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Freer Gallery Of Art
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Courtyard of the Freer Gallery of Art
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| Location: | 12th St. and Jefferson Dr., SW., Washington, D.C. |
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| Built: | 1923 |
| Architect: | Platt, Charles A. |
| Architectural style: | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Florentine Renaissance |
| Governing body: | SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION |
| NRHP Reference#: |
69000295 [1] |
| Added to NRHP: | June 23, 1969 |
The Freer Gallery of Art joins the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to form the Smithsonian Institution's national museums of Asian art. The Freer contains art from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Islamic world, the ancient Near East, and ancient Egypt, as well as a significant collection of American art. It is located on the south side of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., adjacent to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
The Freer houses over 25,000 objects spanning 6,000 years of history, including but not limited to ancient Egyptian stone sculpture and wooden objects, ancient Near Eastern ceramics and metalware, Chinese paintings and ceramics, Korean pottery and porcelain, Japanese Byōbu, Persian manuscripts, and Buddhist sculpture. Collections span from the Neolithic to modern eras. Over 11,000 objects from the Freer|Sackler collections are now fully searchable and available online.
The Freer was featured in the Google Art Project, which gives online viewers close-up views of the gallery--in particular, the world-famous Peacock Room by American artist James McNeill Whistler--along with several artworks, including Whistler's "Princess from the Land of Porcelain".
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The gallery was founded by Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919), a railroad-car manufacturer from Detroit, who gave his collections to the United States and also the funds to help construct a building for their display. The Italian-Renaissance-style gallery, constructed in granite and marble, was inspired by Freer's visits to palazzos in Italy and designed by the American architect Charles A. Platt. The gallery and its central courtyard are considered some of the most peaceful and serene spaces in Washington, D.C.
The gallery opened to the public in 1923[2] as the first Smithsonian museum dedicated to the fine arts. The Freer was also the first Smithsonian museum created from a private collector's bequest. Freer's bequest to the Smithsonian came with the proviso that he would execute full curatorial control over the collection until his death. The Smithsonian initially hesitated at the requirements but the intercession of President Theodore Roosevelt allowed for the project to proceed. The Freer Gallery possesses an autographed letter from Roosevelt inviting Freer to visit him at the White House, reflecting the personal interest Roosevelt showed in the development of the museum. Through the years, the collections have grown through gifts and purchases to nearly triple the size of Freer's bequest.
The Freer is connected by an underground exhibition space to the neighboring Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Although their collections are stored and exhibited separately, the two museums share a director, administration, and staff.
Current exhibitions include The Peacock Room Comes to America, a recreation of Whistler's famed room as it first appeared in Freer's home, Arts of the Islamic World, the recently reinstalled Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes, and the Seasons series.
A full list of all past, current, and future exhibitions can be found on the Freer|Sackler exhibitions page.
Freer began collecting American art in the 1880s.[3] In 1890, after meeting James Abbott McNeill Whistler, an American artist influenced by Japanese prints and Chinese ceramics, Freer began to expand his collections to include Asian art. He maintained his interest in American art, however, amassing a collection of over 1,300 works by Whistler, which is considered the world's finest.
One of the most well-known exhibits at the Freer is the Peacock Room, an opulent London dining room painted by Whistler in 1876–77. The room was designed for British shipping magnate F.R. Leyland[4] and is lavishly decorated with green and gold peacock motifs. Purchased by Freer in 1904 and installed in the Freer Gallery after his death, the Peacock Room is on permanent display.
The Freer also has works by Thomas Dewing (1851–1938), Dwight Tryon (1849–1925), Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), Childe Hassam (1859–1935), Winslow Homer (1836–1910), Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), Willard Metcalf (1858–1925), John Singer Sargent (1856–1925), and John Twachtman (1853–1902).[5]
The Freer|Sackler provides several online resources for exploring the art and culture of Asia and its American art collections. Besides the collections objects viewable online, thousands of photographs, archeological diaries, maps, and archaeological squeezes (impressions of carvings) have been digitized and are used by researchers from around the world.
The Freer|Sackler's "Explore + Learn" pages go in-depth into some of the museum's most popular exhibitions, including Waves at Matsushima and Shahnama: 1000 Years of the Persian Book of Kings, with interactive high-resolution images, videos and galleries.
