The Smithsonian's museums of Asian art, the Sackler and Freer Galleries house Asian ceramics, paintings, calligraphy and decorative arts. The Sackler Gallery holds contemporary art from Asia as well as hosting international loan exhibitions. The Sackler Gallery welcomed its first visitors in 1987.
The Freer and the Sackler are physically connected by an underground passageway and ideologically linked through the study, exhibition, and preservation of Asian art.