Freer Gallery of Art
Encyclopedia
The Freer Gallery of Art joins the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
to form the Smithsonian Institution
's national museums of Asian
art. The Freer contains art
from East Asia
, South Asia
, Southeast Asia
, the Islamic world, the ancient Near East
, and ancient Egypt
, as well as a significant collection of American art
. It is located on the south side of the National Mall
in Washington, D.C.
, adjacent to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
.
The Freer houses over 25,000 objects spanning 6,000 years of history, including but not limited to ancient Egypt
ian stone sculpture and wooden objects, ancient Near East
ern ceramics and metalware, Chinese painting
s and ceramics, Korean pottery and porcelain, Japanese Byōbu
, Persian manuscript
s, and Buddhist sculpture
. Collections span from the Neolithic
to modern
eras. Over 11,000 objects from the Freer|Sackler collections are now fully searchable and available online.
The Freer was featured in the Google Art Project
, which gives online viewers close-up views of the gallery--in particular, the world-famous Peacock Room by American artist James McNeill Whistler
--along with several artworks, including Whistler's "Princess from the Land of Porcelain".
(1854–1919), a railroad-car manufacturer from Detroit, who gave his collections to the United States
and also the funds to help construct a building for their display. The Italian-Renaissance-style gallery, constructed in granite and marble, was inspired by Freer's visits to palazzos in Italy and designed by the American architect Charles A. Platt
. The gallery and its central courtyard are considered some of the most peaceful and serene spaces in Washington, D.C.
The gallery opened to the public in 1923 as the first Smithsonian museum dedicated to the fine arts. The Freer was also the first Smithsonian museum created from a private collector's bequest. Freer's bequest to the Smithsonian came with the proviso that he would execute full curatorial control over the collection until his death. The Smithsonian initially hesitated at the requirements but the intercession of President Theodore Roosevelt
allowed for the project to proceed. The Freer Gallery possesses an autographed letter from Roosevelt inviting Freer to visit him at the White House, reflecting the personal interest Roosevelt showed in the development of the museum. Through the years, the collections have grown through gifts and purchases to nearly triple the size of Freer's bequest.
The Freer is connected by an underground exhibition space to the neighboring Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
. Although their collections are stored and exhibited separately, the two museums share a director, administration, and staff.
A full list of all past, current, and future exhibitions can be found on the Freer|Sackler exhibitions page.
One of the most well-known exhibits at the Freer is the Peacock Room, an opulent London dining room painted by Whistler in 1876–77. The room was designed for British shipping magnate F.R. Leyland
and is lavishly decorated with green and gold peacock motifs. Purchased by Freer in 1904 and installed in the Freer Gallery after his death, the Peacock Room is on permanent display.
The Freer also has works by Thomas Dewing
(1851–1938), Dwight Tryon (1849–1925), Abbott Handerson Thayer
(1849–1921), Childe Hassam
(1859–1935), Winslow Homer
(1836–1910), Augustus Saint-Gaudens
(1848–1907), Willard Metcalf
(1858–1925), John Singer Sargent
(1856–1925), and John Twachtman (1853–1902).
The Freer|Sackler's "Explore + Learn" pages go in-depth into some of the museum's most popular exhibitions, including Waves at Matsushima and Shahnama: 1000 Years of the Persian Book of Kings, with interactive high-resolution images, videos and galleries.
For educators and families, the museum provides project ideas and resources including printable handouts, teachers' guides, and lesson plans. F|S also produces podcasts of concerts, storytelling, and lectures, and videos on the F|S YouTube channel.
forms one of the largest sources of primary documents about the American artist. Other significant collections in the Archives includes the papers (notebooks, letters, photography, squeezes) and personal objects of the German archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld
(1879–1946), documenting his research at Samarra
, Persepolis
and Pasargadae
. The papers of Carl Whiting Bishop, Dwight William Tryon
, Myron Bement Smith, Benjamin March and Henri Vever are also located at the Archives. The Archives also holds over 125,000 photographs of Asia dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Highlights of photographic holdings include the Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of 19th century photography of Japan, the 1903-1904 photographs of the Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi
, and photographs of Iran by Antoin Sevruguin
.
The Archives is open by appointment Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and appointments may be scheduled by calling (202) 633-0533.
