Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M Sackler Gallery

Une envie de musée? Une passion pour la culture? À Washington DC vous êtes servi ! La ville abrite une liste impressionnante de musées, et la plupart sont gratuits ! Oui Gratuit !
On ferait presque le voyage pour cela ! :)
Le Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery fait partie de ces musées gratuits à Washington, et c’est un véritable Plaisir de le visiter ! Une architecture incroyable pour cet ensemble de musées. Moi je me suis plutôt attardé dans la partie du musée réservée aux arts asiatiques
Le personnel y est en plus très serviable. J’adore ce musée !

The Freer building was closed for renovation, so we only got to peruse the Sackler. I wasn’t enthralled with the paintings, sketches, or photos here. I did appreciate some of the sculptures and artifacts, but there were too few. I thought the Afghanistan exhibit was good. The thing that got me about the place was there was no flow to it. It was more like an unintended three floor maze. It would be easy to miss one of the exhibits in here. I left feeling that there should have been more and a bit frustrated about the layout of the place.

Bottom Line: Peaceful and well curated subterranean museums with some very old Asian art.
I’ve been curious about the Freer Gallery and Sackler Gallery for a long time so I am glad I finally got a chance to visit these two museums featuring mostly Asian art. Moreover, I am glad I got a chance to see the Freer Gallery before it closed on January 4, 2016 for a long (one to two years) renovation.
Even if you don’t love Asian art it is certainly worth stopping by this Smithsonian museum to give it a try. Not only is admission «free», the front door is just steps away from the Smithsonian Metro Station on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines.
As I loosely understand it, the Freer Gallery and Sackler Gallery were once physically separate buildings. Thanks to a renovation of the Sackler Gallery in 1993, the buildings were connected underground. The original collection for the Freer Gallery comes from Charles Freer, a Detroit business man and philanthropist.
Like the Freer Gallery, the Sackler Gallery is named for its founder and philanthropist Arthur M. Sackler, who made his fortune in medical publications and pharmaceuticals. In 1983 he donated his $ 50 million collection of Asian art to the Smithsonian and the museum in his name opened in 1984.
Something that is really cool about these museums is that they are mostly underground. The subterraneous element makes these museums seem more
The three exhibits I enjoyed most were (1) The Peacock Room at Freer Gallery, (2) Peacock Room: REMIX at Sackler Gallery and (3) Sōtatsu: Making Waves at Sackler Gallery. The stories behind the Peacock Rooms are interesting and the original Peacock Room, as well as the remixed room, are fun to look at. The story behind Stoatsu and the waves he made is also interesting and I really enjoyed the color and flow of his art. Other pieces in the gallery were super cool because they were very old, older than the Smithsonian Institute, older than the United States and older than Christopher Columbus!

What a wonderful experience I absolutely love freer gallery & the peacock remix room I had a chance to go this morning not to pack just enough people. The wealth was perfect & afterwards I took a nice walk around thr grounds the best part was seeing the beautiful turquoise, gold & green colors in the peacock remix room. I absolutely recommend everyone to take the time out to experience the different museum’s a wonderful way to begin the new year

I’ve been to Freer & Sackler several times before, but I went again yesterday to see the Soutatsu exhibit. There isn’t *very* much to it, but if you’re interested in Japanese art then you should try to make your way there before the exhibit closes in January. There are some nice screens, and I appreciated that the exhibit halls were dark to set the mood and draw attention to the artwork. When I was there, there was a docent leading a small group through the exhibit and providing additional information about the artist and his work; I didn’t know Freer & Sackler even had tours, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Great collections of art works. The phoenix room was fantastic — Definitely check it out. There’s a garden that is so peaceful & beautiful to sit & recover from galleries & museums hopping.

It is a Smithsonian art gallery, so there is no charge. The place is not terribly big, and is interesting to house Chinese, Japanese, Iranian and some other country’s exhibits. There is a garden, but you are not allowed to wonder around, you can step out to the porch and admire the view.
I like the shop, you can find interesting things for reasonable prices (some of the items.)

Wasn’t sure if i was going to enjoy an Asian art museum at first. The collections are nice, the Japanese wooden sculptures at the end of the hall are amazing. Freer’s history and The Peacock Room were actually the highlights for me! I would have hoped to have gotten a deeper understanding of Asian historical timelines through art but it was mostly just stuff Freer bought. Not exactly in a sequence of cultural development but more of this caught my eye and that caught my eye. I think a focused curator could build a clearer vision to the nations capital.

