Archives: Exhibitions

Freer Gallery of Art

Clusters of red maple leaves and wisps of reeds in a flowing, dark blue stream of water, indicated by painterly gold highlights of the currents.

Detail, Maple Leaves on a Stream (front), Ikeda Koson (1801–1866), Edo period, 1856–58, pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and color on gilded paper, Purchase—Harold P. Stern Memorial Fund and funds provided by the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries in appreciation of James W. Lintott and his exemplary service to the Galleries as chair of the Board of Trustees (2011–2015), Freer Gallery of Art, F2014.7.1–2 

Rinpa Screens


Freer Gallery of Art
Japanese Art

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Three rows of ceramics in various shapes displayed on gilded shelves against a painted green wall with feathery gold detailing in the upper left corner.

Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room (detail), James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), 1876–1877, oil paint and gold leaf on canvas, leather, mosaic tile, glass, and wood, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, Freer Gallery of Art, F1904.61

The Peacock Room Comes to America


Freer Gallery of Art
American Art

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A scene, softly painted in greens and blues, of spindly trees against a subtle sunset just visible over the horizon.

Twilight: Early Spring (detail), Dwight William Tryon (1849–1925), United States, 1893, oil on canvas, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, Freer Gallery of Art, F1893.12a-b

A Perfect Harmony


Freer Gallery of Art 
American Art

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A close-up view of an elephant, painted in washy brushstrokes, being examined by five blind men touching its legs.

Blind Men Appraising an Elephant (detail), Tomioka Tessai 富岡鉄斎 (1836–1924), Japan, Taisho era, 1921, hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, Freer Gallery of Art, F2019.3.34a-f

Meeting Tessai: Modern Japanese Art from the Cowles Collection


Freer Gallery of Art
Japanese Art

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Detail of swirling dragons and clouds, painted on a white porcelain dish.

Dish with design of dragons and clouds (detail), China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen, Ming dynasty, Xuande Reign, 1426–1435, porcelain with cobalt under clear glaze, enamel over glaze, Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment, Freer Gallery of Art, F1965.4

Looking Out, Looking In


Freer Gallery of Art
Chinese Art

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Stylized, swirling depictions of a feline and a dragon, carved in light green jade.

Disk (bi) with knobs, feline and dragon (detail), China, Eastern Han dynasty, 100–220, jade (nephrite), Gift of Charles Lang Freer, Freer Gallery of Art, F1916.155

Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades


Freer Gallery of Art 
Chinese Art

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Partial view of the head of a bird, carved in bronze with detailed, intricate, swirling designs.

Lidded ritual wine container (zun) in the form of a bird, China, Shanxi province, Middle Eastern Zhou dynasty, ca. 5th century BCE, bronze with gold inlay, Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer, Freer Gallery of Art, F1961.30a-b

Art and Industry: China’s Ancient Houma Foundry


Freer Gallery of Art 
Chinese Art

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Partial view of a gold surface decorated with designs of birds and floral scrolls, with a medallion in the center.

Foliated mirror with birds and floral scrolls (detail), China, early or mid-Tang dynasty, late 7th–early 8th century, cast bronze and applied gold plaque with repoussé, chased, and ring-punched decoration, Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment, Freer Gallery of Art, F1930.45

Center of the World


Freer Gallery of Art 
Chinese Art

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Partial view of a hemispherical dark stone slab, intricately carved with linear designs of densely clustered figures, many of whom have halos.

Lintel possibly showing the Western Paradise of the Buddha Amitabha (detail), China, Shaanxi province, probably Xi'an, Tang dynasty, 8th century, marble, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, Freer Gallery of Art, F1913.137

Promise of Paradise


Freer Gallery of Art 
Chinese Art

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A detail of a scroll containing both images and calligraphy, depicting an old man seated on a rock and writing on a scroll stretched out by a child, as well as two men carrying jugs as they walk and converse with each other.

