Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power
Through September 6, 2009
Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power traces Avedon's interest in and fascination with American politics through 200 portraits created from the 1950s until the photographer's death in 2004. Organized by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., with the cooperation of the Richard Avedon Foundation, New York, and the Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power contains many rarely seen photographs drawn from the collection of the Richard Avedon Foundation, including works that have never before been exhibited or published.

Oceanic Art: A Celebration of Form
Through January 3, 2010
Organized by SDMA Oceanic Art: A Celebration of Form presents nearly 100 works of art from the South Pacific Islands, a geographical region broadly defined by scholars as Oceania. The exhibition includes a variety of three-dimensional objects, including elaborate hand-carved sculptures, exquisite architectural elements, and several striking figures from New Ireland, Admiralty or Manus Islands, and rare Easter Island (Rapa Nui) carved figures. Many of these are encoded with cultural and social meanings, some of which still function within certain Oceanic cultures today.

Modern Mexican Art at SDMA and from Private Collections
As the first phase of a complete reinstallation of SDMA’s American galleries, Modern Mexican Art at SDMA and from Private Collections presents a selection of Mexican paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture that range in date from the late 19^th to the early 21^st century. This presentation includes examples of Realism as well as pieces influenced by the avant-garde movements of Cubism and Surrealism. To highlight the depth of SDMA’s collection, and to convey the Museum’s commitment to preserving these fragile works on paper, there will be two rotations: the first focusing on the early 20th century, and the second on the period roughly from the 1950s to the present day. Taken together, this selection of objects illuminates a critical period in both the art historical narrative of the country and the envisioning of modern Mexican identities.

Collections in Context: New Acquisitions and Long-held Strengths at SDMA
Ongoing
This new exhibition in SDMA’s rotunda supports the Museum’s fundamental mission to collect, preserve, display, and interpret the finest works that men and women have created over time.

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European Art

European Old Masters:
Sacred and Secular
Thematic presentation of the European collection shifts the focus from chronology to content.

Maxwell H. and Muriel Gluck Gallery
Late 18th- through early 20th-century European art.

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Asian Art

Emerging Elites: Indo-Muslim Art in Transition
August 30, 2008–March 15, 2009
Featuring many works that are on view for the first time, this exhibition focuses on the artistic transitions that took place in Indo-Muslim cultural centers in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Tastes in Asian Art
Ongoing
This thematic concept for displaying the Asian collection highlights the diverse tastes of different social groups—the imperial ruling class, scholars, warriors, and common people—and features separate sections dedicated to religious and Persian art.

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Outdoor Sculptures

May S. Marcy Sculpture Court and Garden
Selections from the permanent collection.

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