The Smithsonian's museums of Asian art, the Freer and Sackler Galleries, house Asian ceramics, paintings, calligraphy and decorative arts. The Freer Gallery opened to the public in 1923, and the Sackler Gallery welcomed its first visitors in 1987. The two museums are physically connected by an underground passageway and ideologically linked through the study, exhibition, and preservation of Asian art.
In addition, the Freer also displays exemplary late nineteenth-century works by James McNeill Whistler and his American contemporaries, including Whistler's extraordinary Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room.
Exhibitions & Dates
The Peacock Room Comes to America
Sep 3 2022 -
Whistler's “harmony in blue and gold" dining room
Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea
Dec 9 2023 - Dec 2026
Explores hand-molded Raku ceramics in relation to Japanese tea culture
Whistler: Streetscapes, Urban Change
Nov 18 2023 - May 4 2024
Explores European cities in an era of rapid change