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Art Lover's Guide to Visiting the Smithsonian

The Smithsonian's art collections span centuries, offering space for reflection, interpretation, and discovery. Immerse yourself in exhibitions that demonstrate the transformative power of art and design to delight, inspire, inform, and provide new ways of seeing and thinking about the world around us.

Curate your own art tour!

Tap or click the ♥ heart on any museum or exhibition you are interested in, then email yourself a list of your favorites to help you make the most of your time with us.

View My Visit list of favorites arrow-right

Visitors experiencing Electronic Superhighway

Art and Design Museums

The Asian Art Museum, African Art Museum, and Hirshhorn located next to each other on the National Mall between 12th and 7th Streets, SW. The American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery are about a 15 minute walk north of the National Mall. The Renwick is across from the White House. Cooper Hewitt is in New York City.

Freer Gallery
My Visit

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Asian Art Museum, West Building Added

Asian Art Museum, West Building Removed

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Asian Art Museum, West Building arrow-right

Arts of Asia and the Islamic world

Tickets

ticket Free, no passes needed

Hours

clock

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily
Closed Dec. 25

Location

location

Jefferson Drive at 12th St., SW
Washington, DC

Gallery exterior
My Visit

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Asian Art Museum, East Building Added

Asian Art Museum, East Building Removed

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Asian Art Museum, East Building arrow-right

Asian art from ancient times to the present

Tickets

ticket Free, no passes needed

Hours

clock

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily
Closed Dec. 25

Location

location

1050 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC

African Art Museum
My Visit

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African Art Museum Added

African Art Museum Removed

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African Art Museum arrow-right

African art from the 11th century to today

Tickets

ticket Free, no passes needed

Hours

clock

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily
Closed Dec. 25

Location

location

950 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC

HMSG exterior
My Visit

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Hirshhorn Museum Added

Hirshhorn Museum Removed

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Hirshhorn Museum arrow-right

International modern and contemporary art

Tickets

ticket Free, no passes needed

Hours

clock

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday–Sunday
12 to 5:30 p.m. Monday
Sculpture Garden closed for revitalization
Closed Dec. 25

Location

location

Independence Ave. at 7th St., SW
Washington, DC

American Art Museum
My Visit

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American Art Museum Added

American Art Museum Removed

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America's story, painted through three centuries

Tickets

ticket Free, no passes needed

Hours

clock

11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
Closed Dec. 25

Location

location

8th and G Streets, NW
Washington, DC

Portrait Gallery
My Visit

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Portrait Gallery Added

Portrait Gallery Removed

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Discover America's story through portraiture and biography

Tickets

ticket Free, no passes needed

Hours

clock

11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
Closed Dec. 25

Location

location

8th and G Streets, NW
Washington, DC

Renwick Gallery
My Visit

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Renwick Gallery Added

Renwick Gallery Removed

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Dedicated to contemporary craft and decorative arts

Tickets

ticket Free, no passes needed

Hours

clock

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily
Closed Dec. 25

Location

location

1661 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC

Cooper Hewitt Museum
My Visit

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Cooper Hewitt Design Museum Added

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum Removed

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Cooper Hewitt Design Museum arrow-right

Historic and contemporary design

Tickets

ticket Tickets required. Buy online or at door

Hours

clock

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily
Closed Thanksgiving and Dec. 25

Location

location

2 East 91st Street
New York, NY

Art Exhibitions Across the Smithsonian

As an expression of human history and culture, art can be found at nearly every museum at the Smithsonian. Discover exhibitions that illuminate how art connects us—across cultures, places, and disciplines.

My Visit

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Big Things for Big Rooms Added

Big Things for Big Rooms Removed

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Big Things for Big Rooms

This presentation of 10 artworks traces the development of immersive, large-scale artworks since the late 1960s.

December 20, 2025 – July 4, 2027

Hirshhorn Museum

My Visit

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Devon Turnbull: HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 3 Added

Devon Turnbull: HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 3 Removed

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Devon Turnbull: HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 3

The listening room installation presents a large scale, handmade, audio system by multi-disciplinary artist Devon Turnbull.

December 12, 2025 – July 19, 2026

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

My Visit

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Made In America: The Industrial Photography of Christopher Payne Added

Made In America: The Industrial Photography of Christopher Payne Removed

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Made In America: The Industrial Photography of Christopher Payne

See more than 70 large-format photographs that celebrate the combination of human skill and mechanical precision that transform raw materials into objects.

