This exhibition highlights both iconic and lesser-known aspects of Japanese culture through paintings and ceramics from the Freer Gallery of Art Collection.
This exhibition explores the views of New England portrayed by American painters William Metcalf, Dwight Tryon, Winslow Homer, and Abbott Thayer and how they have evolved and been reshaped over time.
A special edition of Do Ho Suh's work Public Figures is the first new sculpture installed outside the historic Freer Gallery of Art in over three decades.
This exhibition features tea bowls, water containers, and other vessels in the museum’s permanent collection that demonstrate the glazes and forms unique to Raku ware.
Freer acquired a range of works, including the renowned Washington Codex—one of the oldest Bibles in the world—a digital copy of which will be on view along with an exceptional group of New Kingdom Egyptian glass vessels, a Byzantine jewelry set, amulets, and hundreds of beads, many of which will be seen in this exhibition for the first time.
This exhibition looks closely at the interconnected web of artists, dealers, and collectors who helped shape the Freer Gallery of Art’s collection amid the shifting political and economic environment of the early twentieth century.
Elegance and refinement in form, line, and color characterize the visual arts of China during the Song dynasty. As new technology enhanced ceramic production and the number of kilns rose, fresh approaches to decoration developed.
The buddhas, bodhisattvas, and disciples in this exhibition were made to inspire and guide believers on their spiritual path. Their beauty imparted the promise of paradise.
The largest bronze foundry complex from antiquity was excavated at Houma in northern China in the mid-twentieth century. At the two-acre site, archaeologists discovered evidence of extremely sophisticated manufacturing techniques.
A construction boom in China more than a century ago resulted in new railways and factories—and the accidental discovery of scores of rich ancient cemeteries. Buried in these tombs for thousands of years were jewelry and ritual objects, all laboriously crafted from jade.
Many of the powerful emperors of China’s last dynasties—the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912)—were patrons, collectors, and casual practitioners of the arts. They used art to legitimize and glorify their rule. It served many functions: for state rituals, for expressing piety, to dazzle palace visitors, to build diplomatic relations, and for personal pleasure.
This exhibition explores concepts and aesthetics of the body. The theme of the body provides a portal for appreciating how India’s extraordinary culture is woven from distinctive but interrelated traditions.