The Drunken Monk (detail), artist: traditionally attributed to Li Gonglin (傳)李公麟 (ca. 1049–1106); calligrapher: frontispiece by Hongli, the Qianlong emperor 乾隆帝 (1711–1799); inscription: three inscriptions by Hongli, the Qianlong emperor 乾隆帝 (1711–1799); colophon: two colophons by Hongli, the Qianlong emperor 乾隆帝 (1711–1799), colophon attributed to Su Shi (1037–1101), colophon by Dongcun (13th–14th century?); China, Southern Song dynasty, mid-12th to mid-13th century, ink and color on paper, Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer, Freer Gallery of Art, F1968.18

Setting the Bar


Freer Gallery of Art 
Chinese Art

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Deep red copper pigment outlines the petals of the lotus bud that tops this green-glazed ceramic ewer, with the figure of a kneeling child visible at the neck of the vessel.

Ewer (detail), Korea, Jeolla-do province, Gangjin or Buan county, Gangjin kilns, Sadang-ri group, or Buan kilns, Yucheon-ri group, Goryeo period, mid-13th century, stoneware with copper-red pigment and white slip under celadon glaze, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, Freer Gallery of Art, F1915.50a-b

Rediscovering Korea’s Past


Freer Gallery of Art 
Korean Art

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Partial image of a white ceramic bowl, painted with red and black floral designs with Arabic script around the edge.

Bowl (detail), Iran, Samanid period, 10th century, earthenware painted under glaze, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, Freer Gallery of Art, F1957.24

Engaging the Senses


Freer Gallery of Art 
Arts of the Islamic World

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A close-up view of a bronze sculpture, lit with warm light and viewed in three-quarter view, of a figure with a raised hand, against a dark blue background.

Shiva Nataraja (detail), India, Tamil Nadu state, Chola dynasty, ca. 990, bronze, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment and funds provided by Margaret and George Haldeman, Freer Gallery of Art, F2003.2

Body Image


Freer Gallery of Art
South Asian and Himalayan Art

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Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Three metal, handled vessels with zoomorphic designs.

Left to right: Ritual wine pouring vessel (gong) with masks (taotie), dragons, and real animals, Anyang or middle Yangzi region, ca. 1100 B.C., bronze, Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer, F1961.33a–b; Ritual wine-pouring vessel (gong) with masks (taotie) and dragons, middle or late Anyang period, ca. 1100 B.C., bronze, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler, S1987.279a–b; Ritual wine-pouring vessel (gong) with masks (taotie), dragons, and real animals, middle Anyang period, ca. 1150–1100 B.C., bronze, Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1939.53a–b (National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution)

Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings 


Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Chinese Art

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A swimmer, wearing goggles, performs the butterfly stroke in wavy splashes of water. The whole scene is rendered in vibrant segments of rainbow colors.

Butterfly (detail), Ay-Ō 靉嘔 (born 1931), Japan, Showa era, 1988, silkscreen, ink on paper, The Pearl and Seymour Moskowitz Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2021.5.5, © Ay-Ō

Ay-Ō’s Happy Rainbow Hell


Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Contemporary Art
Japanese Art

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Bronze statue, with a green patina, of a child balancing astride a prancing, maned lion.

Striding lion with Eros child (one of a pair) (detail), Yemen, early 1st century BCE–mid-1st century CE, bronze, Gift of The American Foundation for the Study of Man (Wendell and Merilyn Phillips Collection), Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2013.2.77.1

Ancient Yemen: Incense, Art, and Trade


Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Ancient Near Eastern Art

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A white palace and garden are offset against a painterly, colorful, cloudy sky.

Sunrise in Udaipur, 1722–23. Udaipur. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; 82.3 × 152.4 cm. The City Palace Museum, Udaipur, 2012.20.0015 (Detail)

A Splendid Land: Paintings from Royal Udaipur


Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
South Asian and Himalayan Art

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Detail of an earthenware pot showing the opening, which is slightly cracked, and the front of which is decorated with a reddish orange pattern of lines in a swirl.

Vessel on pedestal foot (detail), Northeast Thailand, Ban Chiang culture, late period, 300 BCE‒200 CE, earthenware with red pigment, Gift of Victor and Takako Hauge, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2004.24

Prehistoric Spirals: Earthenware from Thailand 


Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Southeast Asian Art

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