
Prints That Kill: Poisonous Plants and Animals
April 27, 2018–OngoingThis mini-exhibition of almost 30 prints explores poisonous plants and animals in nature, drawing from the museum’s extensive natural history print collection.
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Women’s Work: Selected Women Artists from the McClung Museum
January - July 2021Work created by women artists is celebrated and explored in this exhibition from the McClung’s Arts and Culture collection. The McClung’s collection of women artists primarily includes local, East Tennessee artists like Adelia Armstrong Lutz, Mary Etta Grainger, and others, along with some well-known American artists like Elizabeth Nourse and Maria Martinez.
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Ancient Egypt: The Eternal Voice
A fine collection of original objects, most manufactured more than 2,000 years ago, shed light on the daily life, religion, and writings of these captivating people.
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Archaeology & the Native Peoples of Tennessee
The incredibly rich Native American heritage of Tennessee and the archaeological work that has assisted in understanding that past are revealed in this comprehensive and engaging exhibition.
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Edmontosaurus Annectens
Meet the McClung Museum’s newest addition, and University of Tennessee’s newest and oldest Vol–an Edmontosaurus annectens named “Monty” by popular vote.
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Geology & Fossil History of Tennessee
Exhibits include hundreds-of-millions-of-years-old fossils, more recent Ice Age fossils, and ongoing accounts of present day geological and climatic events.
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Human Origins: Searching for our Fossil Ancestors
The McClung Museum presents a comprehensive overview of the scientific understanding of the last six million years of the evolution of hominids—humans and our ancestors.
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Tennessee Freshwater Mussels
Tennessee Freshwater Mussels is divided into three broad subject areas: the biology and diversity of freshwater mussels; the Native American use of freshwater mussels; and the commercial use of freshwater mussels—the button and pearl industries, both cultured and natural.
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The Civil War in Knoxville: The Battle of Fort Sanders
The Civil War in Knoxville begins with an overview of the national political situation in the fall of 1863 and then focuses on the pivotal role of Knoxville’s Battle of Fort Sanders and East Tennessee during the American Civil War.
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The Decorative Experience
The art that humans make, whether used in daily life or only for important events, is a powerful form of human communication.
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Between the Hand and Sky: The Art of Elizabeth Gould
August - December 2021Elizabeth Gould was a prolific artist. She designed and lithographed more than 650 natural history illustrations in her lifetime – some of which were among the most important bird illustrations created. This exhibition features over thirty of her works, and it seeks to bring Gould to the forefront, acknowledging her extensive contributions.
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Shane Pickett: Djinong Djina Boodja (Look at the Land That I Have Travelled)
January - May, 2022During his lifetime, Shane Pickett (1957–2010) was acclaimed as one of Western Australia’s most significant contemporary Aboriginal artists. Featuring 29 works from the most radical and significant phase of his career, Djinong Djina Boodja (Look at the Land That I Have Travelled) is the first major exhibition of Pickett’s work in the US.
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- Femina Princeps: A First Lady of the Roman Empire, January 5, 2018–September 21, 2020
- Visions of the End, January 31–May 10, 2020
- Life on the Roman Frontier, July 10, 2013–April 30, 2020
- Science in Motion: The Photographic Studies of Eadweard Muybridge, Berenice Abbott, and Harold Edgerton, Works from the Bank of America Collection, September 20, 2019–January 5, 2020
- Debut: Recent Acquisitions, June 14, 2019–September 1, 2019
- Many Visions, Many Versions: Art from Indigenous Communities in India, February 1, 2019–May 19, 2019
- For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights, August 31, 2018–October 20, 2018
- Pick Your Poison: Intoxicating Pleasures and Medical Prescriptions, March 23, 2018–August 19, 2018
- Botanical Illustrations of Besler, Catesby, Blackwell, and Redouté, March 10, 2016–April 27, 2018
- Northwest Coast Art: A Community of Tradition, September 8, 2017–March 4, 2018
- Story of a Sword: The Legacy of James L. Turner, July 6, 2017–January 5, 2018
- Fish Forks and Fine Furnishings: Consumer Culture in the Gilded Age, May 26, 2017–August 27, 2017
- Selling Egypt: Imagery in Victorian Advertising, February 14–July 6, 2017
- Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt, Feburary 3–May 7, 2017
- Land, Sea, and Spirit: Alaska Native Art from the 19th and 20th Centuries, July 12, 2016–February 14, 2016
- Knoxville Unearthed: Archaeology in the Heart of the Valley, September 17, 2016–January 8, 2017
- Dinosaur Discoveries: Ancient Fossils, New Ideas, June 4, 2016–August 28, 2016
- The First World War and Knoxville: Through the Eyes of Harry Moreland, March 30, 2016–July 7, 2016
- Maya: Lords of Time, January 23, 2016–May 22, 2016
- Embodying Enlightenment: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas, September 11, 2015–January 3, 2016
- The Flora and Fauna of Catesby, Mason, and Audubon, August 29, 2014–October 5, 2015
- Through the Lens: Botanical Photography of Alan S. Heilman, June 5, 2015–August 30, 2015
- Drawn from the McClung Museum, January 22, 2015–May 24, 2015
- Birds, Bugs, & Blooms: Natural History Illustration from the 1500s–1800s, September 12, 2014–January 4, 2015
- The Collector’s Eye: American & European Art from the McClung Museum, June 14, 2014–August 31, 2014
- Brightly Beaded: North American Indian Glass Beadwork, January 18, 2014–June 1, 2014
- Glass of the Ancient Mediterranean, January 18, 2014–June 1, 2014
- The Art of Winter Olympic Sports, February 6, 2014–February 24, 2014
- John Gould: Selections from The Birds of Australia, July 10, 2013–August 29, 2014
- Pueblo to Pueblo: The Legacy of Southwest Indian Pottery, September 7, 2013–January 5, 2014
- Celebrating the Tercentennial of Mark Catesby, September 21, 2012–July 1, 2013
- Birds in Art 2013, May 25, 2013–August 18, 2013
- Splendid Treasures of the Turkomen Tribes from Central Asia, January 18 2013–May 12, 2013
- 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
- Always Getting Ready: Yup’ik Eskimo Subsistence, Photographs by James H. Barker, June 25–August 22
- 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