Visited on 10÷10÷15
This museum is located next to the National Museum of African Art. Both the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M Sackler Gallery are connected and shaped like a huge square. Surprisingly, for how big this museum is, it’s free to enter. Just a standard bag check. There’s so much displayed in this museum like an array of different Asian art and the historical Peacock Room, so it’s safe to say this place can attract a broad audience.
I give this place a 5 because it does a good job in organizing the art by what you’re looking for and containing historical exhibitions like «The Cosmic Buddha». Not only does it contain Asian art as advertised, but American art as well like «The Peacock Room Remix» which I really enjoyed. Egyptian art and Iranian art was also displayed in parts of the museum. I would visit again.

Worth spending a few hours. Great art collection from around the world. The peacock room is my favorite — golden decorations, pottery and china. I suggest everyone come to see this amazing collection.

The combination of the Freer and Sackler is an unfortunate union based on politics and physical proximity; they are historically separate institutions misguidedly stuck together by the Smithsonian with the misleading subtitle «museums of Asian Art». The much older Freer has a 5* collection of Asian, American and ancient arts from various world cultures in a jewel box of a building (albeit, with some historical accessibility challenges) surrounding a sunny garden courtyard. Meanwhile, between its inexcusably convoluted physical setup and sorted collections of art from non-​western cultures the Sackler is a 3* attraction at best, deservedly, literally, underground. So, particularly with the Freer about to close for a major renovation, lower your expectations if all that’s open is the Sackler!
The Freer was a gift to the nation from industrialist Charles Lang Freer (1854 – 1919). In addition to Asian arts, Freer actively collected American impressionist works, particularly those of James McNeil Whistler whose Peacock Room, originally in London, and then in Freer’s Detroit home, is now permanently housed in a purpose-​built gallery on the Mall in Washington. (Currently, an interesting related exhibition, originally created by artist Darren Waterston for Mass MOCA, is on display in the Sackler.) In addition to the American works, the galleries display outstanding examples of Chinese and Japanese fine and decorative arts and pieces from ancient civilizations including Egypt and Islam. Unfortunately, the Freer’s gift shop is no longer open. There is no food service in either building; the buildings connect underground.
The Sackler Gallery is named for the physician and art scholar Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, whose name either alone or with those of his brothers, also adorns art institutions around the world, including galleries at the Met (NYC), Princeton University (NJ), the Royal Academy (London) and an entire museum at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA). The Gallery named for him in Washington received donations of both money and Asian Art objects from Sackler; it opened in 1987 and is over 90% underground. Its collections now include East and South Asian as well as Persian arts. Both the Freer and the Sackler host special exhibitions and issue scholarly publications.

I have never been inside this hidden place before and we only found it on this trip by walking through the castle grounds to see the landscaping/​gardens. So glad we walked inside. We didn’t have much time because we were trying to hit a couple of other spots before closing time. We decided to just walk in and see what it was all about. Yay for that decision. I saw most breathtaking work of art I had seen this round. The Peacock Room, remixed. Basically it’s a reimagining of The Peacock Room but oh so mind-​blowing. I found it to be very melancholic but at the same time funky and artistic. You MUST go see this room if you are in the DC area and have a few extra minutes. It literally took my breathe away and brought tears to my eyes at the same time.
I wish we had been able to walk through more areas but really could not on this particular run in. Next time. I promise, Freer Gallery, I will take more time to look through your exhibits.

Was finally able to take both the Freer and Sackler tours. I got so much knowledge from the tour guides. Art requires interpretation for a person like me and I definitely got schooled. Our guide took us to a piece from palmyra since Isis has taken it over and recently beheaded someone for not releasing the whereabouts of the hidden antiquities. This lady was so knowledgable. I now fully understand the peacock room and the remixed version.
Then our guide at the freer helped me understand the pieces dealing with Buddha and religion and Japanese art. He had lived 20 years in Japan!
Take a tour!

Absolutely love this gallery! It is filled with many types of Asian art, Hong Kong film fest and the amazing Whistler’s peacock room!!! Don’t miss out this gallery while you’re in DC!

I fell in love with this gallery back in undergrad.
You have to go to the peacock room and then head down to the peacock room remix! It’s a temporary instillation. I believe it will be installed through 2017! So there is plenty of time to check the remix room out.
The remix room by Darren Waterston is perfection. You can even take a look at his sketches and design plans for the room. The exhibit plans really puts you into his mind!

