Freer Gallery of Art facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Freer Gallery of Art

Established	1923
Location	1050 Independence Avenue Washington, D.C.
Public transit access	Smithsonian

The Freer Gallery of Art is a famous art museum in Washington, D.C. that is part of the Smithsonian Institution. It focuses on Asian art. The Freer and its partner, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, together are called the National Museum of Asian Art. They have the largest library for Asian art research in the United States.

The museum's collection includes art from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Islamic world, the ancient Near East, and ancient Egypt. It also has an important collection of American art. The gallery is located on the National Mall and is open almost every day of the year for free.

The Freer holds over 26,000 objects that show 6,000 years of history. You can see everything from ancient stone sculptures to modern paintings. Some highlights include Chinese paintings, Korean pottery, Japanese screens, and Buddhist art. A famous American piece is Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room by James McNeill Whistler.

The museum offers free tours, films, concerts, and talks. You can also see over 11,000 objects from the collection online.

History

How the Gallery Started

The gallery was created by Charles Lang Freer, a man from Detroit who made his fortune building railroad cars. Freer loved art and taught himself about it. He collected many works by the American artist James McNeill Whistler and became his friend and supporter.

In 1906, Freer offered his amazing art collection to the United States. He also gave money to build a museum and to buy more art in the future. He wanted the museum to focus on "very fine examples of Oriental, Egyptian, and Near Eastern fine arts."

President Theodore Roosevelt personally supported the project, which helped the Smithsonian accept the gift. Freer had some rules for his collection. For example, the art could only be shown in his gallery and not loaned to other museums. He wanted scholars to always have access to the art for study. Freer passed away before the museum was finished.

Building the Museum

A drawing of the museum's north side.

Construction on the gallery started in 1916. It was delayed by World War I but was finally completed in 1921. The Freer Gallery of Art officially opened to the public on May 9, 1923.

The building was designed by architect Charles A. Platt. He was inspired by the beautiful palaces he saw in Italy. The outside of the museum is made of pink granite. Inside, the walls are limestone, and the floors are polished marble. The courtyard features a fountain and white marble walls.

In 1993, a major renovation connected the Freer to the nearby Arthur M. Sackler Gallery with an underground space. This gave the museum more room for exhibitions and storage.

The Museum Today

When it opened, the Freer was the Smithsonian's first museum just for fine arts. It was also the first created from a private collection. Today, the collection has grown to include almost 18,000 more works of Asian art since Freer's original gift.

The Freer and Sackler galleries are connected and share a director and staff, but their collections are kept separate. The Freer was closed for major renovations in 2016 and reopened in October 2017 with updated spaces.

Exhibitions

Inside one of the gallery's beautiful rooms.

One of Charles Lang Freer's rules was that only art from his collection could be shown in the gallery. This means the museum doesn't borrow art from other places or lend its art out. Even with this rule, the Freer has so many objects that it can create amazing exhibitions that are known around the world. The museum also has many temporary exhibits that change over time, so there is always something new to see.

American Art at the Freer

The Peacock Room by Whistler is a stunning work of art you can walk into.

Freer started collecting American art in the 1880s. After he met the artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler, who was inspired by Asian art, Freer also began collecting art from Asia. But he never lost his love for American art. He collected over 1,300 works by Whistler, which is now considered the best collection of his art in the world.

One of the most famous exhibits is The Peacock Room. It was once the dining room in a London home, and Whistler decorated it with beautiful green and gold peacock designs. Freer bought the entire room in 1904 and had it installed in the gallery. It is now on permanent display for everyone to enjoy.

The Freer also has art by other famous American artists like Thomas Dewing, Dwight Tryon, Childe Hassam, and John Singer Sargent.

Online Collections and Resources

The Freer and Sackler galleries offer many ways to explore their collections online. You can search for thousands of art objects on their website. They have also digitized old photographs, maps, and diaries from archaeologists. This helps researchers from all over the world study Asian art and culture.

The Freer|Sackler Library is the largest Asian art research library in the country. It has over 86,000 books, and many are in Asian languages. The library is open to the public and is a great resource for students and researchers.

Public Programs and Events

The museum has an auditorium where it hosts many free public programs. These include concerts, dance performances, lectures, and film festivals. The film series often highlights movies from different Asian cultures, such as Korea and Iran.

The museum also has a popular series called "Asia After Dark." These events open the museum in the evening for music, food, and fun. Free tours are offered every day to guide visitors through the galleries and special exhibitions.

Caring for the Art

This beautiful dish from 9th-century Iraq is one of the many treasures at the Freer.

From the very beginning, Charles Lang Freer hired experts from Japan to care for his paintings. Today, the museum has a special department for conservation and scientific research. The experts in this department, called conservators, work to protect and repair the artworks.

They use scientific methods to study the art and make sure it is preserved for the future. They care for objects in the collection, prepare them for display, and study new items the museum might want to acquire. This team helps keep the museum's treasures safe for everyone to see.

