Rotunda Exhibition Timeline
Installation view of the exhibition Florine Stettheimer: An Exhibition of Paintings, Watercolors & Drawings (February 8-March 8, 1973). Image credit: Art Properties, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Timeline of Exhibitions Held in the Rotunda, Low Library, 1965-Present
Compiled by Elena Cordova, Intern, Art Properties
Soon after the establishment of Art Properties in 1965, the department took on the role of overseeing exhibitions in the Rotunda of Low Library. This document lists all of those exhibitions from 1965 to the present, taken from information found in the archival files of Art Properties. Most of these exhibitions were organized by faculty and staff from various Columbia schools and departments, librarians and staff from Columbia University Libraries, and external guest curators, in coordination with Art Properties curators and staff. This timeline will expand and grow as new information is discovered and added below.
1960-1969
November 1960
The Columbia University Exhibition of Chinese Archaic Jades, Ritual Bronzes, Weapons and Related Eurasion Bronze Art from the Sackler Collection
November 20, 1962-January 18, 1963
The Columbia Exhibition of 3,000 Years of Ceramic Art & Ancient Sculpture of China
April 3, 1964-June 2, 1964
Objects of Ancient Iranian Art: Pottery, Bronzes and Jewelry
Opened October 1, 1965
The Columbia University Exhibition of Ancient Textiles from Peru: The Central Coast
December 1965-January 15, 1966
The Columbia University Exhibition of Ceramics and Bronzes of Korea from the Sackler Collection
March-July, 1967
Long Term Exhibition of Objects from the Sackler Collections: Sculpture of the T'ang Dynasty and Its Antecedents
November 28 – December 14, 1967
Arthur Rackham Centenary Exhibition (in Low Faculty Room)
1968 (dates to be determined)
[Columbia University Press]
[Gandhi]
[Tibetan Carpets]
November 6 – December 18, 1968
[Modern Persian Painters]
May 5 – 10, 1969
[Student Exhibition: MFA]
April 17 – June 15, 1969
Florentine Baroque Art from American Collections
November 21 – December 12, 1969
New Black Artists
1970-1979
(Dates to be determined)
Inducements of 20s and 30s
The Magnificent Quartz
February 24 – March 6, 1970
Columbia Explores the Moon
1971
From Realism to Symbolism: Whistler and His World
1972
MFA Student Art Exhibition
February 8 – March 8, 1973
Florine Stettheimer: An Exhibition of Paintings, Watercolors & Drawings
September 11 – November 1, 1973
Drawings by John La Farge: Collection of Avery Architectural Library
November 1973 – January 1974
A Selection of Chinese Objects: Gifts to Columbia University by Frank M. Michaelian
1974 (dates to be determined)
Jack Harris Samuels’ Library
March 27 – April 13, 1974
Michel Butor and His Painters
Spring 1974
[Persian Calligraphy]
December 9, 1974 – January 29, 1975
Catalogue of Books, Manuscripts, and Drawings Exhibited to Commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Birth of Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533)
February 6 – April 29, 1975
The Brothers Harper & Their Authors: An Exhibition of 19th Century Contracts, Letters & First Editions
April 11, 1975- April 29, 1975
MFA Thesis Exhibition
May 11-May 15, 1975
Surrealism
Summer 1975
Early Astronomical and Mathematical Instruments
October 1 – 29, 1975
Sebastiano Serlio (1475-1555): An Exhibition in Honor of the 500th Anniversary of His Birth
November 10, 1975 – January 22, 1976
Contributions of Columbia Men to the War for the Independence of the United States and to the Formation of the Governments of the United States and New York State
January 28-February 20, 1976
Bennet Cerf and Random House
February 26 – March 9, 1976
Resplendent World of the Ming: A Selection of Outstanding Works by Eminent Chinese Writers,
Artists and Artisans of the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644
March 24 – April 16, 1976
Illuminated Manuscripts in Facsimile from the 15th Century
May 6 – 28, 1976
The First Annual Photography Exhibit: Black and White and Color Photographs of Columbia Students, Faculty and Staff
October 1976
Gifts in Honor of the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Friends of Columbia Libraries
November 16, 1976 - January 28, 1977
Architects for a New Nation, 1776-1976: Exhibition of Drawings
February 1977
Engel Plus 10
March 22 – April 22, 1977
Columbia Indoor Miniature Aircraft Society (CIMAS)
April 28 – May 9, 1977
[MFA Thesis Show]
May 13 – June 3, 1977
A Faculty Looks East I: Oriental Art Loaned by Faculty Members
September 12 – October 3, 1977
Italian Treasures from Columbia University: An Exhibition Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of the Casa Italiana
October - November 3, 1977
The Early Railway Age
November 6 – 18, 1977
Armenian Exhibition Cultural Treasures from the Land of Armenia IX Century B.C. to XIX Century A.D.