I can not believe. It’s free. They have many interesting and special things here. It’s so quiet and peaceful too. Not as crowded as other museums. I stayed there for about 1 hour. I need at least 2 hours next time. I really enjoyed watching Japanese and Iranian arts this time.

I visited this gallery while I was museum-​hopping in DC. I didn’t find it extremely captivating, but I still recommend visiting if you ever pass by. There is a really pretty courtyard right in the center of the gallery with multiple benches. It’s a great place to sit and relax especially when the weather is nice. The benches are located under an overhang, so it also offers shade. When I went this past April, I also really liked the Peacock room.

This small but spectacular collection of Asian art isn’t usually at the top of any D.C. visitor’s sightseeing list, but well worth your time if you’re looking for a quiet spot away from the big museum crowds. You can make your way through much of this compact gallery can in about an hour, before heading next door to the adjacent Arthur Sackler Gallery to continue the tour.
The Freer bills itself as ‘one of the largest collections of Asian art in the United States,’ and it’s hard to imagine finding another as extensive. The artwork and artifacts date from the Neolithic period to the early 20^th Century, and include Chinese paintings, Japanese scrolls, Indian sculpture, Islamic metalwork and much more. There is also a significant collection of works by American artist James McNeill Whistler, and a detailed restoration of the Peacock Room, originally used by museum founder Charles Freer to showcase the Asian art that now fills the gallery.
History nerds will especially appreciate the collections of ancient Chinese jades, bronze art and pottery, as well as the early Buddhist sculptures from the 6^th and 7^th centuries. The Freer is easy to navigate, with spacious galleries and a peaceful central courtyard that offers a quiet retreat in warmer weather.

I generally like museums. It doesn’t matter what kind of museum or what special exhibits are going on. I’ll generally always make room in my schedule to squeeze in a museum when I’m somewhere new… which is the reason why I stopped in to the Freer Gallery of Art. I was walking along the mall and saw it, so I just popped in.
After the standard bag check, I was free to wander the museum. At the beginning, you’re presented with the choice of going either left or right. In the end, it doesn’t really matter, though, because the exhibits are built in a square around the courtyard, so you won’t have to backtrack or anything to see everything. That being said, I found the museum extremely confusing and laid out very poorly. The exhibits are organized by room, with each room labeled with a plaque. The rooms are offshoots of the hallways, but some of the rooms (not all of them) connect so you don’t have to leave one room to get to another one. While somewhat convenient in theory, it just made me more turned around.
After you make your rounds on the ground level, you can head down a flight of stairs and see additional exhibits, as well as the gift shop. I didn’t spend as much time downstairs (though I did spend a good amount of time wandering around the gift shop… Standard gift shop prices – meaning more than what you’d pay somewhere else for the same thing – but a nice collection of quirky knickknacks if you’re in to that kind of thing.) The exhibits here were just as extensive (if not more) than the upstairs counterparts. The highlighted exhibition at the time of visiting was «Scenes of Asia» which featured artifacts from across the continent.
I would say that it is definitely worth a visit, but watch out because you can spend all day here without noticing the time slip by. Don’t spend too much time in one area because there’s always more to see! Though there aren’t any standouts in the collections, the museum itself is still gorgeous. And definitely be sure to check out their programs and events if you get the chance. There’s everything from lectures to workshops to movies!

Cyndy’s Bottom Line: Great souvenirs and pieces from the exhibits
There is a great selections of books and souvenirs to choose from. Great pieces representing the exhibit or different countries.

Apparently this gallery houses the largest research library of Asian art in the country but that must have been hidden in the back somewhere because when I went there, there was a very small amount of basic portrait art (of Europeans?) and ceramic dragons. The lights, fixture and design of the building were far more interesting than any of the actual art.
The gallery itself was kind of like a small warehouse with minimal pieces and it was not completely clear as to the significance of Asian art and why it was named after Arthur Sackler. I did not know whether they were his pieces or if he just gave money for the building. That being said, you get what you pay for and this gallery was free so I’ll just take solace in the fact that the two small dragons were pretty cool.

Whether or not you enjoy Asian art, it should be a stop on your journey of D.C. regardless.
Numerous rooms show the beauty and history of generations past, from a 14^th century Buddha statue to old eating utensils and weaponry. It’s really cool, especially if you like and appreciate cultural history. When I went on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of summer it was barely even packed, so silence + art = happiness.
There were also numerous works by James Whistler, which was fun for me personally because I saw ‘Whistler’s Mother” many years ago in person at the Detroit Institute of Arts.
The Peacock Room is a nice, quaint room as well. Stop in here and enjoy the scenery!