Gallery

American Art

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  The Princess from the Land of Porcelain by James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Oil on canvas, 1863 - 1865

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  Early Evening by Winslow Homer. Oil on canvas, 1881

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  Portrait of Mrs. Brush, by George de Forest Brush. Oil on canvas, 1888

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  Breakfast in the Loggia by John Singer Sargent. Oil on canvas, 1910

Ancient Egyptian Art

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  Head of a pharaoh wearing the White Crown (hedjet) of Upper Egypt. Diorite. Old Kingdom, 5th or 6th Dynasty (2494–2181 BC)

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  Miniature glassware vessels. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty (1550–1307 BC)

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  Plaque depicting a goose. Limestone. 26th Dynasty (664-525 BC)

Ancient Near Eastern Art

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  Shapur Hunting Plate. Silver and gilt. Sasanian Empire, reign of Shapur II (301-379)

Arts of the Islamic World

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  Folio from the Quran manuscript. Ink, color and gold on parchment. Abbasid period, 9th-10th century

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  Golden Ewer inscribed with name and titles of Izz al-Dawla (r. 967 - 978)

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  Samanid Bowl. Earthenware painted under glaze. 10th century

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  Candlestick. Brass inlaid with copper, silver, and black organic material. Seljuk period, c. 1150-1200.

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  Plate made by Abu Zayd Kashani. Lustreware. Kashan, December 1210

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  Canteen with the designs of both Christian and Islamic origin. Brass, silver inlay. Syria or Northern Iraq, mid-13th century

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  Beaker. Glass. Mamluk period, Syria, late 13th-century,

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  Sam granting an audience to Queen Sindukht, Folio from the "Freer Small Shahnama". Ilkhanid period, early 14th century

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  Folio from a Divan (collected poems) by Sultan Ahmad Jalayir, with calligraphy attributed to Mir Ali Tabrizi and drawings attributed to Abd al-Hayy. Jalayirid period, Baghdad or Tabriz, c. 1400

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  Plate. Iznik pottery. Ottoman period, İznik, early 16th century,

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  Majnun approaches the camp of Layli’s caravan by Shaykh Mohammad Sabzevari, Folio from the manuscript of Haft Awrang by Jami. Safavid period, 1556-1565

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  Monochrome ceramic bottle. Fritware painted under glaze. Safavid Iran, 17th century

Biblical Manuscripts

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  Washington manuscript I. Greek parchment codex, containing Deuteronomy and Joshua. Early 5th century

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  Washington Manuscript II (Rahlfs 1219). Greek parchment codex of the Psalms. 5th century CE

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  Codex Washingtonianus. Greek parchment codex with Gospels. 4th or 5th century

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  Washington Manuscript IV (Codex Freerianus). Greek vellum codex. 5th century CE

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  Washington Manuscript V. Greek on papyri, Twelve Minor Prophets. 3rd century CE

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  St. John of the Ladder (Climacus): illustration from a Klimax manuscript. Byzantine period, early 12th century

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  Portrait of Saint Mark in Armenian Gospel manuscript. Yohanes, Armenia, 1253

Chinese Art

Japanese Art

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  The Buddha at Birth. Gilt bronze. Asuka period, 7th century

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  Lotus Sutra. Ink, gold, silver, and color on paper. Late Heian period, mid 12th century

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  Guardian figure. Wood. Kamakura period, early 14th century

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  Buddhist Luohan by Ryōzen. Hanging scroll. Nanboku-chō period, mid-14th century

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  Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons: Autumn and Winter by Sesshū Tōyō. Screen (six-panel). Muromachi period, late 15th-early 16th century

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  Karatsu Vase, with lacquer lid for use as tea ceremony water jar. Momoyama period, 1596-1615

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  A festival at the Sumiyoshi Shrine. Color and gold on paper. Edo period, early 17th century

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  A Shinto Priest, Three Women and a Child by Katsushika Hokusai. Ink, gold, and color on paper. Edo period, ca. 1799-1801

Korean Art

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  Cinerary urn. Unglazed stoneware. Silla, early 8th century

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  Wine ewer in the form of a melon. Stoneware with black inlay under celadon glaze. Gangjin kilns, Goryeo period, second half of 12th-early 13th century

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  Ewer. Stoneware with copper-red pigment and white slip under celadon glaze. Gangjin or Buan kilns, Goryeo period, mid 13th century

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  Water-moon Avalokiteśvara (Suwol Gwaneum bosal). Ink, color and gold on silk. Late Goryeo period, mid-14th century

South Asian & Himalayan Art

Southeast Asian Art

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  Standing Buddha and tabernacle. Bronze. Thailand, 12th-13th century

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  Dish. Stoneware with white slip and cobalt pigment under colorless glaze. Red River Delta kilns, Lê dynasty, 15th-century

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  Jar. Stoneware with cobalt pigment under clear glaze. Red River Delta kilns, Lê dynasty, 15th-century

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  Head of a Buddha. Bronze with glass and mother-of-pearl. Thailand, Ayutthaya period, ca. 1700

See also

In Spanish: Galería Freer para niños

• Biblical Manuscripts in the Freer Collection
• Pewabic Pottery
• Ernst Herzfeld and Persepolis
• Zhou Jichang
• Charles Lang Freer medal
• Lin Tinggui
• J. Keith Wilson