November - December, 1977
Installation of Jacques Lipchitz's Bellerophon Taming Pegasus
1978 (dates to be determined)
Brander Matthews Masks
[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]
February - March 1978
John Mansfield Centenary
March - April 1978
Views of the World's Columbian Exposition, 1893
May 13 - June 3, 1978
A Faculty Looks East (II): Far Eastern Objects in the Possession of Columbia Faculty Members
September 1978
Alma Mater
October 16 – November 6, 1978
[Joseph Urban Stage Design]
November 6 – 28, 1978
Views of Rome: Then & Now: 41 Etchings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi
November 30 – December 1, 1978
The Merton Commemoration at Columbia 1978
Opened December 12, 1978
[Brander Matthews]
February 1 – 23, 1979
From Picasso to Rauschenberg: Twenty-five Years of Acquisitions on the Albert Ulmann Fund Endowed by Ruth Ulmann Samuel
February 2 – March 30, 1979
Georgian Grandeur: The Classical Architecture of Philip Trammell Shutze
April 2 – 13, 1979
Five Contemporary Photographers
April 17 – 27, 1979
Plans and Models for East Campus
April 30 – May 18, 1979
Los Caprichos
Opened late May 1979
Kees Verkade
Summer 1979
Columbia Souvenirs: Tokens of Remembrance
September 17 – October 19, 1979
Formative Years of the Columbia School of Architecture: Student Architectural Design Drawings, 1881-1900
November 1979
McKim, Meed & White Architectural Drawings
December 1979
American Women Artists in Paris, 1900-1930
1980-1989
February 1980
Avery Library Selected Acquisitions
February 7 – 29, 1980
Six Collections Acquired on the Friends Endowment Fund
March 3 – 10, 1980
The Goddess in Indian Art
April 28 – May 16, 1980
Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Centennial
Opened late May 1980
Crown, Scepter, Seal: Icons of Columbia Photographs by Frederick Knubel
September 8 – October 3, 1980
Treasures from Columbia: A Selection
October 6 – 24, 1980
American Tastemakers from the Avery Architectural Library
November 6 – 26, 1980
Fifty Treasures from Fifty Years: An Exhibition Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library
January 5 – 30, 1981
American Indian Art: Power & Transformation
February 9 – March 2, 1981
[Disraeli]
March 2 – 6, 1981
Asian Art from the University’s Collection
March 17 – 27, 1981
Engravings from the Bibliothèque Nationale: Versailles and Le Cabinet du Roi XIV
March 31 – April 11, 1981
A Selection of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts at Columbia University: An Exhibition Held in Conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy of America
April 1981
Armenian Architecture: IV-XVIIIth Centuries
April 13 – 24, 1981
Perspectives on Jewish Messianism: An Exhibition of Rare Books and Manuscripts from the Judaica Collections of the Columbia University Libraries
September 1 – 30, 1981
A Masterpiece Close-up: The Transfiguration by Raphael
October 14 – November 6, 1981
The Changing Scene: Columbia University and the City of New York
November 9 – December 4, 1981
The Law Practice of Alexander Hamilton: An Exhibit of Manuscripts
December 7 – January 1, 1982
Marconi: An Exhibition Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the First Transatlantic Wireless Signal
January 7 – February 1, 1982
75th Anniversary of St. Paul’s Chapel
February 4 – 26, 1982
M. Lincoln Schuster and the Inner Sanctum at Simon & Schuster
April 5 – 30, 1982
The History of Landscape Gardening and Architecture from 1598 to the late 19th century
May 3 – 24, 1982
Harlan Fiske Stone
June – September, 1982
From Nayarit to Tiahuanco: A Pre-Columbian Legacy
