Housed in a National Historic Landmark building which it shares with the American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery displays the connection between American history, biography and art, covering more than 225 years of history.
The collection is presented in a series of thematic galleries, including "America's Presidents," “America Origins, 1600-1900,” and “20th Century Americans,” and "The Struggle For Justice."
"Champions" and "Bravo!" showcase sports figures, and composers and performers from the beginning of the 20th century to the present.
”Jo Davidson: Biographer in Bronze” is a collection of 14 portraits in bronze and terra-cotta made by American sculptor Jo Davidson between 1908 and 1946.
Please check the museum website for updated exhibition information. Scheduling may have been modified as a result of the temporary museum closure.
Exhibitions & Dates
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
Jul 1 2022 -
180+ objects depict notable individuals who helped shape the nation’s early development
Powerful Partnerships: Civil War-Era Couples
Jul 1 2022 - May 18 2025
Five couples who shaped the nation during tumultuous times
Star Power: Photographs from Hollywood’s Golden Era - by George Hurrell
Mar 1 2024 - Jan 5 2025
Shaping the images of Hollywood’s brightest stars.
Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900 – 1939
Apr 26 2024 - Feb 23 2025
Illuminates the accomplishments of sixty convention-defying women
Isaac Julien: Lessons of the Hour -- Frederick Douglass
Dec 8 2023 - Nov 26 2026
10-screen video installation is a nonlinear narrative melding Douglass’s life and work
Recent Acquisitions, 2023
Nov 3 2023 - Oct 26 2025
Portraits of people who have transformed the way we understand the world.
This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: - James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance
Jun 21 2024 - Apr 20 2025
Commemorating the centennial of Baldwin’s birth
Picturing the Presidents: Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes - from the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection
Jun 28 2024 - Jun 8 2025
eight men who held the nation’s highest office during the 19th century
Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Always to Return
Oct 18 2024 - Jul 6 2025
The work of one of the leading artists—and portraitists—of the twentieth century