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The Collections and Archives

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Curiosity Welcomed.

Explore Art + Culture
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    Open daily, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

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    1050 Independence Ave. SW
    Washington, DC

Art from the Ancient World to Today

An abstract print of geometric color fields—purple, blue, gray, and white—with a dark, irregular line bifurcating the image and a black-and-white eye in the upper right quadrant.
Kabuki Actor (detail), Shinagawa Takumi (1908–2009), Japan, 1953, ink on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Purchase and partial gift of the Kenneth and Kiyo Hitch Collection from Kiyo Hitch with funds from the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment, S2019.3.1618
Exhibition The Print Generation
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.
Public Figures (detail), Do Ho Suh (b. 1962, South Korea), 1998–2023, Jesmonite, aluminum, polyester resin, © Do Ho Suh, 2024. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Seoul, and London
Exhibition Do Ho Suh: Public Figures
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
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
Bronze statue, with a green patina, of a child balancing astride a prancing, maned lion.
Exhibition Ancient Yemen: Incense, Art, and Trade
Detail, white ceramic bowl, painted with red and black floral designs with Arabic script around the edge
Exhibition Engaging the Senses: Arts of the Islamic World
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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View All Current Exhibitions

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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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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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