The Freer|Sackler Library is the the largest Asian art research library in the United States. Open to the public five days a week (except federal holidays) without appointment, the library collection consists of more than 86,000 volumes, including nearly 2,000 rare books. Half the volumes are written and catalogued in Asian languages.
Originating from the collection of four thousand monographs, periodical issues, offprints, and sales catalogues that Charles Lang Freer donated to the Smithsonian Institution as part of his gift to the nation, the F|S Library maintains the highest standards for collecting materials an active program of purchases, gifts, and exchanges.
In July 1987 the library moved to its new home in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
. Today it supports activities of both museums, such as collection development, exhibition planning, publications, and other scholarly and educational projects. Its published and unpublished resources—in the fields of Asian art and archaeology, conservation, painting, sculpture, architecture, drawings, prints, manuscripts, books, and photography—are available to museum staff, outside researchers, and the visiting public.
The Freer|Sackler also presents family programs such as ImaginAsia and ExplorAsia, as well as family festivals such as its annual Nowruz celebration in March. Hands-on workshops, including the popular Inner-Artist, Art ID, and educator workshops, allow visitors to tour and then create their own artistic responses.
Most recently, the museums started the popular series Asia After Dark, opening up the space for musicians, dancing, Asian cuisine, and other after-work adventures.
Free drop-in tours guide visitors through both featured exhibitions and specific themes in both the Freer and Sackler galleries, and a wide range of public lectures provide in-depth experiences with prominent artists and scholars.
to the Freer. The East Asian Painting Conservation Studio and the Technical Laboratory merged in 1990 to form the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research.
The conservators in the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research care for and treat works of art in the collection and prepare them for exhibition. Conservation-restoration at the Freer|Sackler is broken into four sections: Asian Paintings(one of the only East Asian painting conservation studios in the United States devoted to using traditional methods), Objects, Paper, and Exhibitions. Together they work to ensure the long-term preservation and storage, safe handling, exhibition, and transport of artworks in the permanent collection, as well as those on loan.
Conservators are responsible for conducting technical examinations of objects already in the collection and those under consideration for acquisition. They also collaborate frequently with the department’s scientists on technical and applied research. Training and professional outreach efforts are an integral part of the department’s commitment to educating future conservators, museum professionals, and the public about conservation.
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery joins the Freer Gallery of Art to form the Smithsonian Institution's national museums of Asian art. The Sackler celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2012....
to form the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
's national museums of Asian
Culture of Asia
The culture of Asia is human civilization in Asia. It features different kinds of cultural heritage of many nationalities, societies, and ethnic groups in the region, traditionally called a continent from a Western-centric perspective, of Asia...
art. The Freer contains art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
from East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
, South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, the Islamic world, the ancient Near East
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
, and ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, as well as a significant collection of American art
American Art
American Art is the debut album of the band Weatherbox. It was released on May 8, 2007 on Doghouse Records. The album received critical acclaim from several sources including underground music distribution company Smartpunk, who lauded the band's style:...
. It is located on the south side of the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, adjacent to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery joins the Freer Gallery of Art to form the Smithsonian Institution's national museums of Asian art. The Sackler celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2012....
.
The Freer houses over 25,000 objects spanning 6,000 years of history, including but not limited to ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian stone sculpture and wooden objects, ancient Near East
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
ern ceramics and metalware, Chinese painting
Chinese painting
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. The earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental; they consisted of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Early pottery was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals...
s and ceramics, Korean pottery and porcelain, Japanese Byōbu
Byobu
are Japanese folding screens made from several joined panels bearing decorative painting and calligraphy, used to separate interiors and enclose private spaces, among other uses.- History :...
, Persian manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s, and Buddhist sculpture
Buddhist art
Buddhist art originated on the Indian subcontinent following the historical life of Siddhartha Gautama, 6th to 5th century BC, and thereafter evolved by contact with other cultures as it spread throughout Asia and the world....
. Collections span from the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
to modern
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
eras. Over 11,000 objects from the Freer|Sackler collections are now fully searchable and available online.
The Freer was featured in the Google Art Project
Google Art Project
Google Art Project is an online compilation of high-resolution images of artworks from galleries worldwide, as well as a virtual tour of the galleries in which they are housed...
