Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

2500 Years of Persian Art

See decorative work from manuscripts, metalwork, ceramics and architectural decorations.

February 1, 1973 – June 30, 1973

The 50th anniversary of the Freer Gallery includes the following exhibits:
Ceramics from the World of Islam
Chinese Figure Painting
Japanese Ukiyo-e Paintings
Christian Manuscripts
Christian Jewelry

May 1, 1973 – July 15, 1974

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

A Breath of Spring

View the masterpiece of 14th-century Chinese handscroll painting by Zou Fulei with full translations of several poems and related documents.

May 17, 1999 – January 9, 2000

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

A Connoisseur's Vision: Selections from Charles Lang Freer's American Art Collection

Enjoy Freer's distinctive taste as show in his choice of paintings, watercolors, pastels and etchings by turn-of-the-century artists.

November 10, 1976 – September 30, 1977

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions, 1970-1980

View 114 works that represent a variety of Asian cultures, including secular paintings, religious images and ritual objects, personal ornaments and household furnishings ranging in time from 3,000 B.C. to the 19th century.

January 1, 1980 – April 30, 1980

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

A Journey of Taste: Freer and Japanese Scroll Mounting 

Explore the mountings that surround East Asian paintings and their relationship not only to the artworks displayed in this exhibition but also to Chinese and Japanese works throughout the museum.

April 15, 2023 – March 3, 2024

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

A Perfect Harmony: American Art

Juxtaposing American and Asian art is a legacy of the founder of our museum, Detroit industrialist Charles Lang Freer. He believed in a universal language of beauty that resonated across time, space, and cultural diversity.

November 27, 2019 – October 8, 2023

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

A Perfect Harmony: American Art

Juxtaposing American and Asian art is a legacy of the founder of our museum, Detroit industrialist Charles Lang Freer. He believed in a universal language of beauty that resonated across time, space, and cultural diversity.

October 14, 2017 – April 15, 2019

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

A Selection of Korean Ceramics, Metalwork and Painting from the Freer

See approximately 60 pieces, spanning the 3rd century B.C. through the 19th century.

June 1, 1982 – August 31, 1982

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

America Meets Asia at the Freer Gallery of Art

This changing exhibition of Asian and 19th/20th-century American art from the permanent collection reflects Mr. Freer's conviction that the Asian art he selected was harmonious with his American collection.

May 9, 1993 – April 30, 1994

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

American Painting

See 17 paintings by Whistler, Tryon, Dewing, and Sargent.

November 3, 1986 – September 5, 1988

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

An Invitation to Tea

Focus on the centuries-old Japanese tea ceremony with 25 objects from Japan, Korean, China, Turkey, and Vietnam.

November 9, 1996 – April 26, 1998

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Ancient Chinese Jade

View more than 130 jade objects, dating from the third millennium B.C. through the 3rd century A.D.

September 4, 1980 – March 15, 1981

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes

More than 100 of the Freer's jades and bronzes—among the greatest treasures of Chinese art outside China—are on view.

November 20, 2010 – January 3, 2016

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Ancient Chinese Pottery and Bronze

The exhibition shows the complex, changing relationship between two of China's oldest artistic traditions: ceramic and bronze vessels.

March 7, 1997 – August 14, 2011

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Ancient Egyptian Art

View Egyptian glass vessels dating from the 15th to 10th centuries B.C. as well as a famous sculpture of a king wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt (c. 2525 B.C.)

March 16, 1981 – September 7, 1981

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Ancient Egyptian Glass

View 15 glass vessels for storing scented oils, perfumed ointments, or cosmetics.

August 24, 1994 – June 12, 1998

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Ancient Near Eastern Art

See an extraordinary selection of silver-gilt ceremonial vessels, created in Iran during the Sasanian Empire (ca. 224-651).

February 3, 2010 – April 30, 2012

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Ancient and Alive: Japan's Native Gods: Japanese Screens

The screens in this gallery depict celebrations during the Edo period (1615–1868), when their festivals were enjoyed by a broad sector of Japanese society.

October 14, 2017 – April 29, 2018

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Antoine Sevruguin: Photographer of Qajar Iran

Follow a rich visual record of the late Qajar period (from approximately 1885 to approximately 1930) through 24 photographs selected from the Freer collection.

August 1, 1981 – March 31, 1982

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Armenian Gospels

View illustrations from medieval Armenian illuminated gospels purchased by gallery founder Charles Lang Freer.

August 31, 1996 – May 1, 1997

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Armenian Manuscripts

View early Christian manuscripts from the Freer's collection, including 6 Gospels, a hymnal, and a Psalter.

January 1, 1980 – January 31, 1980

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Arrangement in Yellow and Gold

Admire 57 oil paintings by James McNeill Whistler; and the sunny yellow of the gallery walls that re-creates the ambience of Whistler's own openings.

July 1, 1986 – March 15, 1987

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Art for Art's Sake

Take in 31 works by Whistler, Tryon, Dewing, Thayer, and ceramicist Mary Chase Perry Stratton.

August 7, 1997 – January 21, 2008

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery

Art of Dynastic Egypt

See a selection of 20 Egyptian objects that includes amulets, a mummy mask, and 5 decorated glass vessels.

February 1, 1977 – November 30, 1977

Asian Art Museum Freer Gallery