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,” and "The Struggle For Justice."
"Champions" and "Bravo!" showcase sports figures, and composers and performers from the beginning of the 20th century to the present.
”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.
Please check the museum website for updated exhibition information. Scheduling may have been modified as a result of the temporary museum closure.
Exhibitions & Dates
Block by Block: Naming Washington
Jul 30 2021 - Jan 15 2024
16 portraits explore people for whom Washington, D.C.’s streets were named
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
Jul 1 2022 -
180+ objects depict notable individuals who helped shape the nation’s early development
Family Ties: Daguerreotype Portraits
Jul 1 2022 - Jun 11 2023
Familial relationships documented by the camera during the daguerreian era
Powerful Partnerships: Civil War-Era Couples
Jul 1 2022 - May 18 2025
Five couples who shaped the nation during tumultuous times
Kinship
Oct 28 2022 - Jan 7 2024
40+ artworks by eight contemporary artists, exploring the notion of “kinship”
Portrait of a Nation: 2022 Honorees
Nov 10 2022 - Oct 22 2023
One Life: Maya Lin
Sep 30 2022 - Apr 16 2023
The first biographical exhibition of this architect, sculptor and environmentalist
1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions
Apr 28 2023 - Feb 25 2024
Examines the Spanish-American-Cuban-Philippine War through portraiture and visual culture
One Life: Frederick Douglass
Jun 16 2023 - Apr 21 2024
Duty, Honor, Country: Antebellum Portraits of West Pointers
Jun 23 2023 - Jun 9 2024
Early camera portraits of individuals whose lives were shaped at West Point
Forces of Nature: Voices that Shaped Environmentalism
Oct 20 2023 - Sep 2 2024
Traces the movement from turn-of-the-20th-century conservationism to mid-20th-century environmentalism