, which gives online viewers close-up views of the gallery--in particular, the world-famous Peacock Room by American artist James McNeill Whistler
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
--along with several artworks, including Whistler's "Princess from the Land of Porcelain".
History and Architecture
The gallery was founded by Charles Lang FreerCharles Lang Freer
Charles Lang Freer was an American railroad-car manufacturer from Detroit, Michigan who gave to the United States his art collections and funds for a building to house them. The Freer Gallery of Art founded by him is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C..-Early life:Freer was...
(1854–1919), a railroad-car manufacturer from Detroit, who gave his collections to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and also the funds to help construct a building for their display. The Italian-Renaissance-style gallery, constructed in granite and marble, was inspired by Freer's visits to palazzos in Italy and designed by the American architect Charles A. Platt
Charles A. Platt
Charles Adams Platt was a prominent artist, landscape gardener, landscape designer, and architect of the "American Renaissance" movement. His garden designs complemented his domestic architecture.-Early career:...
. The gallery and its central courtyard are considered some of the most peaceful and serene spaces in Washington, D.C.
The gallery opened to the public in 1923 as the first Smithsonian museum dedicated to the fine arts. The Freer was also the first Smithsonian museum created from a private collector's bequest. Freer's bequest to the Smithsonian came with the proviso that he would execute full curatorial control over the collection until his death. The Smithsonian initially hesitated at the requirements but the intercession of President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
allowed for the project to proceed. The Freer Gallery possesses an autographed letter from Roosevelt inviting Freer to visit him at the White House, reflecting the personal interest Roosevelt showed in the development of the museum. Through the years, the collections have grown through gifts and purchases to nearly triple the size of Freer's bequest.
The Freer is connected by an underground exhibition space to the neighboring Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery joins the Freer Gallery of Art to form the Smithsonian Institution's national museums of Asian art. The Sackler celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2012....
. Although their collections are stored and exhibited separately, the two museums share a director, administration, and staff.
Exhibitions
Current exhibitions include The Peacock Room Comes to America, a recreation of Whistler's famed room as it first appeared in Freer's home, Arts of the Islamic World, the recently reinstalled Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes, and the Seasons series.A full list of all past, current, and future exhibitions can be found on the Freer|Sackler exhibitions page.
American art at the Freer
Freer began collecting American art in the 1880s. In 1890, after meeting James Abbott McNeill Whistler, an American artist influenced by Japanese prints and Chinese ceramics, Freer began to expand his collections to include Asian art. He maintained his interest in American art, however, amassing a collection of over 1,300 works by Whistler, which is considered the world's finest.One of the most well-known exhibits at the Freer is the Peacock Room, an opulent London dining room painted by Whistler in 1876–77. The room was designed for British shipping magnate F.R. Leyland
Frederick Richards Leyland
Frederick Richards Leyland was a Liverpool shipowner and art collector.-Career:Leyland served as an apprentice in the firm of John Bibby, Sons & Co, where he rose to become a partner. In 1867 he took on the tenancy of Speke Hall, Liverpool and in 1869 bought a house in London at 49 Princes Gate...
and is lavishly decorated with green and gold peacock motifs. Purchased by Freer in 1904 and installed in the Freer Gallery after his death, the Peacock Room is on permanent display.
The Freer also has works by Thomas Dewing
Thomas Dewing
Thomas Wilmer Dewing was an American painter working at the turn of the 20th century. He was born in Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts. He studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, and later settled into a studio in New York City...
(1851–1938), Dwight Tryon (1849–1925), Abbott Handerson Thayer
Abbott Handerson Thayer
Abbott Handerson Thayer was an American artist, naturalist and teacher. As a painter of portraits, figures, animals and landscapes, he enjoyed a certain prominence during his lifetime, as indicated by the fact that his paintings are part of the most important U.S. art collections...
(1849–1921), Childe Hassam
Childe Hassam
Frederick Childe Hassam was a prolific American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressionism to American collectors, dealers, and museums...
(1859–1935), Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art....
(1836–1910), Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...
(1848–1907), Willard Metcalf
Willard Metcalf
Willard Leroy Metcalf was an American artist born in Lowell, Massachusetts. He studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and later attended Académie Julian, Paris. After early figure-painting and illustration, he became prominent as a landscape painter...