October 1 – November 1, 1982
New York City: Arts in the WPA
November 3 – December 3, 1982
Architectural Theory and Practice from Alberti to Ledoux
December 6 – 31, 1982
A Concern for Humanity
January 4 – 30, 1983
Chinese Art from the Columbia Collection
January 31 – March 21, 1983
Bicentennial of the Birth of Washington Irving
March 22 – May 2, 1983
Henry Moore, Large Two Forms: A Photographic Exploration by David Finn
May 3 – June 20, 1983
Vinalhaven, Maine: Landscape, Flowers, Rock
September 6 – October 5, 1983
Russell Drisch, Recent Work: Sculptures and Drawings
October 10 – November 18, 1983
Manuel Alvarez Bravo
November 28 – December 20, 1983
From Generation to Generation
December 21, 1983 – January 27, 1984
Recent Acquisitions at Avery Library
February 3 – March 9, 1984
Russians and the West
March 13 – April 5, 1984
American Architects Abroad
April 9 – 27, 1984
Columbia Artists Exhibition (first annual)
August 27 – October 2, 1984
Four Centuries of Printing and Publishing by the Oldest Press in the World: Cambridge University Press
October 4 – November 5, 1984
[Whitney M. Young]
November 8 – 29, 1984
All Mankind: An Exhibition of Photographs from the Christian Science Monitor by Jordan N. Converse, Chief Photographer
December 3, 1984 – January 3, 1985
A Celebration of the 80s: Portraits, Photographs by Nancy Rica Schiff
January 4 – February 5, 1985
The Care of Prints: Problems of Preservation
March 11- April 1, 1985
Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial Exhibition
April 3 – 26, 1985
The Architectural Trade Catalogue in America, 1850 – 1950
April 30 – May 24, 1985
Practicing Law in Eighteenth Century New York: American Documents & English Influences
July 23 – August 28, 1985
Buddha & Bodhisattva: A Chinese Homage
October 7 – November 8, 1985
Romanesque Sculpture of Mossaic
January 8 – February 14, 1986
Lamont-Doherty Geological Exhibition
February 19 – March 21, 1986
Biennial Art Exhibition: Sponsored by the Columbia University Association (second in series)
March 25 – May 1, 1986
[Five Campus Building Projects: 1985 – 1986]
February 17 – March 23, 1987
Third Columbia Artists Exhibition
March 23 – April 23, 1987
Piranesi: Selections from the Carceri
April 24 – June 9, 1987
Columbia Bicentennial Exhibit
June 9 – September 1, 1987
Oriental Art from the Collection of Marshall L. Page and Other Donors
September 3 – 30, 1987
Medical Science in New York State: A Century of Photographs
October 2 – 30, 1987
Spanish Presence in American Architecture: Documents from Avery Library
November 2 – 29, 1987
The Influence of the U.S. Constitution Abroad
November 30, 1987 – February 2, 1988
The Dewey Years at Columbia, 1883-1888
February 2 – 29, 1988
Ocha No Kokoro: The Heart of Tea
March 1 – April 1, 1988
Fourth Columbia Artist Exhibition
April 4 – 29, 1988
Julian Clarence Levi: Watercolors & Drawings, 1884-1971
May 3 – 7, 1988
75 Years of Success: Columbia School of Journalism
May 11 – June 3, 1988
A Backward Glance: Preservation Attitudes in New York City, 1891 – 1939
August 2 – September 1, 1988
Photographs by Elliot Erwitt, Lee Friedlander, and Joel Meyerowitz
September 1 – 25, 1988
[Christianization of Rus’]
September 29 – October 11, 1988
90th Anniversary of the Columbia School of Social Work, 1898-1988
October 17 – December 2, 1988
Prints of British India 1780-1860 from the Collection of Max and Peter Allen
December 6, 1988 – January 29, 1989
The Brander Matthews Dramatic Museum Revisited: Prints, Watercolors, and Drawings
February 1 – 21, 1989