December 12, 2025 – October 4, 2026

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

My Visit

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Portrait of a Nation: 2025 Honorees Added

Portrait of a Nation: 2025 Honorees Removed

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Portrait of a Nation: 2025 Honorees

See the most recent recipients of the Portrait of a Nation Awards, which honors extraordinary individuals who have made transformative contributions to the United States and its people.

December 12, 2025 – November 15, 2026

Portrait Gallery

My Visit

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Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass Added

Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass Removed

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Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass

Explore glass art as a medium for Indigenous stories, designs, and contemporary issues through 120 artworks by 29 Indigenous artists.

November 28, 2025 – May 29, 2026

American Indian Museum New York

My Visit

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Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work Added

Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work Removed

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Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work

This exhibition introduces “Grandma” Moses to new generations and examines her legacy in the context of America today.

November 25, 2025 – July 12, 2026

American Art Museum

My Visit

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Water's Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe Added

Water's Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe Removed

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Water's Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe

Lowe’s elegant sculptures evoke the rivers, streams, and waterfalls of the Wisconsin woodlands where he was raised and the canoes used to traverse them.

November 25, 2025 – January 1, 2027

American Indian Museum DC

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Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared Added

Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared Removed

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Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared

Spanning ancient times to the present, the works featured in this exhibition embody the depth and diversity of Korea’s artistic legacy.

November 15, 2025 – February 1, 2026

Asian Art Museum, East Building

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The Peacock Room in Blue and White Added

The Peacock Room in Blue and White Removed

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The Peacock Room in Blue and White

Immerse yourself in the Peacock Room as it would have looked 150 years ago.

September 27, 2025 – Ongoing

Asian Art Museum, West Building

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Breaking Down Walls: Art as a Portal for the Incarcerated Added

Breaking Down Walls: Art as a Portal for the Incarcerated Removed

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Breaking Down Walls: Art as a Portal for the Incarcerated

This exhibition highlights the efforts of artists to create transformative experiences in carceral facilities.

September 5, 2025 – January 18, 2026

Archives of American Art

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Justin Favela: Capilla de Maíz (Maize Chapel) Added

Justin Favela: Capilla de Maíz (Maize Chapel) Removed

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Justin Favela: Capilla de Maíz (Maize Chapel)

A site-specific installation that features shimmering gold-fringed walls and piñata corncobs that highlight the role of maize in North American visual culture.

August 22, 2025 – TBD

Renwick Gallery

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State Fairs: Growing American Craft Added

State Fairs: Growing American Craft Removed

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State Fairs: Growing American Craft

The first exhibition dedicated to artists’ contributions to the great U.S. tradition of state fairs.

August 22, 2025 – September 7, 2026

Renwick Gallery

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Shahzia Sikander: The Last Post Added

Shahzia Sikander: The Last Post Removed

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Shahzia Sikander: The Last Post

Through precisely inked and animated scenes, this video artwork critically considers the legacy of British colonialism in Asia.

July 3, 2025 – July 12, 2026

American Art Museum

My Visit

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Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs Added

Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs Removed

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Cut + Paste: Experimental Japanese Prints and Photographs

Cut + Paste showcases seventeen Japanese artists who pushed the limits of printmaking and photography and whose experimental works blur reality, memory, and even how we perceive space and time.

June 21, 2025 – February 22, 2026

Asian Art Museum, East Building

My Visit

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From Shadow to Substance: Grand-Scale Portraits During Photography’s Formative Years Added

From Shadow to Substance: Grand-Scale Portraits During Photography’s Formative Years Removed

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From Shadow to Substance: Grand-Scale Portraits During Photography’s Formative Years

This exhibition traces the evolution of the grand-scale, whole-plate photograph format from the high-end daguerreotype to the more affordable tintype.

June 20, 2025 – June 14, 2026

Portrait Gallery

My Visit

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Meserve Collection Highlights: Modern Prints from Mathew Brady’s Portrait Negatives Added

Meserve Collection Highlights: Modern Prints from Mathew Brady’s Portrait Negatives Removed

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Meserve Collection Highlights: Modern Prints from Mathew Brady’s Portrait Negatives

The exhibition includes nine modern prints from Photographer Mathew Brady's original photographic negatives.

May 23, 2025 – May 14, 2028

Portrait Gallery

My Visit

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Reasons to Gather: Japanese Tea Practice Unwrapped Added

Reasons to Gather: Japanese Tea Practice Unwrapped Removed

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Reasons to Gather: Japanese Tea Practice Unwrapped

Reasons to Gather presents eleven historic tea utensils and accessories that demonstrate accrued layers of historical and cultural meaning.

