Housed in a National Historic Landmark building which it shares with the American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery displays the connection between American history, biography and art, covering more than 225 years of history. The collection is presented in a series of thematic galleries, including "America's Presidents," “America Origins, 1600-1900,” and “20th Century Americans” "The Struggle For Justice".
"Champions" and "Bravo!" showcase sports figures, and composers and performers from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. And ”Jo Davidson: Biographer in Bronze” is a collection of 14 portraits in bronze and terra-cotta made by American sculptor Jo Davidson between 1908 and 1946.
The Gallery guide, Portrait of a Nation: Highlights From the National Portrait Gallery, tells the history of America through individuals who have shaped its culture. Through the visual arts, performing arts and new media, the Portrait Gallery portrays poets and presidents, visionaries and villains, actors and activists whose lives tell the American story.
If you're interested in portraiture, you are bound to enjoy The Portrait Timeline website.
Exhibitions & Dates
Recent Acquisitions
Nov 16 2018 - Nov 3 2019
Presents newly aquired historic and contemporary works
Portraits of the World: Korea
Dec 14 2018 - Nov 17 2019
Gaining insights into the lives of women, past and present
Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence
Mar 1 2019 - Jan 5 2020
Examines the complex narrative of women’s suffrage in the United States
Storied Women of the Civil War Era
May 24 2019 - May 8 2022
Portrays numerous women of national prominence
Women of Progress: Early Camera Portraits
Jun 14 2019 - May 31 2020
Images of early feminist icons
In Mid-Sentence
May 3 2019 - Mar 8 2020
Photographs capture intimate moments of communication
One Life: Marian Anderson
Jun 28 2019 - May 17 2020
Paintings, photographs, and archival materials reveal one woman's impact on segregational policies
The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today
Oct 26 2019 - Aug 30 2020
Portraiture as a powerful affirmation of the human experience
In Memoriam: Toni Morrison, 1931–2019
Aug 6 2019 - Jan 31 2020
A neutral environment maximizes the personal nature of the encounter between subject and viewer.
John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal
Feb 28 2020 - May 31 2020
The drawn, rather than painted, masterpieces of the mature artist
“Warranted to Give Satisfaction”: Daguerreotypes by Jeremiah Gurney
Jun 12 2020 - Jun 6 2021
A selection of daguerreotype portraits by Jeremiah Gurney
Her Story: A Century of Women Writers
Jul 10 2020 - Jan 10 2021
Portraits of 24 noted women writers from the last one hundred years
One Life: Will Rogers
Jul 26 2020 - May 16 2021
An array of media represent his enduring legacy as a talent of Native American heritage