(1858–1925), John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
(1856–1925), and John Twachtman (1853–1902).
F|S Online
The Freer|Sackler provides several online resources for exploring the art and culture of Asia and its American art collections. Besides the collections objects viewable online, thousands of photographs, archeological diaries, maps, and archaeological squeezes (impressions of carvings) have been digitized and are used by researchers from around the world.The Freer|Sackler's "Explore + Learn" pages go in-depth into some of the museum's most popular exhibitions, including Waves at Matsushima and Shahnama: 1000 Years of the Persian Book of Kings, with interactive high-resolution images, videos and galleries.
For educators and families, the museum provides project ideas and resources including printable handouts, teachers' guides, and lesson plans. F|S also produces podcasts of concerts, storytelling, and lectures, and videos on the F|S YouTube channel.
F|S Archives and Library
The Freer|Sackler Archives houses over 120 important manuscripts collections relevant to the study of America's encounter with Asian art and culture. The core collection is the personal papers of gallery founder Charles Lang Freer, which includes his purchase records, diaries, and personal correspondence with public figures such as artists, dealers and collectors. Freer's extensive correspondence with James McNeill WhistlerJames McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
forms one of the largest sources of primary documents about the American artist. Other significant collections in the Archives includes the papers (notebooks, letters, photography, squeezes) and personal objects of the German archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld
Ernst Herzfeld
Ernst Emil Herzfeld was a German archaeologist and Iranologist.-Life:Herzfeld was born in Celle, Province of Hanover...
(1879–1946), documenting his research at Samarra
Samarra
Sāmarrā is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad-Din Governorate, north of Baghdad and, in 2003, had an estimated population of 348,700....
, Persepolis
Persepolis
Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...
and Pasargadae
Pasargadae
Pasargadae , the capital of Cyrus the Great and also his last resting place, was a city in ancient Persia, and is today an archaeological site and one of Iran's UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-History:...
. The papers of Carl Whiting Bishop, Dwight William Tryon
Dwight William Tryon
Dwight William Tryon was an American landscape painter in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work was influenced by James McNeill Whistler, and he is best-known for his landscapes and seascapes painted in a tonalist style.-Biography:Tryon was born in Hartford, Connecticut...
, Myron Bement Smith, Benjamin March and Henri Vever are also located at the Archives. The Archives also holds over 125,000 photographs of Asia dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Highlights of photographic holdings include the Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of 19th century photography of Japan, the 1903-1904 photographs of the Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi1 , of the Manchu Yehenara clan, was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908....
, and photographs of Iran by Antoin Sevruguin
Antoin Sevruguin
Antoin Sevruguin was a photographer in Iran during the reign of the Qajar dynasty .-Early life:Born into a mixed Armenian-Georgian family in the Russian embassy of Tehran, Persia: Antoin Sevruguin was one of the many children of Vassil de Sevruguin and a Georgian Achin Khanoum. Vassil de Sevruguin...
.
The Archives is open by appointment Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and appointments may be scheduled by calling (202) 633-0533.
The Freer|Sackler Library is the the largest Asian art research library in the United States. Open to the public five days a week (except federal holidays) without appointment, the library collection consists of more than 86,000 volumes, including nearly 2,000 rare books. Half the volumes are written and catalogued in Asian languages.
Originating from the collection of four thousand monographs, periodical issues, offprints, and sales catalogues that Charles Lang Freer donated to the Smithsonian Institution as part of his gift to the nation, the F|S Library maintains the highest standards for collecting materials an active program of purchases, gifts, and exchanges.
In July 1987 the library moved to its new home in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery joins the Freer Gallery of Art to form the Smithsonian Institution's national museums of Asian art. The Sackler celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2012....
. Today it supports activities of both museums, such as collection development, exhibition planning, publications, and other scholarly and educational projects. Its published and unpublished resources—in the fields of Asian art and archaeology, conservation, painting, sculpture, architecture, drawings, prints, manuscripts, books, and photography—are available to museum staff, outside researchers, and the visiting public.
