Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
The Freer Gallery of Art, situated in Washington, D.C., is an art museum affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. Its primary focus lies in showcasing Asian art. Together with the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, it constitutes the National Museum of Asian Art in the United States. These galleries boast the largest Asian art research library in the country and house an extensive array of artworks from diverse regions, including East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Islamic world, the ancient Near East, and ancient Egypt, in addition to a substantial collection of American art.
The Freer Gallery is home to a staggering collection of over 26,000 objects, spanning a remarkable 6,000-year period from the Neolithic era to modern times. This collection encompasses a wide range of artifacts, such as ancient Egyptian stone sculptures and wooden items, ancient Near Eastern ceramics and metalwork, Chinese paintings and ceramics, Korean pottery and porcelain, Japanese folding screens, Persian manuscripts, and Buddhist sculptures. Notably, amid its American art collection, the Freer also houses the renowned artwork titled "Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room" by the American artist James McNeill Whistler, which serves as a centerpiece.
The museum extends its offerings to the public by providing free tours and hosting a diverse schedule of events, including screenings, lectures, symposia, concerts, performances, and discussions.
Why You Should Visit:
As free, massive, art galleries go, this is quite respectable. The Freer has more permanent exhibits and the Sackler has more temporary exhibits.
The two spaces – Freer & Sackler – connect to each other underground, making a substantial enclave (and quite a nice place to be in bad weather).
Then again, if the weather is nice, you can enjoy the peace and quiet of a beautiful aboveground courtyard towards the western side.
Tip:
If you do nothing else, visit the Peacock Room, a magnificent result of Whistler's imagination and talent (under natural light every 3rd Thursday).
The coolest, most Instagrammable installation has got to be Terminal – a gold & thread maze using the spires found on top of temples and mosques.
The Freer Gallery is home to a staggering collection of over 26,000 objects, spanning a remarkable 6,000-year period from the Neolithic era to modern times. This collection encompasses a wide range of artifacts, such as ancient Egyptian stone sculptures and wooden items, ancient Near Eastern ceramics and metalwork, Chinese paintings and ceramics, Korean pottery and porcelain, Japanese folding screens, Persian manuscripts, and Buddhist sculptures. Notably, amid its American art collection, the Freer also houses the renowned artwork titled "Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room" by the American artist James McNeill Whistler, which serves as a centerpiece.
The museum extends its offerings to the public by providing free tours and hosting a diverse schedule of events, including screenings, lectures, symposia, concerts, performances, and discussions.
Why You Should Visit:
As free, massive, art galleries go, this is quite respectable. The Freer has more permanent exhibits and the Sackler has more temporary exhibits.
The two spaces – Freer & Sackler – connect to each other underground, making a substantial enclave (and quite a nice place to be in bad weather).
Then again, if the weather is nice, you can enjoy the peace and quiet of a beautiful aboveground courtyard towards the western side.
Tip:
If you do nothing else, visit the Peacock Room, a magnificent result of Whistler's imagination and talent (under natural light every 3rd Thursday).
The coolest, most Instagrammable installation has got to be Terminal – a gold & thread maze using the spires found on top of temples and mosques.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Washington D.C.. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
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Freer Gallery of Art on Map
Sight Name: Freer Gallery of Art
Sight Location: Washington D.C., USA (See walking tours in Washington D.C.)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Sight Location: Washington D.C., USA (See walking tours in Washington D.C.)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Nearby Sights
Walking Tours in Washington D.C., USA
Create Your Own Walk in Washington D.C.
Creating your own self-guided walk in Washington D.C. is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Federal Buildings Walking Tour
The capital of the United States is home to several notable federal buildings that hold significant historical, architectural, and governmental value.
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Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.9 Km or 3 Miles
Among the stately “emblems of authority” in Washington D.C. perhaps the most prominent is the official residence and workplace of the President of the United States – The White House. This resplendent mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.9 Km or 3 Miles
Georgetown University Walking Tour
Georgetown University, established in 1789, is America's oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution. Spanning four campuses in Washington, DC, its main undergraduate campus in Georgetown features fifty-four buildings across 104 acres.
With its Gothic and Georgian architecture, serene green spaces, and Jesuit traditions, the university promotes academic excellence and global engagement. For... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.1 Km or 1.3 Miles
With its Gothic and Georgian architecture, serene green spaces, and Jesuit traditions, the university promotes academic excellence and global engagement. For... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.1 Km or 1.3 Miles
Georgetown Walking Tour
Georgetown is Washington, D.C.’s historic northwest charmer: close enough to downtown to hear the political machinery humming, yet old enough and proud enough to pretend it has no idea what all the fuss is about. Once a busy port town on the Potomac, it still keeps a character all its own, with brick sidewalks, old houses, leafy streets, and enough polished boutiques to remind you that history... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.9 Km or 2.4 Miles
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.9 Km or 2.4 Miles
Arlington National Cemetery Tour
“The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example,” a distinguished politician of the 19th century once said. Few places embody that thought more deeply than Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
Established during the Civil War in 1864, this historic military cemetery is the final resting place for many of America’s heroes, whose... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.1 Km or 2.5 Miles
Established during the Civil War in 1864, this historic military cemetery is the final resting place for many of America’s heroes, whose... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.1 Km or 2.5 Miles
DC Monuments and Memorials Walking Tour
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years,” goes the famous quote by Abraham Lincoln.
Indeed, those remembered in Washington, D.C.—statesmen, reformers, fallen soldiers, civil rights leaders, and other figures of national importance—had their lives filled with consequence. What they left behind is not only a record of public service,... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.6 Km or 2.2 Miles
Indeed, those remembered in Washington, D.C.—statesmen, reformers, fallen soldiers, civil rights leaders, and other figures of national importance—had their lives filled with consequence. What they left behind is not only a record of public service,... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.6 Km or 2.2 Miles
Washington D.C. Introduction Walking Tour
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia, is the capital of the United States and, in many ways, the country’s grand civic stage. It is where government, history, protest, memory, and national ceremony meet in unusually concentrated form. The idea for a federal capital grew out of the young nation’s need for a seat of government independent of any state, especially after the... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 5.2 Km or 3.2 Miles
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 5.2 Km or 3.2 Miles
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