and more.
    A horizontal canvas combines collaged paper, such as a scrap of a U.S. map, comic strip, and pictographs; cloth swatches; scrawled and dripped paint; and phrases like “It takes hard work to keep racism alive” and “Oh! Zone.” The work’s title appears in red paint right of center.

    Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Indian, Indio, Indigenous, 1992; Oil and collage on canvas, 60 x 100 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Museum purchase: Members' Acquisition Fund; Courtesy of the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York