April 12, 2025 – April 26, 2026

Asian Art Museum, West Building

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Adam Pendleton: Love, Queen Added

Adam Pendleton: Love, Queen Removed

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Adam Pendleton: Love, Queen

Adam Pendleton: Love, Queen is landmark exhibition of new and recent paintings as well as a single-channel video work.

April 4, 2025 – January 3, 2027

Hirshhorn Museum

My Visit

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Making a Statement Added

Making a Statement Removed

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Making a Statement

Two gowns worn by Oscar-nominated actor Lily Gladstone (Siksikaitsitapi [Blackfeet]/Nimiipuu [Nez Perce]) are on view.

February 28, 2025 – March 2026

American Indian Museum DC

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Tsedaye Makonnen: Sanctuary :: መቅደስ :: Mekdes Added

Tsedaye Makonnen: Sanctuary :: መቅደስ :: Mekdes Removed

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Tsedaye Makonnen: Sanctuary :: መቅደስ :: Mekdes

Explore sculptures that explore the dehumanization of Black women and themes related to the power of motherhood and sisterly solidarity.

December 13, 2024 – Ongoing

African Art Museum


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Upcoming Art Exhibitions

Slideshow

  • My Visit

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    Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art Added

    Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art Removed

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    Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art

    Explore how LGBTQ+ artists from Africa and its diaspora are part of a larger, joyful story of African art history.

    January 23, 2026 – August 23, 2026

    African Art Museum

  • My Visit

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    The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today Added

    The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today Removed

    View My Visit

    The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today

    The Outwin 2025 features 35 portraits (by 36 artists) from the museum’s seventh triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.

    January 24, 2026 – August 30, 2026

    Portrait Gallery

  • My Visit

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    Teen Portrait Competition, 2025 Added

    Teen Portrait Competition, 2025 Removed

    View My Visit

    Teen Portrait Competition, 2025

    A video presentation of photographs from the 19 finalists in the 2025 Teen Portrait Competition.

    January 24, 2026 – August 30, 2026

    Portrait Gallery

  • My Visit

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    Nick Cave: Mammoth Added

    Nick Cave: Mammoth Removed

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    Nick Cave: Mammoth

    Nick Cave envisions a world animated by the power of the past and the transformative possibilities of the imagination.

    February 13, 2026 – January 3, 2027

    American Art Museum

  • My Visit

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    Art of Noise Added

    Art of Noise Removed

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    Art of Noise

    An exploration of how design has transformed people’s relationship to music over the past 100 years.

    February 13, 2026 – July 19, 2026

    Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

  • My Visit

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    Carlotta Corpron: Light Is a Plastic Medium Added

    Carlotta Corpron: Light Is a Plastic Medium Removed

    View My Visit

    Carlotta Corpron: Light Is a Plastic Medium

    Corpron's investigations into the poetics of light and form and innovative use of technology supported the establishment of photography as fine art.

    February 27, 2026 – January 31, 2027

    Hirshhorn Museum

  • My Visit

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    Vishnu’s Cosmic Ocean Added

    Vishnu’s Cosmic Ocean Removed

    View My Visit

    Vishnu’s Cosmic Ocean

    See the largest bronze ever cast in Southeast Asia, a depiction of the Hindu god Vishnu reclining on a coiled serpent floating in the primordial ocean. 

    March 7, 2026 – September 7, 2026

    Asian Art Museum, East Building

  • My Visit

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    Into the Waters with Senju and Bingyi: Two Contemporary Paintings Added

    Into the Waters with Senju and Bingyi: Two Contemporary Paintings Removed

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    Into the Waters with Senju and Bingyi: Two Contemporary Paintings

    Feel the power and beauty of water in this exhibition featuring contemporary artists Hiroshi Senju and Bingyi. 

    April 2, 2026 – August 23, 2026

    Asian Art Museum, East Building

  • My Visit

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    Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms Added

    Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms Removed

    View My Visit

    Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms

    Discover the extraordinary beauty and unique history of paintings made for Hindu kings in India’s Pahari (hill) region between the 1620s and 1830s.

    April 18, 2026 – July 26, 2026

    Asian Art Museum, East Building

  • My Visit

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    The Art of Air and Space: Interpretations of Flight Added

    The Art of Air and Space: Interpretations of Flight Removed

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    The Art of Air and Space: Interpretations of Flight

    Explore the relationships between art and the transformative power of the experience of flight.

    July 1, 2026 – Indefinitely

    Air and Space Museum

Explore art and design from anywhere!

Discover online collections, stories, and podcasts related to art and design from across the Smithsonian.

Explore Art & Design arrow-right

Colorful wood and glass mirrored room with paper lanterns by Yayoi Kusama.
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