An Exhibition of Puppets and Masks from the Brander Matthews Dramatic Museum
February 23 – March 24, 1989
Gordon Bunshaft: A Personal Archive
March 28 – April 21, 1989
[Barnard Beginnings]
April 25 – June 4, 1989
Fifth Columbia University Artists Exhibition
June 6 – September 7, 1989
[Recent Work from the MFA Program]
September 12 – 28, 1989
Nineteenth-Century Photography at Columbia University: An Exhibition Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Photography
October 9–29, 1989
The French Revolution: The First Revolution for the Rights of Man, an Iconographic History of the French Revolution
October 31 – December 7, 1989
[Toru Takemitsu’s Images of Sound]
December 11, 1989 – January 26, 1990
Cats: Lithographs by Karel Appel
1990-1999
December 11, 1989 – January 26, 1990
Cats: Lithographs by Karel Appel
January 30 – February 23, 1990
Harlem Horizon Children’s Art Studio Inaugural Exhibition (first annual)
February 28 – March 23, 1990
Siegfried Kracauer: The Critic in Exile
March 27 – May 11, 1990
Sixth Annual Columbia Artists Exhibition
May 15 – June 10, 1990
1990 Pulitzer Prizes
June 12 – August 22, 1990
Works by Ceramics Students at Teacher’s College
August 27 – October 2, 1990
Eisenhower at Columbia
October 8 – November 1, 1990
Avery’s Choice: 500 Years of Architectural Books
November 9 – 29, 1990
The Diffusion of Tropical Plants and the Portuguese Discoveries
December 4, 1990 – January 30, 1991
Garcia Lorca: Poet in New York
January 22, 1991
The First New York Viewing of The Departure of Columbus from Palos in 1492: A Recently Discovered Painting by Emanuel Leutze
February 1 – 27, 1991
New Paintings from the Harlem Horizon Art Studio (second annual)
February 29 – April 7, 1991
A Retrospective View of the Columbia University Electronic Music Center
April 9 – May 1, 1991
Seventh Annual Columbia Artists Exhibition
May 6 – 31, 1991
Lorenzo Da Ponte: A Vision from Columbia College
June 5 – August 23, 1991
Portuguese Travels and the Meeting of Civilizations
August 27 – October 8, 1991
Winning Images: An Exhibition of Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photographs and Cartoons
October 11 – November 27, 1991
Mitchell’s Choice: Highlights from 20 Years of Acquisitions for Avery Library by Herbert Mitchell
December 6, 1991 – January 29, 1992
Freedom of Speech and Press: American Developments to 1991
Opened February 3, 1992
Recent Paintings from the Harlem Horizon Art Studio (third annual)
March 2 – April 1, 1992
Donald Keene: 50 Years of Scholarship
April 3 – 29, 1992
Eighth Columbia Artists Exhibition
May 1 – June 16, 1992
Century of Caring: 100 Years of Nursing Education
October 15 – November 30, 1992
The Lohf Years: Selected Rare Books and Manuscripts Acquired by the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 1967-1992
December 2, 1992 – January 29, 1993
Collectif Generation: Painters, Writers, and Books 1988-1992
February 2 – 26, 1993
Harlem Horizon Art Studio: New Paintings (fourth annual)
March 3 – 30, 1993
Giuseppe Prezzolini: The American Years (1923-1962)
April 1 – 30, 1993
The World of Noh and Kyogen: Japanese Traditional Theater
May 4 – June 30, 1993
Columbia University: The Sovern Years, 1980-1993
July 2 – August 20, 1993
Columbians in Depth: Portrait Sculpture from the University Art Collection
August 24 – September 24, 1993
Azorean Trilogy: The Spirit, the People, the Land
September 28 – October 11, 1993
Columbia’s Presidents: 1754 – 1993
October 13 – 19, 1993
A Tradition of Excellence Columbia University Press: Reference Works from 1927 to the Present
