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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.

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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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American Art Museum arrow-right

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
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Portrait Gallery Added

Portrait Gallery Removed

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Portrait Gallery arrow-right

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
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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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Folk and Self-Taught Art Added

Folk and Self-Taught Art Removed

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Folk and Self-Taught Art

These galleries serve as a reminder that not all artists are formally trained and that the making of art is as much an act of passion as of intellect.

October 21, 2016 – Ongoing

American Art Museum

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Visual Art and the American Experience Added

Visual Art and the American Experience Removed

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Visual Art and the American Experience

This art exhibition illustrates the critical role that African American artists played in shaping the history of American art.

September 24, 2016 – Permanent

African American History and Culture Museum

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Currents: Water in African Art Added

Currents: Water in African Art Removed

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Currents: Water in African Art

The objects in Currents span the continent of Africa to explore the importance of water for both practical and artistic purposes.

July 15, 2016 – Indefintely

African Art Museum

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Big Band Added

Big Band Removed

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Big Band

“Big Band” by American painter LeRoy Neimanm features a composition of 18 iconic jazz musicians, together in what he envisioned to be his “dream” band.

March 31, 2015 – Indefinitely

American History Museum

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Experience America Added

Experience America Removed

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Experience America

Through New Deal programs, the federal government paid artists to paint and sculpt and urged them to look to the nation’s land and people for subjects.

August 14, 2014 – Ongoing

American Art Museum

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National Stamp Salon Added

National Stamp Salon Removed

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National Stamp Salon

Browse tens of thousands of stamps, mail, medals, dies, and other artifacts from the National Philatelic Collection.

September 22, 2013 – Permanent

Postal Museum

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World of Stamps Added

World of Stamps Removed

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World of Stamps

See stamps that have shaped history and honored people and places around the world.

September 22, 2013 – Permanent

Postal Museum

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Stamps Around the Globe Added

Stamps Around the Globe Removed

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Stamps Around the Globe

Browse stamps from every country that has ever produced stamps—including countries that no longer exist!

September 22, 2013 – Permanent

Postal Museum

My Visit

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Barbara Kruger: Belief + Doubt Added

Barbara Kruger: Belief + Doubt Removed

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Barbara Kruger: Belief + Doubt

Barbara Kruger creates this immersive site-specific piece that explores themes of democracy, doubt, and belief.

August 20, 2012 – Ongoing

Hirshhorn Museum

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Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian Added

Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian Removed

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Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian

Features 700 works of Native art from throughout North, Central, and South America.

October 23, 2010 – Ongoing

American Indian Museum New York

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The Struggle for Justice Added

The Struggle for Justice Removed

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The Struggle for Justice

This exhibition showcases major cultural and political figures who struggled to achieve civil rights for disenfranchised or marginalized groups.

February 12, 2010 – Permanent

Portrait Gallery

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Twentieth-Century Americans Added

Twentieth-Century Americans Removed

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Twentieth-Century Americans

Four galleries showcase the major cultural, scientific, and political figures of the 20th century.

July 1, 2006 – Permanent

Portrait Gallery

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Luce Foundation Center for American Art Added

Luce Foundation Center for American Art Removed

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Luce Foundation Center for American Art

The first visible art storage and study center in Washington showcases more than 3,300 artworks from the museum's permanent collection.

July 1, 2006 – Permanent

American Art Museum

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Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900 Added

Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900 Removed

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Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900

Portraits of Indigenous Americans, European colonists, clergymen, soldiers, writers, performers, scientists, and others who helped shape the country. 

July 1, 2006 – Permanent

Portrait Gallery

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Window on Collections Added

Window on Collections Removed

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Window on Collections

These permanent displays feature more than 3,500 items from the museum's collection that reveal the remarkable breadth and diversity of Native American objects.

September 21, 2004 – Permanent

American Indian Museum DC


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Upcoming Art Exhibitions

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Explore art and design from anywhere!

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

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