Best Laid Plans: Unrealized Projects from the Archives of American Art

Best Laid Plans: Unrealized Projects from the Archives of American Art offers an unusual look at what might have been—an exhibition centered on creative works that were never finished, never built, or never published. Drawn from the Archives of American Art, the show brings together unexecuted artworks alongside proposals for publications, exhibitions, and other ambitious undertakings that, for reasons both practical and personal, remained unrealized. Because these materials were rarely exhibited or published, they survive primarily in archival form, making the exhibition a rare opportunity to see the hidden edges of American art history. By foregrounding these failed or abandoned projects, the show reveals a less familiar dimension of the Archives’ holdings and introduces little-known—or entirely unknown—concepts by influential artists and thinkers. Featured artists include Carl Andre, Stephen Antonakos, Gregory Battcock, Gretchen Bender, Dara Birnbaum, Bruce Conner, Lowell Darling, Nancy Holt, Robert Irwin, Gyorgy Kepes, Sol Lewitt, Robert Morris, Matt Mullican, Paul Ramirez Jonas, Ilene Segalove, Robert Smithson, Nancy Spero, Jessica Stockholder, Athena Tacha, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, and others.

Name: Best Laid Plans: Unrealized Projects from the Archives of American Art
Venue: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, located at 8th and F Streets NW, Washington, DC (two blocks from the Archives of American Art’s D.C. Research Center).
When: April 4, 2026 through October 18, 2026.
Hours: Open daily 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Admission: Free; no ticket price listed.
Description: An exhibition of unrealized projects from the Archives of American Art—including unexecuted artworks, unpublished publication proposals, abandoned exhibition designs, and other creative initiatives—offering insight into the creative processes and abandoned ideas of American artists. The show presents rare archival materials that are rarely exhibited or published, highlighting the breadth of the Archives’ collections and the speculative, unfinished, or forgotten projects of major and lesser-known figures.
Featured Artists: Carl Andre, Stephen Antonakos, Gregory Battcock, Gretchen Bender, Dara Birnbaum, Bruce Conner, Lowell Darling, Nancy Holt, Robert Irwin, Gyorgy Kepes, Sol Lewitt, Robert Morris, Matt Mullican, Paul Ramirez Jonas, Ilene Segalove, Robert Smithson, Nancy Spero, Jessica Stockholder, Athena Tacha, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, and others.
Note: For safety requirements and additional visitor information, visit www.si.edu/visit before your visit.