Exhibitions

Current Exhibitions

Honoring Tradition and Innovation: 100-Years of Santa Fe's Indian Market 1922-2022
08/07/2022 – 08/31/2023

The New Mexico History Museum as we present an exhibition that commemorates a century of Santa Fe’s Indian Market. Honoring Tradition and Innovation: 100 Years of Santa Fe’s Indian Market 1922-2022, traces the history of this historic market and explores the impact of Federal Indian policies on the Native American art world. Many of these policies are reflected in the social and economic trends that shaped Indian Market through the years. The exhibition celebrates the artists and collectors who have made it possible and includes over 200 pieces of artwork ...

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The Palace Seen and Unseen: A Convergence of History and Archaeology
06/19/2021 – 06/19/2030

Reflecting current archaeological and historical perspectives, Palace Seen and Unseen draws from historic documents, photographs, and archaeological and architectural studies produced by its former residents, visitors, stewards, and scholars. When the dynamic expertise of historians and archaeologists converges, a richer story and better understanding emerges. It is this integrative approach to what is seen and unseen that guides the themes explored by this exhibition. On long term view. 

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Working on the Railroad
10/18/2019 – 10/18/2026

Working on the Railroad pays tribute to the people who moved the rail industry throughout New Mexico. Using nearly forty images from the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives and the Library of Congress, this exhibition offers an in-depth look at the men and women who did everything from laying track to dispatching the engines. Wrenches, lanterns, tie dating nails and other objects from the New Mexico History Museum collections will be displayed to give additional life to the photos; many hands used those tools to ensure that each engine ran smoothly and ...

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The Massacre of Don Pedro Villasur
02/01/2019 – 02/01/2030

This exhibition features 23 original graphic history art works by Santa Fe-based artist Turner Avery Mark-Jacobs. This display, ’The Massacre of Don Pedro Villasur,’ narrates the history of an ill-fated Spanish colonial military expedition which set out from Santa Fe in 1720. This depicted story shares the exhibit room with the History Museum’s Segesser I and II Hide paintings located in the Telling New Mexico gallery.  

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The First World War
11/11/2018 – 11/11/2030

The First World War exhibition investigates the contributions of New Mexicans to the war, through letters, photographs and objects.

“New Mexico played an important role in both world wars,” said Andrew Wulf, then-Director of the New Mexico History Museum. “We are proud to be able to recognize and remember that contribution and add The First World War as a permanent exhibition, to underscore the sacrifice and heartfelt letters home from these brave soldiers.”

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Setting the Standard: The Fred Harvey Company and Its Legacy
12/07/2014 – 12/31/2024

Setting the Standard: The Fred Harvey Company and Its Legacy, a new section that joins the New Mexico History Museum’s main exhibit, Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now, helps tell those stories. Setting the Standard uses artifacts from the museum’s collection, images from the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives and loans from other museums and private collectors. Focusing on the rise of the Fred Harvey Company as a family business and events that transpired specifically in the Land of Enchantment, the tale will leave visitors with an ...

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Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now
05/24/2009 – 05/24/2030

Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now sweeps across more than 500 years of history—from the state’s earliest inhabitants to the residents of today. These stories breathe life into the people who made the American West: Native Americans, Spanish colonists, Mexican citizens, Santa Fe Trail riders, fur trappers, outlaws, Buffalo Soldiers, railroad workers, miners, scientists, hippies, artists, and photographers. 

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Segesser Hide Paintings
04/24/2008 – 08/01/2030

Though the source of the Segesser Hide Paintings is obscure, their significance cannot be clearer: the hides are rare examples of the earliest known depictions of colonial life in the United States. Moreover, the tanned and smoothed hides carry the very faces of men whose descendants live in New Mexico today...

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Featured Exhibitions