Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
Freer Gallery of Art
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
Freer Gallery of Art Archangel Isrāfīl map of the National Mall, Washington, D.C.
Read Next
Streets of Puerto Rico
Pro and Con: Statehood for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia
The United States Supreme Court building, Washington, D.C.
14 Questions About Government in the United States Answered
Members of the public view artwork by Damien Hirst entitled: The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living - in the Tate Modern art gallery on April 2, 2012 in London, England. (see notes) (1991) Tiger shark, glass, steel
Vile or Visionary?: 11 Art Controversies of the Last Four Centuries
Sculpture of woman before restoration (left) and after restoration on the exterior of an office building in Palencia, Spain. (art restoration)
5 Art Restorations Gone Wrong
Bar graph of the United States Death Toll during major events. Infogram chart.
U.S. Death Toll During Major Events
Discover
Title: Senate Square, St. Petersburg, December 14, 1825: repression of the troop mutiny - watercolor by Carl Ivanovitch Kollman, 1825 depicts Decembrist uprising clashing with cavalry, with spectators watching. (new style December 26, 1825) Europe. Saint
8 of the Largest Empires in History
Thanksgiving Celebration Traditional Dinner Setting Food Concept
Why Is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Celebrated on a Thursday?
Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that
America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)
A human Inuit skull in a stone chambered cairn in Ilulissat in Greenland. These ancient graves are pre christian and are at least 2000
14 Tough Questions Answered
An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.
11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
Diverse elementary school children wearing school uniforms running outside of school. Boys girls
Pro and Con: School Uniforms
Santa Claus flying in his sleigh, christmas, reindeer
Was Santa Claus a Real Person?
Freer Gallery of Art
Freer Gallery of Art Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Freer Gallery of Art

museum, Washington, District of Columbia, United States
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Freer-Gallery-of-Art
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: • Article History
Quick Facts
Date:
1906 - present
Related People:
Charles Lang Freer
See all related content

Freer Gallery of Art, museum in Washington, D.C., endowed and built by the Detroit industrialist Charles Lang Freer to house the distinguished collection of Oriental art that he gave to the United States government in 1906. The Freer Gallery was administratively made a part of the Smithsonian Institution, and in 1923 it was opened to the public.

(Read Sister Wendy’s Britannica essay on art appreciation.)

Archangel Isrāfīl
Archangel IsrāfīlThe archangel Isrāfīl, miniature from the ʿAjāʾib al-makhlūqāt (“The Wonders of Creation”) of Qazvīnī, Iraq, c. 1370–80; in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The Freer collection includes 19th-century American paintings and has the world’s largest collection of James McNeill Whistler’s works, including the famed Peacock Room, decorated by Whistler as a prank. It was originally the dining room of an English shipbuilder, who after purchasing Whistler’s painting “Rose and Silver: The Princess from the Land of Porcelain,” permitted the artist to redecorate the room to harmonize with the picture. Using the peacock as his theme, Whistler trimmed borders off Oriental rugs and painted over leather wallcovering to create an exotic gold and turquoise atmosphere for his painting. Two gold peacocks with crystal eyes adorn the wall opposite the picture. The entire room was purchased by Freer for $63,000.

(Read Glenn Lowry’s Britannica essay on "Art Museums & Their Digital Future.")

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.