F|S Public Programs
The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Auditorium, located in the Freer, provides a venue for a broad variety of free public programs relating to the collections, including exceptional concerts of Asian music and dance, lectures, chamber music, and dramatic presentations. It is also known for its well-curated film series, highlighting a wide variety of Asian cultures.The Freer|Sackler also presents family programs such as ImaginAsia and ExplorAsia, as well as family festivals such as its annual Nowruz celebration in March. Hands-on workshops, including the popular Inner-Artist, Art ID, and educator workshops, allow visitors to tour and then create their own artistic responses.
Most recently, the museums started the popular series Asia After Dark, opening up the space for musicians, dancing, Asian cuisine, and other after-work adventures.
Free drop-in tours guide visitors through both featured exhibitions and specific themes in both the Freer and Sackler galleries, and a wide range of public lectures provide in-depth experiences with prominent artists and scholars.
Conservation at F|S
Care of the collections began before the museum came into existence as Charles Lang Freer, the founder of the Freer Gallery of Art, hired Japanese painting restorers to care for his works and to prepare them for their eventual home as part of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1932, the Freer Gallery of Art hired a full-time Japanese restorer and created what was to become the East Asian Painting Conservation Studio. The Technical Laboratory, and the first use of scientific methods for the study of art at the Smithsonian Institution, started in 1951 when the chemist Rutherford J. Gettens moved from the Fogg Museum at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
to the Freer. The East Asian Painting Conservation Studio and the Technical Laboratory merged in 1990 to form the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research.
The conservators in the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research care for and treat works of art in the collection and prepare them for exhibition. Conservation-restoration at the Freer|Sackler is broken into four sections: Asian Paintings(one of the only East Asian painting conservation studios in the United States devoted to using traditional methods), Objects, Paper, and Exhibitions. Together they work to ensure the long-term preservation and storage, safe handling, exhibition, and transport of artworks in the permanent collection, as well as those on loan.
Conservators are responsible for conducting technical examinations of objects already in the collection and those under consideration for acquisition. They also collaborate frequently with the department’s scientists on technical and applied research. Training and professional outreach efforts are an integral part of the department’s commitment to educating future conservators, museum professionals, and the public about conservation.
See also
- Ernst HerzfeldErnst HerzfeldErnst Emil Herzfeld was a German archaeologist and Iranologist.-Life:Herzfeld was born in Celle, Province of Hanover...
and PersepolisPersepolisPerspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid... - Biblical Manuscripts in the Freer CollectionBiblical Manuscripts in the Freer CollectionThe Biblical Manuscripts in the Freer Collection, is a collection of six biblical manuscripts, dating from the 3rd to 6th centuries. Most manuscripts are written in Greek, one in Coptic...
- Chinese paintingChinese paintingChinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. The earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental; they consisted of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Early pottery was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals...
- History of artHistory of artThe History of art refers to visual art which may be defined as any activity or product made by humans in a visual form for aesthetical or communicative purposes, expressing ideas, emotions or, in general, a worldview...
- History of paintingHistory of paintingThe history of painting reaches back in time to artifacts from pre-historic humans, and spans all cultures. It represents a continuous, though periodically disrupted tradition from Antiquity. Across cultures, and spanning continents and millennia, the history of painting is an ongoing river of...
- Indian artIndian artIndian Art is the visual art produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BC to modern times. To viewers schooled in the Western tradition, Indian art may seem overly ornate and sensuous; appreciation of its refinement comes only gradually, as a rule. Voluptuous feeling is...
- Islamic artIslamic artIslamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
- Japanese paintingJapanese paintingis one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts, encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese aesthetics and adaptation of...
- Lin TingguiLin TingguiLin Tinggui was a Chinese painter of the Southern Song Dynasty...
- Pewabic PotteryPewabic PotteryPewabic Pottery is a studio and school located in Detroit, Michigan and founded in 1903. The studio is known for its iridescent glazes, some of which grace notable buildings such as the Shedd Aquarium and Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Pewabic Pottery is on display...
- Zhou JichangZhou JichangZhou Jichang , Japanese: Shuu Kijou) was a Chinese painter of the Song Dynasty . His artwork featured many central themes of Chinese Buddhism and Buddhist folklore....
- Charles Lang Freer medalCharles Lang Freer medalThe Charles Lang Feer medal was established in 1956 by the Smithsonian Institution in honor of Charles Lang Freer, the founder of the Freer collection...