The Spirit of Invention: Patent Office and Patentees

The Spirit of Invention: Patent Office and Patentees commemorates the early history of the Patent Office and the historic building that now houses the National Portrait Gallery. Presented in connection with the United States’ 250th anniversary, the exhibition draws on the museum’s collection to examine inventors, patentees, patent officials, architects, and the building’s role as a public showcase for American innovation.

The exhibition includes portraits and photographs of figures such as inventor Samuel Morse, Thaddeus Lowe, Abraham Lincoln, Robert Mills, and Thomas U. Walter, along with historic views of the Patent Office and images of its examiners at work. Together, the works show how the patent system, its employees, and its public exhibition spaces contributed to the country’s technological and architectural development.

When: June 26, 2026, through June 6, 2027.

Location: First Floor, East Galleries, National Portrait Gallery.

About: On July 4, 1836, President Andrew Jackson approved legislation that reorganized the nation’s patent system and authorized construction of a dedicated Patent Office in Washington, D.C. Completed in stages by 1868, the building employed hundreds of people and displayed thousands of models of patented inventions. It later became the home of the National Portrait Gallery, which opened there in 1968, as well as the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Curator: Ann Shumard, Senior Curator of Photographs, curated the exhibition.

Highlights: Featured works include a painted portrait miniature of Andrew Jackson, who chose the Patent Office site and participated in decisions about its design; a daguerreotype of inventor Samuel Morse; rare daguerreotypes of patentees; portraits of Thaddeus Lowe and Abraham Lincoln; historic architectural prints; and an 1869 image of patent examiners processing applications.

Inventors and patentees: Thaddeus Lowe is represented as the creator of a portable hydrogen generator used with reconnaissance balloons during the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln is highlighted as the only U.S. president to receive a patent.

Patent Office architects: Robert Mills supervised construction beginning in 1836 after Andrew Jackson appointed him to the project. Although William Parker Elliott’s plan was selected for the building’s exterior, Mills designed the interiors of the south and east wings, including the large vaulted exhibition halls on the upper floor. Mills also designed Washington’s Treasury Building and Washington Monument. Thomas U. Walter succeeded Mills as supervising architect from 1851 to 1865 and oversaw construction of the west and north wings. Walter’s construction system was not actually fireproof, despite claims that it was, and the wings he built were destroyed by fire in 1877.

Historic exhibition spaces: A lithograph from about 1840 depicts the completed south wing, including a cutaway view of its floors and a plan of the National Gallery of American Manufactures and Agriculture. The building originally contained spaces such as a Model Hall, an exhibition room for manufactured goods, an exhibition room for agricultural improvements, and a display of seeds and related materials.

Patent activity: A Harper’s Weekly image published in 1869 shows patent examiners working in the building. At that time, the staff numbered approximately 320 people, including 20 examiners and 40 assistants. The office had processed about 20,000 applications during the preceding year, issued 85,000 patents since 1836, and publicly displayed roughly 75,000 patent models.

Artists and works: The exhibition includes a hand-colored 1869 wood engraving by Theodore R. Davis, published in Harper’s Weekly; a circa 1840 lithograph of the Patent Office by Philip Haas; and circa 1851 half-plate daguerreotypes by unidentified photographers depicting Robert Mills, his wife Elizabeth “Eliza” Barnwell Smith Mills, and Thomas U. Walter.

Tickets: Price not available.