For educators and families, the museum provides project ideas and resources including printable handouts, teachers' guides, and lesson plans. F|S also produces podcasts of concerts, storytelling, and lectures, and videos on the F|S YouTube channel.
The Freer|Sackler Archives houses over 120 important manuscripts collections relevant to the study of America's encounter with Asian art and culture. The core collection is the personal papers of gallery founder Charles Lang Freer, which includes his purchase records, diaries, and personal correspondence with public figures such as artists, dealers and collectors. Freer's extensive correspondence with James McNeill Whistler forms one of the largest sources of primary documents about the American artist. Other significant collections in the Archives includes the papers (notebooks, letters, photography, squeezes) and personal objects of the German archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld (1879–1946), documenting his research at Samarra, Persepolis and Pasargadae. The papers of Carl Whiting Bishop, Dwight William Tryon, Myron Bement Smith, Benjamin March and Henri Vever are also located at the Archives. The Archives also holds over 125,000 photographs of Asia dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Highlights of photographic holdings include the Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of 19th century photography of Japan, the 1903-1904 photographs of the Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi, and photographs of Iran by Antoin Sevruguin.[6]
The Archives is open by appointment Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and appointments may be scheduled by calling (202) 633-0533.
The Freer|Sackler Library is the the largest Asian art research library in the United States. Open to the public five days a week (except federal holidays) without appointment, the library collection consists of more than 86,000 volumes, including nearly 2,000 rare books. Half the volumes are written and catalogued in Asian languages. Originating from the collection of four thousand monographs, periodical issues, offprints, and sales catalogues that Charles Lang Freer donated to the Smithsonian Institution as part of his gift to the nation, the F|S Library maintains the highest standards for collecting materials an active program of purchases, gifts, and exchanges.
In July 1987 the library moved to its new home in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Today it supports activities of both museums, such as collection development, exhibition planning, publications, and other scholarly and educational projects. Its published and unpublished resources—in the fields of Asian art and archaeology, conservation, painting, sculpture, architecture, drawings, prints, manuscripts, books, and photography—are available to museum staff, outside researchers, and the visiting public.
The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Auditorium, located in the Freer, provides a venue for a broad variety of free public programs relating to the collections, including exceptional concerts of Asian music and dance, lectures, chamber music, and dramatic presentations. It is also known for its well-curated film series, highlighting a wide variety of Asian cultures.
The Freer|Sackler also presents family programs such as ImaginAsia and ExplorAsia, as well as family festivals such as its annual Nowruz celebration in March. Hands-on workshops, including the popular Inner-Artist, Art ID, and educator workshops, allow visitors to tour and then create their own artistic responses.
Most recently, the museums started the popular series Asia After Dark, opening up the space for musicians, dancing, Asian cuisine, and other after-work adventures.
Free drop-in tours guide visitors through both featured exhibitions and specific themes in both the Freer and Sackler galleries, and a wide range of public lectures provide in-depth experiences with prominent artists and scholars.
Care of the collections began before the museum came into existence as Charles Lang Freer, the founder of the Freer Gallery of Art, hired Japanese painting restorers to care for his works and to prepare them for their eventual home as part of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1932, the Freer Gallery of Art hired a full-time Japanese restorer and created what was to become the East Asian Painting Conservation Studio. The Technical Laboratory, and the first use of scientific methods for the study of art at the Smithsonian Institution, started in 1951 when the chemist Rutherford J. Gettens moved from the Fogg Museum at Harvard University to the Freer. The East Asian Painting Conservation Studio and the Technical Laboratory merged in 1990 to form the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research.[7]
The conservators in the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research care for and treat works of art in the collection and prepare them for exhibition. Conservation-restoration at the Freer|Sackler is broken into four sections: Asian Paintings(one of the only East Asian painting conservation studios in the United States devoted to using traditional methods), Objects, Paper, and Exhibitions. Together they work to ensure the long-term preservation and storage, safe handling, exhibition, and transport of artworks in the permanent collection, as well as those on loan.
Conservators are responsible for conducting technical examinations of objects already in the collection and those under consideration for acquisition. They also collaborate frequently with the department’s scientists on technical and applied research. Training and professional outreach efforts are an integral part of the department’s commitment to educating future conservators, museum professionals, and the public about conservation.