The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden opened in 1974 to house the modern art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. Located west of the Arts and Industries Building, in the first truly modern building on the National Mall, the Museum and Sculpture Garden feature artists such as Calder, de Kooning, and Rodin.
Exterior view of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden with the sculpture garden in the foreground. Visitors are visible in the garden and on the ramp.
Demolition the old Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Medical Museum to make room for the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden building, spring 1969.
View of a new museum building, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, during construction. The National Gallery of Art's West Building, and the National Archives are visible in the background.
Mayor Walter Washington presents Joseph Hirshhorn with the key to city on the opening day of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, October 4, 1974.
On opening night of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, October 4, 1974, a crowd has gathered in the interior court.
Aerial view of the Sculpture Garden of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden taken on opening night, October 4, 1974.
Abram Lerner, Director, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 1967-1984, greets the first visitor to the Museum when it opened, Mrs. H.A. Calkins of Monrovia, California.
Guests explore the treasure of art works in one of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden galleries on opening night, October 4, 1974.
Visitors to the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in June not only saw Aristide Maillol's Nymph but also this wild mallard duck, proudly swimming with her young. A pair of mallards surprisingly had made the garden their home.
Georgia O'Keefe at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG) with Rene Magritte's sculpture "Delusions of Grandeur," 11 November 1977.
Auguste Rodin's "Burghers of Calais" is airlifted back into the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden's sculpture garden after the renovation of the garden.
Statues displayed in the sunken Sculpture Garden of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
On the plaza of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, February 1985, one of the two hearts of Jim Dine's bronze work "Two Big Black Hearts" is being hoisted by workmen using ropes in preparation for its installation inside the museum. The hearts, which are encrusted with molds of hands, faces, axes, hammers and other tools, were completed for "Jim Dine: Five Themes" on view at the HMSG until April 28, 1985. The National Air and Space Museum is in the background.
At a conservation demonstration by conservator Susan Lake, visiting Associates tour the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Onlookers are (l-r): Albert Camarillo (Stanford), Dwight Henderson (University of Texas), Philip Young (University of Oregon), Robert Perry (Bowling Green State), Mary Jean Moseley (Fort Lewis College), Suzanne Brooks (Penn State), Fellowships and Grants Program Assistant Carolin McManus, and Ray Branham.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden staffers unloading Alan Feltus' "Three Women" (1973), one of the large number of paintings, drawings and sculpture from the Joseph Hirshhorn bequest that arrived from the New York City warehouse where they were kept previously. This bequest added about 5,500 additional works to the collection. Photograph shows painting being unloaded at the garage at the side (7th and Independence) of the Museum.
"Willem de Kooning: from the Hirshhorn Museum Collection," opens at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and will last through January 9, 1994. This launches an extensive tour of 50 works charting the Dutch-born American artist's development from 1939-1985
An aerial view of the National Mall and the Smithsonian Museums looking east towards the United States Capitol Building, August 10, 1996. The Mall is filled with people and tents for the Birthday Party on the Mall celebrating the Smithsonian's 150th anniversary. Buildings that can be seen in the photograph are the Freer Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution Building, Arts and Industries Building, Hirshhorn Museum, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of Natural History, National Gallery of Art, United States Capitol Building, National Archives and Records Administration, and the Department of Energy Forrestal Building.
Installation of Last Conversation Piece, by Juan Muñoz, 1994-1995, on the grassy plaza outside of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Presentation of the Paul Peck Presidential Awards in a Town Hall Session at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden's Ring Auditorium.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Family Day Garden Party with families sitting on the plaza.