November 2 – December 7, 1993
Ninth Columbia Artists Exhibition
December 9, 1993 – January 28, 1994
Andre Cournand: A Nobel Laureate’s Adventures in Science, Medicine and the Humanities
February 1 – 28, 1994
Harlem Horizon Art Studio: 11 Painters (fifth annual)
March 3 – 31, 1994
Women at Columbia: Benefactors, Leaders and Mentors
May 4 – June 17, 1994
Columbia’s Presidents, 1754-1994
May 11 – August 7, 1994
Korean Ceramics: A Selection
September 13 – 26, 1994
Against Hitler: German Resistance to National Socialism, 1933-1945
September 30 – November 3, 1994
Metropolitan Printers: New York Presses in the Nineties
November 4, 1994 – January 13, 1995
Tenth Columbia Artists Exhibition
January 19 – March 9, 1995
The Sixth Annual Harlem Horizon Art Studio Exhibition
March 13 – April 28, 1995
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory: Earthquakes, Nuclear Blasts and Everyday Seismic Phenomena
April 4 – 29, 1995
Continuity and Change in Korean Ceramics of the Koryo and Choson Dynasties
May 2 – June 3, 1995
New York in Transition: The Work of Mark Freeman
October 17 – November 10, 1995
Journeys in Microspace: The Art of Scanning Electron Microscope (An Exhibit of Images from the Microworld)
November 14, 1995 – January 30, 1996
The Life and Legacy of John Jay (1745-1829)
January 19 – March 1, 1996
Harlem Horizon Art Studio: Seventh Annual Exhibition
March 5-27, 1996
Brazil 1940-1943: One Women’s View: The Images of Genevieve Naylor
March 29 – May 3, 1996
Kobo Abe’s Life and Literature: Memorabilia and Personal Items
October 4 – November 11, 1996
Music at Columbia: The First Hundred Years
November 13, 1996 – February 2, 1997
Eleventh Columbia Artists Exhibition
February 4 – March 3, 1997
Harlem Horizon Art Studio: Eighth Annual Exhibition
March 6 – April 9, 1997
Rowing at Columbia: An Exhibition Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Lightweight Crew
April 11 – May 8, 1997
The Harriman Institute: Fifty Years, 1946-1996
May 12 – July 14, 1997
Recent Acquisitions in Photography: Lewis Baltz, Marilyn Bridges, Elliot Erwitt, Ralph Gibson, Danny Lyon, Jill Mathis, Alen MacWeeney, Arthur Rothstein
July 16 – September 2, 1997
Columbia in the News
September 23, 1997 – January 25, 1998
Constructing Low Memorial Library
January 27 – March 5, 1998
Ninth Annual Harlem Horizon Art Studio Exhibition
March 9 – April 15, 1998
A View of Native America: Recent Gifts from Stanley B. and Caroline Stein
April 16 – May 4, 1998
Sita in the City: The Ramayana’s Heroine in New York. An Exhibition of Ideas and Images in Conjunction with the International Sita Symposium
May 5 – September 27, 1998
School of Social Work Centennial Exhibition
September 29 – October 7, 1998
Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health
October 9 – November 8, 1998
Havermeyer Hall: 100 Years of Chemistry
November 9, 1998 – January 31, 1999
Images of the Dharma: Buddhist Art from Columbia University Collections
April 29 – June 11, 1999
Columbia University Athletics: Through the Lens of Arthur Frank
February 1 – February 28, 1999
Harlem Horizon Art Studio: Tenth Annual Exhibition
March 2 – April 28, 1999
Deities, Demons and Other Creatures from the Sackler Collections at Columbia University
June 14 – October 11, 1999
Deities, Demons and Other Creatures from the Sackler Collections at Columbia University
October 12 – November 9, 1999
The Volvo Environment Prize
November 10, 1999 – February 1, 2000
Lamont-Doherty: 50 Years (Books & Instruments)
2000-2014
November 10, 1999 – February 1, 2000
