- Splendid Treasures of the Turkomen Tribes from Central Asia, January 18–May 12
- Zen Buddhism and the Arts of Japan, September 15–December 31
- The Owl & the Woodpecker: Photographs by Paul Bannick, June 2–September 2
- Selections from the Bird Print Collections: Owls, Nightjars, Woodpeckers, and Kingfishers, June 1– September 3
- Continents Collide: The Appalachians and the Himalayas, January 14–May 20
- 200 Years of Water Bird Prints, December 15, 2011–May 15, 2012
- Windows to Heaven: Treasures from the Museum of Russian Icons, September 10–December 31
- Sudan: The Land and the People, June 4–August 28
- Audubon’s Migratory Birds of East Tennessee, May 2–October
- Mapping the New World, January 15–May 22
- Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya, September 18, 2010–January 3, 2011
- Shells: Gems of the Sea, June 5–September 5
- 2,000 Years of Chinese Art: Han Dynasty to the Present, January 23–May 23
- Discovering American Indian Art, August 29, 2009–January 10, 2010
- Birds in Art, May 9–August 16
- River of Gold: Pre-Columbian Treasures from Sitio Conte, February 7–May 3
- Birds of the Smokies: The Art of Catesby, Wilson, and Audubon, January 2–December 31
- Napoleon and Egyptomania in Tennessee, September 6, 2008–January 18, 2009
- Ancient Bronzes of the Asian Grasslands, May 17–August 3
- Forensic Anthropology, January 19–May 7
- Sacred Beauty: A Millennium of Religious Art, 600–1600, September 8, 2007–January 6, 2008
- Hatching the Past: Dinosaur Eggs, May 26–August 26
- Age of Armor from the Higgins Armory Museum, March 3–May 13
- Emissaries of Peace: The 1762 Cherokee and British Delegations, October 7, 2006–February 18, 2007
- UT Goes to Mars, June 27, 2004–August 29, 2007
- The Faithful Samurai: Kuniyoshi Woodblock Prints, May 14–September 24
- The Banjo: From Africa to America and Beyond, January 14–April 30
- History Contained: Ancient Greek Bronze and Ceramic Vessels, September 17, 2005–January 2, 2006
- Bound to Be Beautiful: Foot Binding in Ancient China, June 4–August 28
- Lost Worlds: Discovering Past Environments, January 22–May 22
- Chinese Tang Dynasty Art, September 11, 2004–January 3, 2005
- Mark Catesby: The Colonial Audubon, January 17–May 16
- World Views: Maya Ceramics from the Palmer Collection and Images for Eternity: West Mexican Tomb Figures, September 13, 2003–January 4, 2004
- Hats and Headdresses: Adornment for the Head from Around the World, May 31–August 31
- The World Moves—We Follow: Celebrating African Art, January 11–May 18
- Burgess Shale: Evolution’s Big Bang, August 30–December 1
- Pharaoh’s Harvest: Plants from Ancient and Modern Egypt, June 1–August 18
- Wit & Wine: A New Look at Ancient Iranian Ceramics, February 23–May 19
- Textile Art from Southern Appalachia: The Quiet Work of Women, October 5, 2001–February 3, 2002
- Hatching the Past: Dinosaur Eggs, June 2–September 16
- Treasures of the Chinese Scholar, February 3–May 6
- Shells: Gems of the Sea, September 9, 2000–January 7, 2001
- Scholars, Scoundrels, and the Sphinx: A Photographic and Archaeological Adventure Up the Nile, January 28–July 30
- Roman Glass: Reflections of Cultural Change, September 11, 1999–January 9, 2000
- Cartier: The Jeweler’s Art, May 29–August 22
- Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur, February 6–May 9
- Maya: Portraits of a People, July 11, 1998–January 4, 1999
- Temple and Village: Patterns and Print of India, April 15–May 31
- Reflections of a Golden Age: Chinese Tang Pottery, December 13, 1997–March 29, 1998
- Harvesting the Past: Plants and People in Prehistoric Tennessee, September 6–November 30
- Singing the Clay: Pueblo Pottery of the Southwest Yesterday and Today, April 5–August 10
- Birds of the World: 250 Years of Color Plate Folios, January 18–March 23
- The Cherokee Indians: Tennessee’s First Citizens, June 29–December 31