Behind the Scenes Archives - Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art

November 17, 2022November 17, 2022

Party Like It’s 1908

Conservator using a very small paintbrush to paint in areas of lost paint on a shutter in the Peacock Room.

September 12, 2022September 13, 2022

Phase One of the Peacock Room Conservation Project Is Complete!

detail of two conservators working on a panel below a window

August 1, 2022August 15, 2022

The Conservation Work Begins!

a conservator dusts the peacock room shelves

June 13, 2022August 15, 2022

Conserving the Peacock Room

Gallery view of the exhibition Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia

November 29, 2021December 3, 2021

Sensational Buddhism

Buddhism, Buddhist Art, Buddhist Practice, Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia, Tibetan Art, Tibetan Shrine Room

Square landscape of a New England church along a tree lined road in Deerfield, Mass. on an October morning, the leaves on the trees and falling on the ground have begun turning yellow

October 8, 2021October 7, 2021

Unseen Art History: October Morning: Deerfield, Mass

American Art, Charles Lang Freer, Landscape, Provenance Research, United States, Unseen Art History, Willard Metcalf

Fan mounted on a hanging scroll with a painting of chrysanthemum flowers

September 9, 2021September 9, 2021

Unseen Art History: September (Chrysanthemum)

Art History, Autumn, Chrysanthemum, flowers, Japan, Japanese Art, provenance, Unseen Art History, Watanabe Seitei

Two large Chinese ancestor portraits hang on a gallery wall in a starkly lit room painted blue

August 6, 2021March 21, 2022

Unseen Art History: Ancestor Portraits—Prince Hongming and Lady Wanyan

Art History, Chinese Art, Pritzlaff Collection, provenance, Unseen Art History

May 5, 2020May 5, 2020

This Day in Freer History: May 5, 1906

Archives, Charles Lang Freer, Freer, Freer at 100, Freer Gallery of Art, Freer History, Katharine Nash Rhoades

April 8, 2020April 8, 2020

International Provenance Research Day

Charles Lang Freer, Day of Provenance Research 2020, provenance, Provenance Research, Provenienzforschung 2020

Jiro Ueda positions the handscroll for reflectance imaging spectroscopy

August 22, 2019March 25, 2020

Scientific Imaging of a Japanese Handscroll

female holding a phone in front of a 3D image of a large incense burner

September 19, 2018March 25, 2020

Google Expeditions AR Brings Smithsonian 3D Models into the Home and Classroom via Augmented Reality

three women viewing a vase in a case

May 25, 2018May 23, 2022

Gathering of the Tribe

May 18, 2018March 25, 2020

Traveling Oscar de la Renta: From Runway to Museum

Volunteer Larry DeVore at work

May 10, 2018March 25, 2020

Honoring Our Volunteers: Protect and Serve

square detail from A Perfect Harmony rendering

October 6, 2017March 25, 2020

Behind the Scenes: A Perfect Harmony

An open structure with a bright red roof stands atop a hill amid grassy planes, mountains rising high over the horizon.

July 26, 2017March 25, 2020

A glimpse of an archaeological excavation in Iraq-Kurdistan

June 26, 2017March 25, 2020

Pic of the Week: Preparations Begin

Freer Gallery of Art corridor under renovation 2017.

January 10, 2017March 25, 2020

Photo Story: Freer Renovation

Guardian figure; Japan, Kamakura period, 1185–1333; wood (Cryptomeria japonica); Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1949.20

May 9, 2016March 25, 2020

ImaginAsia: The Lost Finger

Octagonal mirror with animals, flowerets, and floral scrolls

March 25, 2016March 25, 2020

Unraveling Our Objects’ Histories

photo of an empty gallery

February 2, 2016March 25, 2020

What’s Up in the Freer?

Freer|Sackler photographer Neil Greentree tries out Google Cardboard

November 9, 2015March 25, 2020

Enter the Peacock Room with Google Cardboard

Batman and Catwoman figurines in Sōtatsu exhibition maquette

September 18, 2015March 25, 2020

Behind the Scenes: Sōtatsu

Sotatsu: Making Waves, Tawaraya Sōtatsu

August 26, 2015March 25, 2020

Museum TLC: Sound Advice

Asia After Dark

Cover of album containing Ara Güler photographs, Freer|Sackler Archives.

April 1, 2014March 25, 2020

All That Glitters: Ara Güler Photos in the Freer|Sackler Archives

The Church of St. Gregory of Tigran Honents, Ani; Ara Güler, 1965; Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Archives

December 23, 2013March 25, 2020

Ara Güler: Photos at an Exhibition

Anatolia, Ara Güler

August 29, 2013March 25, 2020

Busted! The Secret Lives of Agnes Meyer and Charles Lang Freer

Charles Lang Freer

Working on the installation of Rina Banerjee's A World Lost in the Sackler pavilion

July 26, 2013March 25, 2020

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

July 5, 2013March 25, 2020

A Flowerful Fourth

May 24, 2013March 25, 2020

Together We’re One: Crowdfunding our Yoga Exhibition

crowdfunding, Yoga

January 18, 2013March 25, 2020

The Search for Ancient China … Begins in New Jersey?

archaeology, collecting, Paul Singer

Bookcovers from a volume of the Gulshan Album (Rose Garden album)

September 14, 2012April 7, 2020

Emperors and Interns: Behind the Scenes of Worlds within Worlds

Mughal dynasty, Worlds Within Worlds: Imperial Paintings from India and Iran

July 13, 2012March 25, 2020

On Orhan Pamuk’s Museum of Innocence

Exhibiting Asia, Orhan Pamuk, Turkey

Open book with two images on each page.

June 8, 2012March 25, 2020

Hokusai by the Book

Charles Lang Freer, Freer|Sackler Library, Hokusai: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, Japan Spring, Katsushika Hokusai

May 17, 2012March 25, 2020

Ai Weiwei in Just Over a Minute

Ai Weiwei, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Fragments, Perspectives

April 4, 2012March 25, 2020

Grass and Honey: An Interview with Heejin Kim

Kenzan style desk screen with design of mountain retreat

April 3, 2012March 25, 2020

Eye Wonder Redux

Google Art Project, Peacock Room

collection of jade disks (bi 璧)

December 2, 2011March 25, 2020

Making an Exhibition: The Sequel

December 2, 2011March 25, 2020

Making an Exhibition

bronze, Freer Gallery, jade