Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art National Museum of Asian Art
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The Collections and Archives

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Atmospheric shots of the National Museum of Asian Art.

Curiosity Welcomed.

Explore Art + Culture
  • Hours

    Open daily, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

  • Address

    1050 Independence Ave. SW
    Washington, DC

Art from the Ancient World to Today

Detail of a painting shows a blue-skinned figure standing on a rectangular slab with one arm raised. Two men on each side look at the center figure.
Rawat Gokul Das of Devgarh and Tilkayat Dauji II worship Shri Nathji (detail), Chokha (act. 1779–ca. 1826), India, Rajasthan state, Devgarh, 1823, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection—funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art, S2018.1.76
Exhibition Delighting Krishna: Paintings of the Child-God
A black jar sits on a red tray. Two more jars wear fabric covers. A floral fabric and wood boxes spread across the background.
Tea caddy, named Sakai Kokatatsuki, with red lacquer tray and scroll, China, Yuan dynasty, 1279–1368, brown stoneware with black iron glaze and ivory lid; lacquer; paper and silk, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Gift of Gregory Kinsey, Kinsey Chanoyu Collection, in honor of Louise Cort and in appreciation of her years of scholarship in support of Chanoyu education in the U.S., F2021.3.5.1a–gg–3a–e
Exhibition Reasons to Gather: Japanese Tea Practice Unwrapped
A row of sculpted figures, green with patina, all side by side in the grass and posed in active stances as they stretch their arms up to support a large white stone slab.
Exhibition Do Ho Suh: Public Figures
A painted landscape with a creek winding through the lush, grassy hillside. A figure holding a fishing rod and a small dog are on the bank, and across the creek, trees blooming in soft pastels cast shadows on the grass.
Exhibition Shifting Boundaries: Perspectives on American Landscapes
A close-up view of a golden metal vessel, hammered into a textured surface with a pattern of interconnected ridges and smooth roundels.
Exhibition Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork
Three side-by-side close-ups of decorated ceramic vessels. The left-most detail shows a purplish iridescent glaze. The middle detail shows a yellow and white leaf against a pale pink glaze. The right-most detail shows a design of a leaf set against a dark reddish brown glaze.
Exhibition Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea
Printed image of a bridge over a river, against a dusky blue sky.
Kiyosu Bridge, Kawase Hasui (1883–1957), Japan, 1931, woodblock print, ink and color on paper, Robert O. Muller Collection, S2003.8.762

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Dig Deeper

From Chinese art to the arts of the Islamic world, from Biblical manuscripts to Southeast Asian art, from the ancient Near East to the United States—our collections speak to the many meanings of Asia and its relationship to the rest of the world.

Experience Our Collections

How does place inform art? What role does place play in what is made, how it’s made, and who makes it? How does the art of one country or continent influence others?

Investigate the intersections of artworks from around the world through their unique stories and contexts.

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What materials were available during different eras? How have artistic techniques changed over time? Why do aesthetic styles evolve?

Transport yourself to the past to better understand the world today.

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What kinds of objects can you find in an art museum? How does the definition of art change across cultures, places, and time periods?

Appreciate the beauty of art and the everyday.

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What's On

Close-up detail of a stone relief sculpture with a series of figures standing side by side.
Scenes from the life of the Buddha, Pakistan or Afghanistan, Kushan dynasty, late 2nd–early 3rd century, stone, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1949.9a-d

Here’s what you can experience now. Be curious, be challenged, be inspired.
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Look out for these exciting exhibitions coming soon.
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Woman with scarf dancing
An educator gestures to an audience of children, standing before a projected image of a colorful painted image of a woman.

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A child coloring a stylized image of a animal.
A group of children all point at a work of art on the wall.

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students looking at computer

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Presentation, Preservation, and Perspectives

We’re committed to placing masterworks of Asian art in dialogue with each other, with history, and with our American collection. We are committed to looking at the past critically, engaging with the present honestly, and envisioning the future inclusively.

Our Vision & Values

Our vision is to transform the National Museum of Asian Art into a space where a wide range of visitors can come together to celebrate, learn about, and interact with Asian art and cultures, including their intersection with America. In our second century, we’re becoming a space to convene, learn, reflect, and forge connections through art.

Chase F. Robinson
Director of the National Museum of Asian Art

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Visit The Museum

The Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery: two buildings, one museum. Come see us at our home on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

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The support of people like you helps us keep our programming vital and accessible to everyone—from enthusiastic K–12 students to leading scholars, from our local community to our international audiences. Learn how you can help us expand our impact.

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