Lamont-Doherty: 50 Years (Books & Instruments)
February 2 – February 29, 2000
Harlem Horizon Art Studio: Eleventh Annual Exhibition
March 2 – April 2, 2000
An Exhibition of Africa’s Iron & Copper Currencies
April 4 – June 9, 2000
Columbia Law Review: Celebrating 100 Years of Publishing
June 12 – 23, 2000
Meditations at Sunset: Drawn to the Evening Sun of Amida’s Western Paradise. Photographs by Abbess Seikan Fushimi, Tokujo Myoin Convent, Kyoto, Japan
June 27 – November 13, 2000
Electronic Music/Computer Music Center: A Retrospective
November 14, 2000 – January 29, 2001
Camp Columbia
January 30 – February 28, 2001
Harlem Horizon Art Studio: Twelfth Annual Exhibition
March 1 – April 3, 2001
Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World
April 4 – 30, 2001
Continuity and Change in Korean Ceramics of the Koryo and Choson Dynasties
May 1 – June 4, 2001
New York Through the Eyes of George Zimbel
June 5 – August 26, 2001
Storage Jars and Other Vessels from the Sackler Collections at Columbia University
August 27 – September 16, 2001
George Zimbel, Columbia College, 1951: Photographs 1947-2002
September 17, 2001 – February 6, 2002
Korean Ceramics
February 7 – March 2002
Harlem Horizon Art Studio: Thirteenth Annual Exhibition
March 4 – 7, 2002
Gene Conference
March 8 – April 4, 2002
Korean Ceramics
April 5 – June 10, 2002
The Philolexian Society: A Bicentennial Retrospective
June 11 – October 14, 2002
Deities, Demons and Other Creatures from the Sackler Collections
October 14 – November 20, 2002
Columbia Celebrates 75 Years of Women at the Law School
Opened November 21, 2002
Process/ion (MFA Exhibition)
December 5, 2002 – January 28, 2003
Navajo Sandpaintings from the Bush Collection of Religion and Culture at Columbia University
January 28 – March 2003
Harlem Horizons Art Studio: Fourteenth Annual Exhibition
March 2003 – May 28, 2003
Navajo Sandpaintings
May 28, 2003 - October 7, 2003
Columbia Commemorative Plates
October 7, 2003 – January 25, 2004
Alma Mater: Celebrating 100 Years
January 28 – May 10, 2004
Harlem Horizon Art Studio: Fifteenth Annual Exhibition
May 10 – November 11, 2004
Columbia at 250: From Park Place to Morningside
November 11 – December 29, 2004
New York City in Focus
December 29, 2004 – February 2005
Vases, Pots and Vessels from the University Art Collection
February 24 – March 14, 2005
Harlem Horizon Art Studio: Sixteenth Annual Exhibition
June 2 – July 27, 2005
Americans Who Tell the Truth
February 15 – April 2, 2006
Harlem Horizon Art Studio: Seventeenth Annual Exhibition
November 20, 2006
Chinese Art from the Sackler Collection
February 16 – March 30, 2007
Through the Eyes of the Artists: The Eighteenth Annual Exhibition of the Harlem Horizon Studio (eighteenth annual)
October 15 – November 7, 2007
Primus Inter Pares/First Among Equals: An Exhibition Celebrating 90 Years of Excellence
February 25 – March 13, 2008
“Outside In”: New Realms for Taiwan Art
April 17 – May 8, 2008
What’s it Mean to be a Columbian?
May 12 – 25, 2008
Bites of the Big Apple
June 11 – 22, 2008
Books in Black: A New Page!
May 11 – June 3, 2009
Out of the Box: Anthropology Collections Unpacked
April 16 – May 13, 2010
New Generation, New Perspectives, New Media
May 13 – June 17, 2010
Class of 1960
October 1 -18, 2010
Columbia Engineering: Celebrating Faculty Excellence
October 18 – December 1, 2010
AIDS in Africa: Images of Hope
March 3 – June 1, 2012
Archeology and the City: George Olcott and his Collection, Between Rome and Columbia
Spring – Summer 2013
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