Charles Lang Freer Understood the Power of Legacy. What Will Your Legacy Be?
The story of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art began with a visionary bequest. In a 1904 letter to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, Charles Lang Freer offered the gift of his art collection, which at that time consisted of 9,420 objects, to the people of the United States, along with funds to build and sustain a sanctum of art and study on the National Mall. Freer conceived of the museum as a monument to the “points of contact” between ancient and modern, East and West. We uphold this vision today, allowing the universality of art to connect us all.
When you leave a charitable gift to the National Museum of Asian Art in your will, trust, or by beneficiary designation, you make a remarkable contribution to the future, just as Freer did in 1904. Your gift will steward beautiful objects, foster groundbreaking research, and help illuminate the intersections of Asian and American cultures through the next century and beyond. As global competence and connection become ever more vital, your vision will allow learners to engage with the diverse arts and cultures of Asia for generations.
